IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Indiana => Ice Fishing Indiana => Topic started by: crappieslayer37 on Feb 15, 2018, 06:22 PM
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Hope to maybe meet up with a few of ya this year. Bout a month it will start to get serious.
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Been over there the last couple of years. Got my map from the tackle shop on my desk, my stuff is ready to go.
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Please keep me in the loop... have heard about it for years... and can never get it timed out right... always either a week early or too late
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Sounds like a good plan. It's in my blood I can't help but go. I think I only made it once last year but got a couple. Few years back I had over 100 lbs. That's a lot of jacks! I'm glad you don't see those big stringers of sows being drug around there like you did in the 80's.
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A couple from last year
(https://s18.postimg.cc/9zzjbxjfp/IMG_20170413_140951988.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9zzjbxjfp/)
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Haven't been over there in years. Is it still combat fishing? ;D
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I need to try this year. I get sucked into steelhead and never make it. I will bring some big stinky cigars Jim and it should keep people at least 6 feet away
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Haven't been over there in years. Is it still combat fishing? ;D
Absolutely !!
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I try to never go on the weekend. Your still going to have guys next to you. Not too much different than ice fishing though, well most of the time. Haven't seen any fights in a while. Always someone that doesn't understand the flow of the casting or thinks he can fish straight downstream in front of 20 guys. Had a lady try to fish the slack water behind me once, that didn't turn out well!
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Absolutely !!
Never forget a trip up to Tippy Dam one year for combat fishing. On the opposite side of the river people were fishing so close they could have held hands. Anyway this guy gets a salmon on a light rod and is playing it and playing it and playing it. Guys are patiently waiting with their lines realed in, but one really big guy pulls out a pocket knife and says, "I'm tired of this sheet" and cuts his line. ;D I heard somebody got stabbed up there one year.
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I try to never go on the weekend. Your still going to have guys next to you. Not too much different than ice fishing though, well most of the time. Haven't seen any fights in a while. Always someone that doesn't understand the flow of the casting or thinks he can fish straight downstream in front of 20 guys. Had a lady try to fish the slack water behind me once, that didn't turn out well!
I've had guys tell me the way to go is a boat.
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I've had guys tell me that too. Have friends who've done it. I've been there when guys have drown doing it. Some of that boat fishing is crazier than the wading!
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My brother and I used to go a bunch back in the late 70's early 80's and it was some of the best walleye fishing I have ever seen! But the CO's got to be such crooks (I know hard to believe) that we quit going over. Really sad, kangaroo court up town, they make a bundle in fines. Taxi1 was the recipient of a number of those fish(skins) when he was first starting his business. Chad I'd stick with the Steelhead less hassle usually. Hex
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I like to go and usually make a couple of trips a year. Would love to meet up with some of you guys over there sometime.
A boat in the river just looks like a hassle. Especially when theres lots of boats out there.
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My guess is they have tamed down some of the kangaroo court antics. I havent heard too many bad stories about that lately. Personally i have never seen anyone get a ticket.
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I don't have a boat, so I have to combat fish. But through the week if you avoid Buttonwood its not all that crowded. I enjoy getting out and seeing different stuff. All in all its a beautiful river.
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Another big one!
(https://s18.postimg.cc/mig4svyj9/IMG_20140415_150732788_HDR.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/mig4svyj9/)
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I don't have a boat, so I have to combat fish. But through the week if you avoid Buttonwood its not all that crowded. I enjoy getting out and seeing different stuff. All in all its a beautiful river. Lots of snags and leftover Jigheads though.
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I was going to try the oakdale or norway dam soon as ice out for the first time, i did not know it was like maumee that sucks. Ive never done elbow to elbow doesnt sound like my cup of coffee! Then he says boat is the way to go so i say to myself ok ill bring my boat then next post says boat fishing can be crazier than wading! Lol guess im not bringing the boat. I will scout it out from shore first maybe early and on a monday might not be so bad. Does anybody know anything about the dams on the kankakee momence specifically, would be closest or are you gents from eastern indiana? I know im a noob to the site but everybody gotta start somewhere! Thanks guys
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Can't help you, only familiar with the Maumee. Boat may be fine as long as you have a dependable one and know what you're doing with it on a river. It's nothing like fishing on a lake, things can go bad quick.
