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| | | Orange Cream Walleye | Favorite of Julie & Michael Dodds - Middle Bass, Ohio
| | Course: | Main Entrée | | Servings: | 4-6 | |
Ingredients & Instructions:
2 tablespoons of margarine or butter
2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of grated orange peel
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup half-and-half or milk
1½ pounds walleye or other lean fish fillets
Heat oven to 300°. Grease 13x9-in. baking pan. In small saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Stir in onion, flour, orange peel, salt and pepper. Blend in half-in-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes. Set aside. Cut walleye into serving-size pieces. Place in prepared pan. Pour sauce over fish. Cover with foil. Bake until fish flakes easily at thickest part, about 25 minutes. Garnish with orange slices, if desired.
Alternate Species: This Ohio Classic fish recipe also works well with sauger, saugeye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, and crappie (but the truth is any firm, non-oily fish will taste great!).
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Considering that the Ohio waters of Lake Erie yield an average of more than 1 million walleyes every year (to sport anglers alone), it truly is a world class walleye fishery. See the map below for Lake Erie hot spots. The list could go on seemingly forever, but in the Western Basin, you might pay special attention to the following Lake Erie public access: the warm water discharge at Bayshore; the massive reef complex between Cedar Point and Catawba (around West Sister Island); the islands, reefs, and shoals around South Bass Island (Put-In Bay), Middle Bass, and North Bass; and the similar expanse of underwater structure off of Marblehead (toward Kelleys Island). These world-class fishing destinations are all accessible from a myriad of access points from Toledo (Lucas County) to Port Clinton (Ottawa County) to Sandusky (Erie County).
In the Central Basin, public access to the vast open water is provided at boat launches in Huron (Erie County); Vermillion (Lorain & Erie Counties); Lorain (Lorain County); Rocky River and Cleveland (Cuyahoga County); the Chagrin and Grand Rivers (Lake County); Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut (Ashtabula County).
Lake Erie is something to behold. But don't forget that some quality walleye fishing can also be had on inland lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams. Any and all listed below can produce consistent catches of table worthy glassy 'eyes.
Berlin Lake (Portage, Mahoning & Stark Counties), Lake Milton (Mahoning County), Mosquito Creek Reservoir (Trumbell County), Pymatuning Lake (Ashatabula County), Grand Lake (Mercer & Auglaize Counties), Killdeer Reservoir (Wyandot County) C.J. Brown Reservoir (Clark County), Salt Fork Lake (Guernsey County), Rocky Fork Lake (Highland County), New London Reservoir (Huron County), Lake Hodgson (Portage County), and the LaDue Reservoir (Geauga County) are all worth a look.
For moving water, try the famed Maumee River (Lucas & Wood Counties) or the Sandusky River (Sandusky County) during the spring walleye runs. The mighty Ohio River is also not to be overlooked either (try Meldahl Pool, Greenup Pool, R.C. Byrd Pool, Willow Island Pool, or Hannibal Pool, to name a few).
| Click on image below to view the live map...
| - Focus spring and fall attention under dams, at the edge of weed beds, and in the shallows (especially at dawn and dusk when the light is low)
- Jig leadheads and twister tails or Carolina-rigged floaters for spring river run walleyes
- Suspend a juicy leach or tempting minnow from a slip bobber
- In the warmer summer months concentrate on rock reefs, gravel bars, and sandy shoals near breaks in depth
- Drift the famed Erie Dearie, Golden Nugget, or other "weight forward" tipped with a night crawler over the rocky reefs of the Western Basin (Lake Erie)
- Drag a bright colored crawler harness tipped with a worm or minnows
- Mimic mayflies with a worm-laden Weapon
- Troll spoons and plugs behind planner boards and Dipsey Divers in the deep waters of the Central Basin (Lake Erie)
- Cast Rattle Raps and Reef Runners off Lake Erie piers for autumn night-time 'eyes
- Bounce Swedish Pimples, Jigging Rapalas, and Vibies tipped with shiners through the ice (just off the bottom) for hard-water walleyes
| DAILY LIMIT (Ohio Waters):
6 Statewide (contact ODNR for exceptions)
Lake Erie & Tributaries: 6 (May 1 - February 28); 4 (March 1 - April 31)
15" Minimum (Lake Erie & Tributaries)
Take only what you'll eat and release the rest . . .
you will help protect Ohio's natural resources
and maybe even put a smile on another fisherman's face!
Explore Ohio fishing - the Buckeye State can be overlooked . . . but it shouldn't be! | | |
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