COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lake Erie anglers can expect the 2023 fishing season to provide more world-class fishing and lasting memories, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

After another year of strong walleye hatches, Lake Erie maintains its title as the Walleye Capital of the World. Additionally, a stable yellow perch population in Lake Erie’s west zone will provide good fishing in 2023, while low catch rates are expected to continue in the central and east zones.

“Lake Erie is known worldwide as a top fishing destination,” said Travis Hartman, Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Division of Wildlife. “With many species to pursue, Lake Erie is again a high-performing destination thanks to science-based management which guides regulations to ensure long-term angling opportunities.”

Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch fisheries are managed through an interagency quota system. Each jurisdiction regulates its catches to comply with annually determined safe harvest levels that ensure sustainability. The most recent quotas were announced on Thursday, March 30. Read more

What does that new regulation mean? How are walleye populations thriving? What’s the catch limit on my favorite stream?

If you’re into Michigan fishing, sometimes you just want to talk with someone in the know! Good news: you still have the chance to join in one of several upcoming “Conversations & Coffee” virtual meetings:

• March 29, 6:30-8 p.m., Lake Superior Management Unit.
• April 4, 6-7 p.m., Lake Huron Management Unit.
• April 4, 7-8 p.m., Lake Erie Management Unit.
• April 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit.

The meetings are a great opportunity to talk with DNR fisheries staff about local and statewide fisheries management activities, meet with managers and biologists, ask specific questions, and maybe even get some insider fishing tips. Read more

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), The Mosaic Company and Hardee County are working on a new freshwater fishing destination in central Florida. The Florida Fishing Trail will feature a series of freshwater lakes and is estimated to be complete in Spring 2024.

Anglers can cast a line along the shore of the nine freshwater lakes or from one of the planned fishing piers. There will also be ramps to launch boats and kayaks. Sport fish including largemouth bass, crappie (specks) bream, and catfish are swimming throughout the waterbodies, including these trophy-sized bass documented by FWC biologists during a recent sampling trip.

The project partners held a groundbreaking event on March 24 to celebrate this exciting new collaborative project where representatives from each organization highlighted their support.

“The Florida Fishing Trail will be a premier freshwater fishing destination in the region and will offer a variety of unique angling opportunities in one place,” said FWC Commissioner Gary Lester. “This exciting project is bringing new fishing opportunities to the Sunshine State and is made possible by our fisheries management staff and dedicated partners at Mosaic and Hardee County.”

“The lakes that make up this phase of the trail provide an excellent example of the quality fish habitat found on reclaimed land,” said Russell Schweiss, Mosaic’s Vice President of Land and Resource Strategies. “This partnership will drive public utilization of these reclaimed lands and will become a growing economic driver for Hardee County as the trail continues to grow in future phases.?We look forward to seeing the benefits this trail will bring the region in the years to come.” Read more

Muskegon River anglers should be on the lookout this spring for Michigan Department of Natural Resources personnel collecting walleye eggs below Croton Dam, which is in Newaygo County.

Electrofishing boat crews will collect walleye starting as early as the week of March 27 and concluding by April 14. The date these collections begin will depend on water temperatures, the presence of ripe fish and other factors. Most work likely will be completed from the last week of March through the first week of April. Five days of electrofishing are planned, with four of those being egg-take days.

“This adult population consists of mostly stocked fish,” said Ed Pearce, DNR fisheries technician supervisor who coordinates the egg take. “The Muskegon River has the largest run of walleye in the Lake Michigan watershed south of Green Bay.”

Electrofish sampling usually begins at Croton Dam each day at about 8:30 a.m. and proceeds downstream to the Pine Street access site. If more eggs are needed, additional collections may occur downstream to the Thornapple Street access site.

Anglers who wish to avoid the walleye collection activities should fish downstream of the Pine Street access site. The DNR asks everyone to use caution when fishing near the electrofishing boats, and anyone wading will be asked to exit the water when a boat approaches and during electrofishing work. Read more

It used to be that we went looking for sargassum.

Find a weedline of this gold-brown floating stuff and you find mahi, sailfish, wahoo and maybe even marlin. The gamefish hung on the weeds, which formed in the current breaks, because it was full of baitfish.

Now, sargassum is coming looking for us.

A massive blob of sargassum thousands of miles long is headed to Florida, the Caribbean and eventually the Gulf of Mexico, scientists say.

While a little sargassum is great for fish and fishermen, a whole bunch of it is bad for not only anglers but for the massive tourist trade generated by beaches from the Caribbean to Florida and Alabama. Read more

KENNESAW, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Yamaha Rightwaters™ continues its support of Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by powering six jon boats with Yamaha F6 outboards in Stephen C. Foster State Park. The outboards give visitors the opportunity to fish, birdwatch and explore the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest blackwater swamp in the U.S.

Yamaha Rightwaters™ supports the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by powering six jon boats with Yamaha F6 outboards in Stephen C. Foster State Park. The outboards give visitors the opportunity to fish, birdwatch and explore the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest blackwater swamp in the U.S. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Stephen C. Foster State Park allows visitors to experience the Okefenokee Swamp not just by land, but also by boat,” said Jeff Cown, DNR Director of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites Division. “From our dock and boat ramp on Jones Island, boaters can explore more than 15 miles of day-use water trails. Thanks to these Yamaha Rightwaters outboard donations, more visitors now have access to the beautiful Okefenokee wilderness.” Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 10.15-pound smallmouth bass caught in the Ontario, Canada waters of Lake Erie in November 2022 was a 16-year-old female, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The record fish is the only known 10-pound smallmouth bass caught in a Great Lakes state or province.

On November 3, 2022, Gregg Gallagher of Fremont, Ohio, caught the 10.15-pound smallmouth bass while fishing in Ontario provincial waters of Lake Erie. That fish was larger than the previous Ontario record, a 9.84-pound bass caught in 1984, and larger than Ohio’s current smallmouth bass record, a 9.5-pound fish. The new Ontario provincial record was weighed soon after the catch on a certified scale in Port Clinton. Read more