Maumee River Report- March 1st , 2019

HERE WE GO!

Spring spawning rules go into effect today.

Sunrise/First Cast-  7:10 am

Sunset / Last Cast- 6:24 pm

This winter has been kinda normal, like I’ve said before we were spoiled by a few early springs and this year with February and early march temps still in the 20-30s has a lot of us eager and ready to go.  the River has to warm up just a bit fur us to start seeing a few walleye start to trickle in.

No fish  caught yet, but  today is sunny and no wind so I’m thinking bout heading out to do some gear testing–ya never know.

Today begins the daily reports. What will be included in each report is water temp, water level,barometric pressure and water clarity. Also I will suggest  weight based on water level, the colors that have been working well and where the hot spots were the previous day. Make sure to bring in your catch so we can take your picture and put you on our web-page to make you famous.

Fish cleaning services will be available -we will start cleaning as soon ans we we start seeing a few limits.

Water Level Explained; We use the gauge under the 475 bridge as our main source for water level information.  Feet above sea level is how it is measured- 582 ft above sea level is considered normal for the Maumee – So today being at 583 the level is running just about a foot over normal. This also the gauge used by the Metroparks to determine if wading to Bluegrass island is permitted.

As many of you know we experienced some serious flooding a few weeks back that left ALOT of ice along the banks of the river. It also wiped out a portion of River rd near Jerome rd rapids area.  The Toledo Metroparks personnel have been diligently working to get the areas cleared but the ice quantities and floes left behind were enormous, so its day to dayas to which access areas will be open . I also spoke to Heather from Schroders campground(they got completly covered with ice) and she said they are still planning on opening this year although it will be delayed , need some warm weather to melt some ice and they are going to get some heavy equipment in to shove some out of the way.

Buttonwood- Closed right now -covered with ice.

Oreleans Park- Closed right now covered in ice.

Davis Overloook – Closed right now covered in ice.

White street- Parking lot open but banks covered in ice.

Bluegrass island -Closed right now covered in ice.

Jerome rd rapids – Road wiped out- may have to hike there once the ice clears off the banks.

Sidecut Metro Park- Partially open–they are repairing trails and moving ice.

Ft. Meigs – Not Sure yet.

Weights: We are stocked up on weights for the season.

1/4,  3/8, 1/2,  5/8, 3/4 oz –$0.40 each

1 oz–$0.50 each

1-1/2 oz– $0.75 each

2 oz– $0.99 each

COLORS:

A general rule of thumb is that when you head out on a darker cloudy day a good place to start with your lures is with darker colors. The walleye see thing differently than us so the darker colors seem to stick out better when its cloudy out.

Then the rule of thumb for bright days is to start is with brighter colors.. I like to switch up colors after a dozen or casts just to see if I can find that one that is sparking their interest.

We have plenty of Waxworms and minnows for those die hard ice fishermen that are still trying to get out- some ice gear left too. Sorry guys but I’m rooting warm weather now.

Have fun, be safe and good luck fishing.