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Hey Roeboat I think you are targeting the wrong species there! LOL Hex
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I've had guys tell me that too. Have friends who've done it. I've been there when guys have drown doing it. Some of that boat fishing is crazier than the wading!
you are right about the boat being dangerous. I was fishing white street last year and a guy had to dump his motor in the river because his anchor got wrapped up. I know all the spots to fish at different water levels. I had a string of 8 limits in a row until we got really high water last year and the string got broke. Still ended with 59 so that was my best year yet. This year is forecasted to be a banner year with the 2014 year class now over the 15 inch minimum. Let me know if anyone might want to meet up.
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I went a couple of years ago for the first time and took my boat with a 10 horse motor. We launched at Schroeders camp ground. Don't have to go far to fish there. The boats just get in a line and fish. I was kind of scared how everyone was saying it's dangerous but I think a lot of that depends on water lever and we went when it was right around normal I believe. We had no problem. I couldn't believe how small a few of the boats I saw were. We only caught a few fish but others around us were catching more. So many break offs and having to tie back up. I know there are big fish there but I haven't had a strong desire to go back. Went to Barkely last spring crappie fishing and had a much better time.
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I havent been in a couple years but boat during the week is the best time, you want a dependable boat for sure but maybe as important is knowing how to anchor, when rivers up and roaringyou can sink a boat in seconds if you just chuck anchors out
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I havent been in a couple years but boat during the week is the best time, you want a dependable boat for sure but maybe as important is knowing how to anchor, when rivers up and roaringyou can sink a boat in seconds if you just chuck anchors out
For sure. I have seen small boats anchored below damn on st joe for steelhead. It gets rip roaring. No way I would try with my small boat.
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Years ago we saw a number of boats get out of control on that river especially when she gets high water levels! It's quite a spectacle but quite dangerous also! Hex
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Ive been going for years. Made 8 trips last year. I haven't seen the fighting in along time but I also go during the week and I don't go into the big crowd. It like any fishing, you don't have to be in the middle of the mess to catch fish. I have actually watched an area, then went in and fished just up or down stream from the group and start catching faster than the "hot spot" does. Usually someone will start to move in but by the time the crowd moves in I either have a limit or am ready to regroup and try another spot. I have also fished in a boat around ft miegs (?). Its not that bad, a little common sense goes a long way. I'll be back at it couple days a week during the run this year same as past... as for ICE.... I'm done. Today will be clean up and stow day.
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You guys can have my spot on the river. I’ll stick with sharing the spring river bank with Black bear and deer in Da UP eh
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It's not for everyone that's for sure, but it's also a unique experience. I toyed with taking my boat over a few years ago but decided not to. The Maumee is a big river that is always in a hurry. It eats lower units for breakfast. The make up of the bottom, rock, cobble and boulders make anchoring a challenge. The current is for real with little slack water. One rogue wave and life could get real interesting.
I usually fish from the bank and in all the years I've gone I only had one questionable experience. I was chatting with the guy parked next to me at Buttonwood while putting on my waders. He remarked about my Indiana license plate. As fate would have it I was fishing a couple of guys down from him and as luck would have it, I had picked a spot with a good seam and almost immediately caught 2 keepers back to back. "D**N
Hoosiers" was all that he said. You will see enforcement there in numbers and they monitor both boat and bank activity. One year I couldn't shake
the feeling that I was being watched. I turned around and their were two masterfully hidden COs in ghillie suits watching boats with a spotting scope not 15 feet behind me.
On the other hand... Last year at Jerome rapids, in my rush to fish, I left the back of Jeep wide open right by the side of the main road. I came back
3 hours later and nothing had been touched. I'm not so sure parking next to my home river would have had similar results
For those that don't know, the Maumee Tackle website is superb as is their store and Jann's Netcraft is just a few blocks away.
fish on,
rivereddy
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Back in the day we would get a group of guys in line and not let anyone in between. Then we could drift jigs all day long with few tangles but let one guy in that doesn't time his casts and it could get ugly quick! Does anyone know if the old black guy with the van, by the island still sells jigs and tails? I think his name was Charlie, he was a great guy with the best jigs and tails and prices too! Hex
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Yes, he is still there. I think his name is Clarence, not 100% sure on that. Sure is a fantastic guy to talk with, I always try to buy a little something from him when I go by.
