Categories: River Report

Maumee River and area conditions- January 19, 2019

2018 OHIO FISHING LICENSES EXPIRE FEBRUARY 28 , 2019. THE DNR USUALLY OFFERS THE NEXT YEAR LICENSE A FEW DAYS BEFORE EXPIRATION.Â THIS YEAR ONE OF THE MANY CHANGES HAPPENING IS THAT WHENEVER YOU PURCHASE YOUR 2019 LICENSE IT WILL BE GOOD FOR 365 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE.Â I WILL DEDICATE AN ENTIRE POST TO LICENSE CHANGES ONCE WE GET CLOSER TO MARCH 1ST, 2019

Maumee River

Not frozen- just windy and blowing snow.Â Most likely wont freeze over this year , and if it does it wont take long for it to break up.

Lake Erie

We have have had some reports of ice fishermen heading out to some local ponds and lakes, saying that they have 2-3 in of ice..sketch ice to me . Just exercise extremeÂ caution anytime heading out on the ice.Â Take a spud bar and double -triple check the ice as you progress. Or better yet if your not sure then dont go out on it. – next week will be better.

I am stocked up right now on wax worms and im going to try and get some spikes/ maggots by mid week.

Here is an interestingÂ article from the Cleveland news a few days ago.Â

ByÂ Chris AndersonÂ |Â January 14, 2019 at 4:14 PM EST -Â

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) – With colder air temperatures recently moving over Northeast Ohioâ€™s coastline, Lake Erieâ€™s water temperature is finally at a point where it can now start to freeze.

According to the Cleveland Water Department, theÂ surface water begins to cool and freezeÂ once the lakeâ€™s bottom waters reach 39.2 degrees and the air temperature remains cooler than the water.

Will Lake Erie freeze? According to the city of Cleveland water blog 39.2 degrees is the “magic number that signals the lake’s surface can start to freeze.” (Michael Dakota)

TheÂ average ice coverÂ for Lake Erie for January 10 is 33 percent, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

This year is anything but normal with several days reaching temperatures in the 50s.

Weâ€™ve even had thunderstorms and tornadoes touch down in January 2019.

If the bitter cold snap happens like it is supposed to then we will probably get some ice, especially across the western basin where the water is shallow. We need a good sustained cold, however, for it to totally freeze over. Itâ€™s important to note that the lake effect season never really completely stops. There will usually be breaks in the ice to keep it going. When we have strong winds that will break up the ice. The lake effect obviously is reduced when you have ice cover.

First Alert Meteorologist Jeff Tanchak

As of now, there is no significant freezing in Lake Erie, but that will likely change with more freezing temperatures this coming week.