Applications for Ohio’s public land controlled hunts are being accepted until Wednesday, July 31, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. These hunts provide special chances for people to pursue deer, waterfowl, doves, pheasants, and more on public lands during the 2024-25 season.
The Division of Wildlife as well as the Division of Parks & Watercraft host controlled hunts on select areas around Ohio. Hunts for adults, youth, mobility impaired, and mentors with apprentices are available. Species-specific hunts include deer, waterfowl, dove, pheasant, squirrel, and quail. Firearm and archery hunts are available for some species.
Hunters may apply for controlled hunts by completing the application process online using Ohio’s Wildlife Licensing System or via phone by calling 1-866-703-1928. There is $5.50 service fee for the phone option. Each hunt requires payment of a non-refundable $3 application fee. Customers may apply for more than one hunt but can only apply to each hunt once per year. I recently signed up for several controlled hunt drawings by using the Division of Wildlife’s app and it was very user friendly.
All applicants, youth and adult, are required to possess a valid Ohio hunting license and meet age requirements. Youth hunters must be under the age of 18 at the time of the hunt to participate. Adults must be 18 years or older at the time of the application. Those applying for deer hunts will also need a valid deer permit. Find more information at wildohio.gov on the controlled hunt page.
Hunters are randomly drawn lottery style from submitted applications. Successful applicants will be notified and provided additional hunt information by Thursday, Aug. 8, including a permit, rules, and a hunting area map. Each controlled hunt is unique, and applicants are encouraged to thoroughly review all site-specific information, including rules and requirements, prior to applying. Application statuses can be viewed through Ohio’s Wildlife Licensing System. Successful applicants cannot buy, sell, exchange, or trade their permits, and can only transfer permits if nothing is received in return.
• The perch bite is starting to heat up in the western basin of Lake Erie and with the early spring we had, the bite started earlier this year. Perch is one of my favorite table fares and fishing for them can be a fun way to spend a day on the water. Lake Erie is full of perch but these tasty guys can be found in many inland lakes as well.
Easily one of the best tools to help you be successful on large bodies of water is to have a good sonar graph and learn how to use it. Finding a school of active perch is critical to having a good day of perch fishing. Once you locate a school of perch far and away the best method is to hold directly over them and fish vertically.
When it comes to lure choices for perch, most anglers use some variation of a minnow harness with two to three single hooks and a half ounce weight or larger if the wind is stronger to fish on the bottom. Another popular option is the traditional spreader wire with two short snelled hooks. The minnow harness or drop shot style rig allows anglers to fish several hooks at different depths above the bottom to cover the water column more easily. Both styles and both rigs can come with orange or green beads to help add color to attract the fish.
Each perch fishing day is different and you just have to try different variations and colors of the lures to see what they want for that particular day. During my last perch outing, my bite was slow with a traditional straight line crappie rig. I decided to give a spreader with fire tiger blades a try and it was game on. My bites increased dramatically and I quickly finished my 30 perch limit.
Small sized emerald shiners are the most desired bait to add to your lure choice. Sometimes the perch want whole shiners and sometimes they want them cut into sections. I usually cut my shiners into halves or thirds depending on their size. Some days the perch can even be finicky about what section they want on the hook. On a trip last year, three of us caught our ninety perch limit in a few hours once we found out they wanted the heads and bodies of the cut up shiners but they wouldn’t touch the tails..
It is also important to note that lure action can be critical to success as well. Sometimes they want the bait right on the bottom buried in the mud and other days they want it on the drop, requiring you to make large sweeping motions with your rod as you slowly lower the bait down through the water column. Trying different methods until you figure out what they want on that particular day is important.
One of the nice things about perch fishing is that you don’t need a high dollar setup for perch fishing, but you do need the right action. Perch are experts at stealing the bait off of your hook and you need a rod that has enough power to get them up off the bottom and work a weight heavy enough to keep you down on the bottom. But the rod also needs to be light enough to feel the slightest nibble. For most fishermen this means a light power with a fast action spinning rod spooled with braided line. I also prefer a rod that is around seven feet in length and made out of graphite to increase sensitivity. Both will help you feel the lightest of bites.
Until next time, Good Hunting and Good Fishing!
Ken Parrott is a retired Northmor High School Agricultural Science teacher.