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Yep its Clarence ;D
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My bad his name was Clarence! Man he's been there forever cause I used to call him back in the late 70's to get the report on river levels and run progress. Super nice guy! Glad to hear he's still going! Hex
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My brother and I used to go a bunch back in the late 70's early 80's and it was some of the best walleye fishing I have ever seen! But the CO's got to be such crooks (I know hard to believe) that we quit going over. Really sad, kangaroo court up town, they make a bundle in fines. Taxi1 was the recipient of a number of those fish(skins) when he was first starting his business. Chad I'd stick with the Steelhead less hassle usually. Hex
Yeah I know one of those CO's that runs a fish farm business in Ohio that is a real jerk. He was't allowed to run a business as a C.O. so he put the business in his wife's name. Back then they would just come down to the bank and say, "you and you and you were snagging. You can contest it but we'll take your gear and your vehicle." Hopefully that really is over with.
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How many of you know there used to be and probably still is a walleye run below the Sylvan Lake Noble County dam? I mounted a 12 pound walleye for a guy fishing there years ago. Apparently some of the Sylvan Lake stocked walleye ended up down stream. Have mounted walleye up to 8 pounds from the lakes downstream that probably originally went over the spill way.
It must still be happening as I mounted a decent walleye for a guy here in Ligonier that was fishing there a couple of springs ago.
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Ive caught many walleyes at the mouth of where the dam spills out into the main body of water. Small xraps in clown color really smoked them. ;D
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Last spring it looked like a little maumee down there! Combat fishing at its worst. Parking lot was full alot of times and CO's did show some last year. Hex
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Last spring it looked like a little maumee down there! Combat fishing at its worst. Parking lot was full alot of times and CO's did show some last year. Hex
yea i believe i was checked every year that i hit that place up when i lived over that way. Now that is just as far of a drive for me as maumee is.
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Anyone pour their own floaters? I was thinking about trying it. I kinda hate to cut into Clarence's retirement plan at the same time though. He took this picture for me, I guess he got the important stuff in the frame!!!
(https://s18.postimg.cc/8hmz9g7yd/IMG_20140415_152458462.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8hmz9g7yd/)
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Lol remember that pic. You can get the mold, 1000 1/0 hooks, and poly-styrene for about 150. Paints will dip into the pocket deeper. Then the clearcoat option. Good video on you tube on "making your own floating jigs" ;)
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anyone putting a boat in the maumee better watch the water level. she can rise a lot over night. and when it gets even few feet higher than norm it gets dangerous! you will feel that uneasy feeling of being in danger when your on that river when she is high. NEVER EVER ANCHOR THE BACK OF THE BOAT!
i havent done it in 30+years because of all the drunk hooks flyin around. always wanted some of those swim goggles. ;D maybe even a kevlar hoodie.
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And from what I've seen better take a few extra props
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I've seen guys motor right through those big rocks at Blue Grass, crazy. Good place to loose a lower unit and not just a prop!
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They must be fishing mouth in boats with no ice
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never been, but i would guess locals probably run jet pumps if it's that bad.
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Seen a few jets but not as many as you would think. Lots of low dollar stuff. Seen some big outboards flying through there like they are in a race. Must know the river well. Scares me just watching it.
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To heck with all that mess. I live on the Wabash River and do my walleye fishing in the heat of summer. I've learned to target key areas ( sorry, not giving my secrets away) and have caught some upwards of 6 1/2 lbs. I know there are bigger ones in there because last year a couple guys I know caught 7,8, and a 10 lb. Most of the time I'm catching them in the 18 to 22 inch range but it's not uncommon to catch bigger ones. I've been throwing the 4 and 5 pounders back, those are females. Some have called me nuts, but they're my fish to do as I please. And I don't advertise my fishing till later when there aren't any fish in those key areas. I have a couple of spots upriver from me that I hope will produce with some night fishing. People talk how polluted the rivers are here, they aren't any more polluted than the rivers in Ohio. And you can thank the coal burning power plants for that pollution. But if you want to fight the big crowds, be my guest. I'll just bide my time and catch the fish here close to home and use the knowledge that took me years of fishing on the river to figure out. Now if I could just figure out how to harvest a couple hundred thousand Asian carp all would be good. And that's a conservative number.
