Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Somewhere now in Ohio a fisherman casting a spinnerbait is lifting a big bass over the gunwale of his bass boat, and somewhere else a kid fishing with a bobber and worm is hauling a much bigger bass out of her neighbor's pond, proof that there is justice on this Earth. Ohio's already excellent bass fishing just seems to get better every year.

One of the major breaks in Ohio bass fishing began in 1983 when the first size limits were imposed. For size limits to be effective, biologists looked for lakes that had high bass harvest rates and good growth.

"We've increased the number of age groups out there to about six years. In Ohio that's about 18 inches. After that they just start dying of natural causes," said District One fish biologist Tom Hall.

Size limits are applied to different lakes based on their potential. The best lakes have 18-inch size limits. Various other size limits apply to other lakes, some 15 inches, some 12 inches, some slot limits, and some no have size limit. Larger size limits are good indications of fishing quality or bass growth potential.

"The 18-inch limit lakes have exceptionally fast growth," Hall said.

The statewide bass project is now concluded, and a new phase of bass study is under way.

"We're going to different lakes and sampling their largemouth bass populations."

In this study, lakes are sampled using the same sampling methods so that lakes can be compared on a statewide basis. That process began during spring of 2003. Biologists have already looked at several lakes, but it is too early for a conclusion.

Here's a district-by-district look at Ohio's better bass waters, and how things are shaping up near you this season.

DISTRICT ONE
"Knox Lake in Knox County is probably our best bass lake statewide," Hall claimed. "It's the only lake in District One with an 18-inch size limit."

Knox Lake has a surface area of 495 acres. Maximum depth is about 30 feet near the dam. It might almost be viewed as two separate lakes because of the differences between the lower section and the upper section.

About half of the lake starting from the dam is serpentine and comparatively deep. The bottom slopes quickly from the bank. Important bass cover here includes fallen trees and brush piles constructed at the dam, and placed on the ice. The upper section is broader and shallower with many sunken tree stumps. Maximum depth in the upper section is about 10 feet at the old creek channel.

"The Ohio Division of Wildlife owns that lake," Hall said. "We built it back in the 1950s, and we started looking at size limits back in 1980."

The first size limit, 16 inches, doubled the bass population. More recently, the size limit was increased to 18 inches, and the bass population doubled again.

"Before that we had a fast-growing population with excess harvest going on," Hall explained.

The lake's fertility is the reason behind the good bass growth.

"It gets a very nice green color to it," Hall said. "It's classified as eutrophic and gets a pretty good phosphorus load into it, so its bass grow fast."

Knox Lake is in northern Knox County close to Fredericktown. Driving from the Columbus area, take Interstate Route 79 North to Route 95 and then east to Fredericktown. From the Cleveland area take Interstate Route 79 south to Route 13 and then continue south to Fredericktown.