Fishing at the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area in Williams County has always been done "by the book." The unique set of 13 small lakes and ponds tucked in the extreme northwest corner of the state has had its own customized set of rules and restrictions ever since it became the property of the citizenry more than three decades ago.
When the tract opened for fishing soon after the state purchased it, the La Su An area had something in common with Holiday Inn and Marriott -- you needed a reservation to come there. That has remained the case until now, due to a recent decision by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
In order to utilize its manpower elsewhere, the La Su An area will no longer require fishermen to call in and make reservations, carry a special permit, or use a check-station to register their catch before leaving the area.
Those highly structured precepts had been in place since the 2,430-acre wildlife area opened, and through the meticulous monitoring and careful management of the fish populations in the La Su An waters, the area has boasted some of the best largemouth bass and bluegill fishing in Ohio.
"The key has always been regulating the pressure," said Mike Wilkerson, a fisheries biologist with the Division of Wildlife. "With careful management, we've been able to maintain the large bluegill populations up there."
Under the new provisions, the La Su An waters will open on May 4, and fishing will be permitted just four days a week -- on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday -- and only through July 30. The lakes and ponds in the wildlife area, located about an hour from Toledo, will be open from sunrise to sunset on those designated fishing days only.
The daily bag limits for bass, sunfish (including bluegills), and channel catfish will be posted and enforced throughout the area. Fishermen can legally possess one bag limit, regardless of how many of the La Su An lakes they fish on a given day. An 18-inch minimum length for largemouth bass will be in effect. Unless superseded by La Su An's special regulations, all other Ohio statewide fishing guidelines remain in effect.
Since parking is permitted in the designated areas only, Wilkerson said he hopes the fishing pressure on the La Su An lakes will be "somewhat self-regulated." He said the Division of Wildlife will continue to conduct spring population surveys on the various species in the lakes and adjust future fishing seasons and bag limits as needed.
Although the length of the season and the specific regulations had been modified periodically, the fishing season at La Su An often ran from April to October, and ice fishing had taken place in some years.
The state purchased the La Su An property from a private landowner in 1981, with the understanding it would not open the area to the public for two years.
The previous owner had allowed only limited access to the lakes prior to that and had imposed length and quantity limits on the fishing harvest. The area's unusual name was derived from the first letters of the first names of his wife and daughters.
After acquiring the property, the state adopted an intensive management approach at La Su An in order to sustain the strong populations of bass and large sunfish, especially bluegills.
"The management approach at La Su An has been unique to Ohio, and probably unique in this whole region," Wilkerson said.
Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.