MAUMEE, Ohio — Northwest Ohio is the Walleye Capital of the World from early March to mid-April.
It's been a busy few weeks in Maumee along this banks of the Maumee River, as rising temperatures trigger spawning instincts for Lake Erie walleye to travel up the river. As we get to the end of the annual walleye run, we checked in with the fishermen to see how the warmer weather is affecting the catch.
Experts say the combination of rain early in the run period and warmer than average temperatures in April are a perfect combination to make this the best run they've seen since 2015.
"Warmer water temps trigger them to come up. Also the photo period - so the sunlight period, as it gets longer - it triggers the fish to come up river," said Austin Pawken at Maumee Tackle Fishing and Kayaking Outfitters.
Local fishermen say they are happy that other communities outside of Maumee have gotten on board to help make this a regional event.
"The city of Toledo has done a great job, and the city of Perrysburg is supportive of the local fishermen," Maumee resident Angelo Maxim said. "Bringing in business and to our local restaurants, it's a great thing."
The annual event brings in thousands of anglers from across the Midwest and beyond every year. The constant upkeep of access points by local municipalities and park districts are reasons why so many come back year-after-year.
"I was really surprised when I came up and looked at the towpath trail - how much they cleaned that up and made it a lot more accessible for people getting in," said John Simon, who travels from Portsmouth, Ohio each year. "And opened up a lot more areas for people to fish so everybody could kind of spread out. But everybody still bunches together."
The fishermen WTOL 11 encountered today said that if these conditions continue, it could potentially mean that the upcoming white bass run that follows the walleye run could be even better fishing.
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