Ohio Steelhead Alley

: Heavy rains have the ability to trash the fishery in a hurry, but the system is usually pretty quick to heal. Once the swollen and muddy conditions subside, the action should pick right up since anglers were reporting this week that there are still strong numbers of fish in the streams. A good guide is a smart investment on your first foray into this phenomenal fishery, since the steelhead game has its own unique set of tricks and techniques.

MELVERN:

 48 degrees, visibility around 6 feet, about 1 foot low. Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: crappie – poor to fair around the docks and in the crack by the heated dock using dark jigs and minnows. Numbers above 10” are increasing, best in early morning. There was increased success this week in the early morning and early afternoon at the outlet pond below the dam using minnows. Smallmouth - fair, along the shoreline and rip rap face of the dam using spoons and shallow crankbaits. Several around the docks being caught on minnows. White bass - fair lake wide on jigs and minnows; all other species – slow or no reports.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/article209242184.html#storylink=cpy

Walleye tips

Walleyes are top-level predators, never far from a food source. Expect walleyes that live in lakes that host pelagic forage fish such as gizzard shad, alewife and emerald shiners to respond differently to their surroundings than ones where yellow perch, minnows and young sunfish supply their primary food source.

Besides food and cover, water clarity also is a variable. Walleyes have a decided sight advantage over prey species. On clear-water lakes, expect them to be most active when light levels are low, such as the twilight periods and at night. And while there is often a nighttime bite on dingy-water lakes — particularly for larger walleyes — in general turbid-water lakes provide better daytime fishing than clear ones.

Early-season strategies consider the many variables just explained. In lakes that feature submerged weeds such as mifoil, pondweed and coontail, it’s likely at least some of the walleye population will be using this cover option. Jigs tipped with ribbon leeches or half a nightcrawler are ideal for working the edges of emerging weedbeds. For extensive weed edges, pulling ’crawler harnesses behind a bottom-bouncer sinker is a good option for covering lots of water. If perch and panfish become a nuisance, switch to an artificial nightcrawler or leech.

white bass

When fishing for white bass, especially from one of the many public piers along Lake Ere, I use a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig. Most often I tie on two jigs, about 12 to 18 inches apart. I will use a Roadrunner type jig at times. I tip the jigs with white or chartreuse twister tails or a white plastic minnow. Put the the smaller twister tail on the front jig and the minnow on the back. This appears to a white bass as if the minnow is after prey, which often triggers white bass to strike either or both. Double headers are not that uncommon on white bass.

Maumee River:

 The water level has dropped since last week’s rains and the fish have spread out along the river’s historical spawning grounds. In recent days, anglers have done well in the Fort Meigs and Orleans Park areas, and at the Jerome Road rapids. The strong winds complicate matters, but the warmer temperatures have many anglers staying in the river for longer stretches. The pros at Netcraft report that the afternoon and evening bite have been the best in recent days, with anglers using No. 2 floating jig heads, three- or four-inch swirl tail grubs, and ½- to one-ounce weights. The brighter colors have been productive, with orange and pink leading the pack. The water temperature pushed to about 45 degrees on Thursday, which should indicate a very active weekend for fishermen.

El Dorado:

 Walleye fair casting floating jerk baits, suspending crankbaits or working jig-n-minnow combos along the dam, rocky points and other spawning areas after dark. White bass slow to fair in shallow water during warmer days casting jig or plastics. Crappie fair to good using jigs or minnows in brush or near timbered creek channels 9-11 feet deep. Catfish fair along windy shorelines using shad sides.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/sports/outdoors/article208093929.html#storylink=cpy

Norfork Lake

Walleye on Norfork Lake have been hitting jerkbaits and live minnows. If you troll a flicker shad in the Udall area and north, you should have good results. Quite a few crappie are being caught from Liner Creek north by people fishing for white bass.
White bass have started to arrive in the river system on both lakes. As usual, the small males are the first to arrive, and as the water temperature continues to rise the females will show. It may take several weeks before white bass fishing is really good as the water is still in the low 50s. Live minnows, sliders, rooster tails and swimming minnows all work on white bass.

El Vado Dam

The streamflows on the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam and below El Vado Dam are still low. The fishing has been fair at both locations. Sometime later this spring the streamflow beneath these Dams will be increased significantly. When this happens, the fishing below Abiquiu Dam will essentially be shut down because heavy flows in this location turn the water too murky to fish. The fishing below El Vado Dam is also more difficult, but holds up well. You can check the streamflow at both locations daily on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website.