Ohio’s bass managers are hard at work protecting and producing more lunker bass for Buckeye State anglers. Photo by Ron Sinfelt

It’ll be another banner year for bass in Ohio again in 2007, according to Scott Hale, an Ohio Division of Wildlife biology supervisor who heads up the Inland Fisheries Management Research Unit in Hebron.

“Acton Lake with its 15-inch minimum-length limit and Knox Lake with an 18-inch minimum are great places to catch some nice bass,” said Hale. “We’ve had an initiative called the Inland Management System in place since 2003. The IMS is our systematic approach to sampling lakes 25 acres in size across the state. Every lake will be sampled on a six-year cycle, and some lakes will be studied every year or so.”

Biologists statewide want to get the word out to anglers.

“Our plan has been to store all of the bass-sampling data into a consumer digest format on the ODOW Website. And right now, we have consultants working on it to get it up and running,” he added. “We don’t have a date yet when the information will be available. But when it is, bass anglers will be able to access the most recent information we have.

“We want people to know where the good bass lakes are. You can take Ohio’s bass fishing and stack it up against the fishing in any other state in the country.”

Creel surveys, angler-harvest statistics, regulations and fish population samplings play a part in helping fish managers improve bass populations -- which in turn keeps bass anglers happy.

“I’ve been tournament fishing in Ohio for 13 years and I can safely say that it now takes two or three times more weight at the end of the year to qualify for the regionals as it did 10 years ago,” said Roger Adams, vice president of the Ohio Valley Bass Masters club.

Bass fishing is alive and well in the Buckeye State. Here’s a look at where you can get in on the action this season:

KNOX LAKE
“Our No. 1 bass lake in District One is Knox Lake,” said Elmer Heyob, an Ohio Division of Wildlife fisheries biologist. “It’s loaded with 18- to 20-inch bass. But it’s a small system, and the bass have seen every kind of lure an angler can toss at them.”

Heyob has always been impressed with the bass production on the lake. This is one of the few waters in Ohio managed specifically for trophy-class bass. An 18-inch minimum-length restriction has been in place since 1991, and the resulting bass fishery is one of the best that Ohio has to offer.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife ranks Knox Lake among the top five inland lakes fished by the Ohio Bass Federation based on tournament results. Anglers have done well in the lake’s many competitive events, and weekend anglers have been scoring some big fish as well.

Fallen trees and shallow stumpfields provide excellent bass habitat. The lake covers 481 acres, two miles east of Fredricktown. Access is from U.S. Route 95 on county Road 5 in Knox County.

Three ramps serve boaters, and ample shoreline access is available for bank-fishermen. A 10-horsepower motor limit is in effect on the lake.

For more information, contact the ODOW’s District One office at (614) 644-3925.