Maumee River and Ice Fishing Report- February 6, 2018

*Febuary store hours*

M-F : 7am-6pm

Sat/Sun: 7am -5pm

When the river ice melts I will begin the daily report . River conditions,  sunrise/sunset times etc… 

2018 fishing licenses will be available February 22nd, the 2017 licenses is valid until February 28th .

Ice- With the return to winter this week we have seen the local ponds and reservoirs begin to refreeze. For the most part the main ice in the center of pond an reservoirs remained thick, it was the shore ice and scattered patches that eroded and rendered everything unfishable.  Ice that has melted and refrozen and melted and refrozen is typical the weakest type of ice to fish on. So if you are going to venture out locally,  exercise extreme caution. Like I said in the last post, most anglers are heading north over the MI  border where the temps and ice conditions have been more stable the last few weeks.

As you can see in today’s satellite image of Lake Erie there is open water and very thin ice all along the western basin .

I still have our ice fishing supplies out in the shop.We are  getting low on ice rods and out of augers but still have plenty of ice lures ,line , tip ups and other odds and ends to finish the season out.

Maumee River

The Maumee River for the most part after this week of cold has a thin layer of ice covering . DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ICE FISH THE RIVER-  With cabin fever and the approaching walleye run I have had numerous calls asking if walleye can be targeted through the ice. No -dont do it. The Maumee  has an uneven bottom, strong current,is subject to rapid water level changes and all sorts of other variables that make it very dangerous to go out on while frozen. When that ice melts and the water temperature starts the climb towards the 40 degree plus mark- then we will start the walleye hunt.

In the meantime here at the shop we are prepped and ready to get it on when it starts.

Just a short reminder of some things we have going on this spring ,  I know I’ve been posting these dates since last September but I just want to make sure the word gets out. Mark your calanders.

Sat April 14th-Walleye Tournament – 2 man team event- rain day Sat April 21st

Sat May 12th-White Bass Tournament-Individual event-rain or shine

Sat May 19th-mother son/daughter -learn to fish clinic.

Have fun ,be safe and good luck fishing.