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It can be a mess over there for sure but it's just something I have to do every year, it's in my blood! The first time I crossed to bluegrass my uncle carried me. Caught my limit on a zebco 33. It's like being in the deer woods every fall, I'm going to be there.
There's nothing like the knowledge you've gained over the years Cool Cat, congrats and I hope you get some big ones this spring. Some great spots on the local rivers but it's just not the same as Maumee.
Look forward to seeing Clarence every spring and making that wade to bluegrass. Don't even mind the lost tackle or guys snagging my line anymore. Look forward to picking up hand fulls of fishing line and spent jigs. I have a couple big containers I put that junk in. Like driving by the concrete pig on old 24 right before you get to bluegrass to see how they how they have him dressed up!
Just gotta go to Maumee in the spring, sure as the tulips come up!
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cool cat
you dont have to give up your spots. these are small rivers and all rivers fish the same. just posting your pet river name is enough to cause you grief. especially posting on a thread about another river where there is a well known run and thousands of people trying to exploit it. unless you own a bait shop(or other fishing industry) there would be no benefit for you to even talk about it. it doesnt take you posting your favorite bend hole, creek mouth, or current break, they will find it. youll go to your spots and find people already there. then if they catch fish there(your releases), there will be more people there next weekend............... ........ and the "wabash walleye fest" is born. you want all that crap in your back yard?
understood about the tradition roeboat. used to hit the salmon runs every fall with family when there were fish. i think the maumee is way worse than the tippy dam drunkfest though. lol
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I've seen guys motor right through those big rocks at Blue Grass, crazy. Good place to loose a lower unit and not just a prop!
Watched a guy last year in a big Lund with a 200 on it tear the crap out of his prop and lower unit. I was putting along in my boat and he flew by me going at least 30+. Thought to myself good luck stupid as he flew by, guess stupid won.
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To heck with all that mess. I live on the Wabash River and do my walleye fishing in the heat of summer. I've learned to target key areas ( sorry, not giving my secrets away) and have caught some upwards of 6 1/2 lbs. I know there are bigger ones in there because last year a couple guys I know caught 7,8, and a 10 lb. Most of the time I'm catching them in the 18 to 22 inch range but it's not uncommon to catch bigger ones. I've been throwing the 4 and 5 pounders back, those are females. Some have called me nuts, but they're my fish to do as I please. And I don't advertise my fishing till later when there aren't any fish in those key areas. I have a couple of spots upriver from me that I hope will produce with some night fishing. People talk how polluted the rivers are here, they aren't any more polluted than the rivers in Ohio. And you can thank the coal burning power plants for that pollution. But if you want to fight the big crowds, be my guest. I'll just bide my time and catch the fish here close to home and use the knowledge that took me years of fishing on the river to figure out. Now if I could just figure out how to harvest a couple hundred thousand Asian carp all would be good. And that's a conservative number.
Ever get a sauger in the river?
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I've seen saugeye but no sauger that I'm aware of. Not positive I would notice the difference every time.
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I've seen saugeye but no sauger that I'm aware of. Not positive I would notice the difference every time.
Just wondered. They are very different than a walleye.
(https://i.imgur.com/P1BGuknl.jpg)
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I think the only place I've ever caught one was on a resevioir they were stocked in down in southern IN. I read online that they are in Indian lake, but I think I've only caught saugeye there also.
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I think Indian lake in Ohio has them
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I've not caught sauger in Indian lake but that doesn't mean they aren't in there. Plenty of big saugeye though for sure. As soon as it clears some the big girls will start eating. Catching them on stick baits in low light conditions or at night is a blast.
