Boats aren't needed to catch fish from area waterways

There are not enough weekends on the calendar to cover all of the fishing waters in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, but the avid anglers do their sporting best to try.

And to access many of these fishing holes, a boat is not a necessary piece of equipment.

“We live in an area where the fishing opportunities are many, with a really wide variety of locations and species to fish for,” said Bob Barnhart, owner of Maumee-based tackle supplier Netcraft. “And with most of these fishing options, it’s not necessary to have a boat or make a big investment in gear. There’s great fishing all around us, and it’s open to everyone to enjoy.”

Anglers can wade right into the Maumee River at Orleans Park in Perrysburg. Other areas include Buttonwood Park, Fort Meigs, Weirs Rapids, Farnsworth and Middlegrounds metroparks, Towpath Park, and the Jerome Road rapids area.

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Metroparks Toledo has stocked ponds and lakes at a number of its locations, and a bonus is the safe and easy access, with flat terrain surrounding the water at most sites and some featuring docks. Among the best kid-friendly fishing places are Silver Lake at Side Cut, Mallard and Evergreen lakes at Oak Openings Preserve, and Pearson Lake at Pearson Metropark.

These waters are ideal for fishing with just worms and bobbers to catch bullheads and sunfish. Pearson is also stocked with rainbow trout each April. Wiregrass Lake in Spencer Township and the quarry at Blue Creek in Whitehouse are newer members of the Metroparks fishing club, and both are stocked with fish and easy to access.

“We have high hopes that Howard Marsh, our new Metropark in Curtice, will become a terrific fishery, as Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area next door has become,” said Scott Carpenter from Metroparks Toledo. “The largest of the three marsh units will receive water — and fish — from Lake Erie via Wards Canal. We plan to stock two smaller marsh units with fish, hopefully starting next year.”

Besides its lake, Side Cut offers some exceptional streamside bank fishing on the Maumee River, especially in the spring when the walleye and white bass runs are in progress. Anglers also take advantage of the many public access sites along the river to fish for these species, plus smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, catfish, and crappie.

Orleans Park in Perrysburg, Buttonwood Park, Fort Meigs, Weirs Rapids, Farnsworth and Middlegrounds metroparks, Towpath Park, and the Jerome Road rapids area all offer fishing options for the bank fisherman or the angler with waders.

In the greater Toledo area, the fishing opportunities grow exponentially. Sylvania’s Olander Park lake is another prime bank fishing site which receives annual stockings of rainbow trout.

Public access sites run along the Portage and Sandusky rivers, and the Sandusky options will expand soon as the Ballville Dam near Fremont is slated to come down later this year.

“Besides those, there’s a whole list of upground reservoirs that are open to fishing and provide shoreline options,” said Mike Wilkerson, Fisheries Management Supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s office in Findlay. “These reservoirs are stocked with a broad range of species, including walleye in some, yellow perch, sunfish, and bass in many of them. There are places to fish that are almost right out the back door for most people.”

The reservoirs in Findlay, Fostoria, Defiance, Wauseon, and Delta, as well as the Beaver Creek and Raccoon Creek reservoirs near Clyde, and the lake at Van Buren State Park, Harrison Lake near Fayette, Oxbow Lake near Defiance, and McKarns and Barton lakes near Montpelier are all on the fishing map. Add the ponds at the Resthaven Wildlife Area near Castalia to the list as they offer the opportunity to catch largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish, crappie, and channel catfish, all from the same site.

“And for people who don’t have a boat or access to a boat, Lake Erie is not off-limits because the piers along the lake offer almost year-round fishing for perch and walleye and catfish,” Barnhart said. “It’s not just a fall season either — the fishing off those piers can be outstanding for much of the year.”

Many anglers from the area venture across the state line to take advantage of the fishing in Michigan’s Irish Hills region, where more than 50 lakes are within a 30-mile circle less than an hour’s drive from Toledo.

Walter J. Hayes State Park provides access to both Wamplers Lake and the adjacent Round Lake. There is access to Clark Lake with the county park located there, and Vineyard Lake also has access via its park, while the Lake Hudson State Recreation Area near Clayton offers muskie, walleye, bass, crappie, and channel catfish.

In Monroe County, there are pier and platform fishing opportunities along Lake Erie at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, Sterling State Park, Plum Creek, Luna Pier, and Bolles Harbor.

Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.