Annual free fishing event is a catch

For families that love the outdoors, Father's Day weekend could be the perfect occasion to introduce kids to the sport of fishing.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources holds its annual free fishing weekend on Saturday and Sunday. It's the only weekend of the year when Ohio residents 16 and older can fish in public waters without having to purchase a license.

"It gives them an opportunity to try without costing them anything," said Debra Walters, District 5 supervisor for fish management for the ODNR.

Recent heat wave aside, Grand Lake's anglers are enjoying robust fishing this year. Black crappie, for which the lake is best known, are flourishing both in abundance and size, with white crappie and largemouth bass present in smaller numbers.

Beginners might consider going after carp, catfish and sunfish, all of which are abundant. Sunfish in particular are a good species for kids to target.

"If fishing is slow, target sunfish, because you can usually always catch sunfish," Walters said.

For children who haven't had much fishing experience, sunfish are a particularly good choice, since they are smaller, which allows younger children to reel them in more easily. Walters recommended wax worms and tiny jigs to target Grand Lake's sunfish, which in ODNR netting surveys have been found as large as seven or eight inches.

Catfish can grow much larger, but are also relatively easy to catch as the bottom-feeders are attracted to a variety of human foods.

"When I was younger, we used to make Wheaties balls and stuff like that, and then I've gone to the opposite extreme and used shrimp," Walters said. "But then, I'd rather eat the shrimp."

Of the three varieties of catfish in Grand Lake, Walters said bullheads and channel catfish are scavengers inclined to such assortments of foods, stink baits and powerbaits, as well as ordinary lures. Flatheads, for their part, are more tempted by live bait.

Carp, also bottom-feeders, will feast on the same dough balls and food items as catfish, and Walters recommends strawberry Jello dough balls as a fun and effective option. While carp are generally not considered a good fish to eat, they grow large quickly and fight well once they're on the hook.

"To catch something that's sizable, that's a fun one," Walters said. "You could concentrate the kids on trying to catch bluegill, but then set a pole out, either for catfish or carp, and let Dad control that a little bit until he hooks something, then let the kids try to bring it in."

Grand Lake boasts a slew of fishable shoreline spots, which can be located on maps on the ODNR website or available in the Grand Lake-St. Marys Visitors Office near the park entrance.

In addition, lake dredging has resulted in less stumps and underwater structures which tend to attract fish. In response, ODNR officials and park managers have installed stake beds so fisherman can target an area likely to contain ample fish. Some of those are accessible from shore, including one in the hot water hole near the Bryson Park District in Celina. All of them can be viewed on ODNR's online interactive map.

Black crappie, often prized as better eating, are also drawn to these areas. The ODNR surveys have turned up black crappie reaching 10 inches in their first two years. Crappies must be at least 9 inches to keep. There is also a 30-fish bag limit.

"Ten inches in two years, that's really good," Walters said. "We've had good new-year classes of fish, no missing classes. They hold that Crappie USA tournament every April, and I think sizes have gone down a little bit, but that could just be that one weekend. We've seen some nice fish out there on our surveys."

Temperatures are expected to settle into the 70s this weekend. Since water cools down more slowly, the week's heat may still make the fish more sluggish and less likely to bite. But while the conditions might not seem ideal, Walters emphasized that there really is no such thing as an optimal water temperature for fishing.

"The sudden high temperatures we've had are probably going to slow down the success rates a little bit, but that's a hard one to predict," Walters said. "It takes multiple cool nights to bring water temperatures down, especially in a lake as shallow as Grand Lake-St. Marys is."

After the free fishing weekend, licenses range from $10 a year for seniors in Ohio to $25 a year for those between 16-65. Those younger than 16 can fish for free year-round.

"For most people who love fishing, it's an opportunity to get outside, get away from the doldrums of day-to-day life, and relax," Walters said. "Catching fish is a bonus."