Ohio Wildlife Council Passes Ohio River Fishing Regulations

Courtesy ODNR - At the April 6 meeting of the Ohio Wildlife Council, rules to unify several fishing regulations along the entire Ohio River were passed according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

The Ohio River Fisheries Management Team, which consists of the fishery resource managers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, is working towards greater uniformity in regulations between the eastern and western units of the Ohio River, and throughout the river among all border states. This will mean that Ohio River anglers will encounter the same fishing regulations at any place on the Ohio River.

Regulations passed in the Eastern Unit include implementing a 12-inch minimum length limit for black bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass); changing striped, hybrid striped and white bass from “no daily limit” (with no more than four over 15 inches) to a daily limit of 30 (with no more than four over 15 inches); and removing yellow bass from this regulation. It was also approved to implement a black and white crappie daily limit of 30 fish, and remove the Northern pike daily limit and minimum length limit.

In the Western Unit, regulations approved were to change the 12-inch minimum length limit for largemouth and smallmouth bass to include all black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass). Also, this approved regulation removed yellow bass from the striped, hybrid striped, and white bass combination for regulations.

A 9-inch minimum size limit on crappie with a 30-fish daily bag limit was approved for Metzger Reservoir in Allen County and the Mahoning River between Berlin Lake and Lake Milton in Mahoning and Portage counties and the Mahoning River from the dam at Lake Milton to West Mahoning/Trumbull County Line Rd.

This approved regulation will add these two areas to the already 44 existing waterways with the same regulations.

The final approved proposal is for a 10-horsepower limit on Wayne R. Carr Lake in Paulding County . The new horsepower limit on Wayne R. Carr Lake will take effect July 1, 2011.

Visit the ODNR Web site at ohiodnr.com.