Maumee River Update

[trapperjon]

I took the day off work tomorrow to hit the river and it's just my luck the sky's have opened up. sooo i'm gonna save a fewbucks on fuel and hit the dusky in fremont, planning on fishing around hays rd bridge area. (westside) should be there by sunrise, anybody else planning on going ? i'll be wearing all camo.waders/raincoat, say hi would be glad to meet other insain fishermen JON

[West Basin]

Drove from Columbus to Sandusky to Toledo and back on Friday, April 04. All fields and streams were severely flooded from rains. Maumee and Sandusky rivers will be very high and unfishable until probably early next week. Heck of a lot of water out there to drain off...

[West Basin]

I did a paper on this topic back in College. Not law school mind you, Natural Resources. At that time it was a complicated issue, as a lot depended on whether or not the waterway was legally defined as navigable. It's been many years so laws may have changed, but the last time I checked generally speaking in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers where we fish the walleye and white bass runs the river is not considered navigable (I'll have to recheck that). Property lines do matter but again generally the land owners own to the middle of the waterway. Yes, in Ohio you can canoe or use a boat on the rivers and streams as long as you stay on the water and don't set foot or anchor (and yes, even set duck decoys with their weights on the streambed). It doesn't really matter much as a land owner is going to try and run you off even if you have checked and they don't own the land you are standing on. SO, to be safe be aware that if you are walking the bank somewhere you know is not public land you may be trespassing, even if you are in the water. There are even arguments about this around the Lake Erie islands and some shoreline property owners. Best idea is to be courteous and if the situation does come up be cooperative and ask for advice and maybe the land owner will allow you to stay.