Even being from Ohio I've only fished the Maumee a hand full of times. I'm not a big fan of combat fishing and it's tough for me to get up there mid week from Columbus.
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Lots of sauger in the Wabash. As the summer goes on I catch way more sauger than walleye. Last year I caught 94 walleye and 81 sauger from the Wabash. Seems when the Sauger show up when the Walleye are leaving areas I fish. Peru upstream to the dams.
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Hijackers lol :P
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i caught a 22",sauger/saugeye out of the maumee 20 years ago. i have a picture somewhere of it. i wasnt schooled on them so i cant say which it was. i new it wasnt a walleye but thats it. wasnt fishing for them either. she hit a live 4" gill on bottom, next to shore, in high water. i set the hook thinking it was the targeted fish, and it few past me and landed in the weeds behind me. lol i actually said, out loud, holy sh__ your a walleye! ;D looking at it better i realized it wasnt an eye but one of its cousins. if i can find the pic ill post it for an ID.
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I just don't get the Maumee thing...
simply right here in our back yards almost every dam on lots of rivers hold eyes. I fish at night and usually alone....
a limit is a limit. find a dam and fish it. sylvan, Huntington, salamonie, every damn along the st joe from mottville to berrien springs. there are quality fish to be had. most is just casting and drifting ...but I love just being alone in the dark. and the quality is there also. I have a 13 on the wall from Berrien springs. the fish start showing up in late Jan and are at these places now. to each their own but there are so many other places closer that just seem more enjoyable
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I just don't get the Maumee thing...
simply right here in our back yards almost every dam on lots of rivers hold eyes. I fish at night and usually alone....
a limit is a limit. find a dam and fish it. sylvan, Huntington, salamonie, every damn along the st joe from mottville to berrien springs. there are quality fish to be had. most is just casting and drifting ...but I love just being alone in the dark. and the quality is there also. I have a 13 on the wall from Berrien springs. the fish start showing up in late Jan and are at these places now. to each their own but there are so many other places closer that just seem more enjoyable
to each their own dog.....
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No serious fisherman is going to deny the presence of saugeye and walleye in our local waters. I have large ones, over 8 lbs, within 5 minutes of my house in Fort Wayne.
That being said it's nothing like being at Maumee, like it or not. The amount of large fish within your cast on a good run day will add up to all the fish you could catch in a season in the local holes. 4 fish are 4 fish but there's nothing like fishing the Maumee.
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The maumee and sandusky rivers BLOW our walleye fisheries away. Hands-down!!
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NEVER SAID IT WAS LIKE MAUMEE...or even close,
just reminding the non combat crowd that the options are around, close to home. plus we are 6 fish here..
and I left out FT wayne on purpose... it doesn't count if on the DO NOT EAT LIST lol.
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NEVER SAID IT WAS LIKE MAUMEE...or even close,
just reminding the non combat crowd that the options are around, close to home. plus we are 6 fish here..
and I left out FT wayne on purpose... it doesn't count if on the DO NOT EAT LIST lol.
Hey the Ft Wayne rivers are awesome........ask Mayor Henry ::)
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Yeah, I still remember when they discovered a few years back that one of the largest contribution of waste in the river was coming from the resident waterfowl population.
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yes, we need some major goose reductions around here. lol
whats really funny is how people view the fishing. they wont eat fish from the river, but they will feed those same toxic tens to their children from the big lake. :-\ seems funny how most, if not all, the rivers feeding erie have consumption advisories on them, yet the lake is magically safe to most? im betting there has been some down playing by government agencies about those big erie eyes. one Canadian study shows mercury, in fish, could actually be is on the rise.
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Catch what you can where you can and fry em hard. If you start having trouble when your 80 find a pill that works. Too much worry about nothing. Yea there is good fishing around ft wayne just shake the tampons of your hook and keep casting. Don't forget your phone for a photo.
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??? You want a photo of the tampon before I shake it off??!
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Only if its a trophy.
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there is no place like the maumee
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Hey the Ft Wayne rivers are awesome........ask Mayor Henry ::)
Isn't that the mayor that asked, "What does Chicago have that we don't have" when Harvester went to Chicago?
:roflmao: