By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
In two weeks, novice and experienced anglers alike can cast lines for the rainbow trout waiting to nibble on the southeast edge of Bowling Green.
Just in time for the start of the fishing season on March 1, the Wood County Park District Board on Tuesday approved an agreement with the Wood County Commissioners to continue allowing the public to try their luck in the borrow pond in the elbow of Interstate 75 and East Gypsy Lane Road.
Since 2004, the park district and county commissioners have been making Adam Phillips Pond available to anglers.
Park District Police Chief Steve Thomson said the pond is stocked periodically with bluegill, largemouth bass, white crappie, perch, catfish, and a few northern pike. It appears some of the bigger fish survived the winter, including some rainbow trout, he said.
In more recent years, a pathway has been cleared around the pond – providing a natural area for staff working at the county’s East Gypsy Lane Complex to take walks during their lunches, according to Chris Smalley, director of the Wood County Park District.
“When nicer weather comes out, the people come out,” Smalley said
The site is making a comeback after “freakish weather” in the spring of 2021 was blamed for a fish kill in the pond.
The park district was first alerted to the problem by a fisherman who called about dead fish in the Adam Phillips Pond. Park staff responded, finding hundreds of dead fish. An expert was consulted, determining that the cause was “pond turnover.”
Pond turnover is a natural phenomenon, usually in warmer months, and normally only affecting a few fish. But the drastic weather changes in the spring of 2021 led to a “catastrophic” impact. It killed bluegill, smallmouth bass, crappie, bullheads and catfish in the 10-acre pond that is 18 feet deep.
The pond is open to the public annually from March through October, with the property open from 8 a.m. until 30 minutes past sunset. Parking is available off East Gypsy Lane Road, by the Northwest Ohio Corrections Center.
Following are the rules for the fishing pond:
- Bank fishing only.
- Limit of 10 fish per day, per person, of bluegill, crappie and perch combined.
- One largemouth bass over 15 inches in length may be kept, per person, per day.
- All bass smaller than 15 inches must be released.
- No limits on catfish.
- Anyone 16 years and older must have a valid Ohio Fishing License.
- No ice fishing, boats, kayaks, canoes or floatation devices on the pond.
- No live minnows as bait. Other forms of live bait such as worms and snails are allowed.
In other business Tuesday afternoon, Bowling Green resident and former park board member made his annual pitch for more accommodations for bicyclists in Wood County.
“As a frequent user of the Slippery Elm Trail, I suspect it may be one of the most used parks,” Frank McLaughlin said. “There are some days when it’s like a freeway.”
But opportunities are lacking in northern Wood County, where the North Coast Inland Trail stretches across northern Ohio only to come to a halt at the eastern edge of Wood County, he said.
“I’ve always felt a bit of frustration,” that bicyclists have no place to ride other than surface streets in northern Wood County, he said.
McLaughlin asked the park board to keep their eyes open for opportunities to link Bowling Green to Perrysburg or Waterville with a bike trail, and to continue the North Coast Inland Trail into Wood County.
In addition to giving bicyclists a safe place to ride, trails also benefit the communities they touch, he said.
“Bike trails can be a big economic boon as well,” he said.
Smalley said he will be meeting in March with Ottawa County officials about extending the North Coast Inland Trail from Genoa to Millbury.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said.
“I appreciate your comments and I appreciate your patience,” Smalley said to McLaughlin.
Smalley also talked about linking Wood County to the Chessie Circle Trail, which already has a network of bike trails in Toledo, Lucas County and the metroparks.
“The biggest step is the bridge over the Maumee,” he said.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board:
- Heard from Craig Spicer, the park district’s program naturalist and adventure specialist, who gave a presentation on the recent “Wild Light” program, which brought more than 800 people to the W. W. Knight Nature Preserve during three days in January.
- Approved more than $50,000 in contracts for repairs to the basement at the Thompson Stone Hall at Otsego Park. The bids accepted were $22,913 from K&K Construction, $18,125 from Downey Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electrical, and $10,950 from Black Swamp Steel.
- Approved the park district’s installation of ODOT signs along the Slippery Elm Trail as part of the U.S. Bicycle Routes Signage Project.
- Declared many pieces of surplus property that are no longer needed by the park district and can be sold. All the park board members were concerned to see some guns and ammunition on the list along with items like a toboggan and fence stretcher. Smalley explained that anything police related must be sold to an authorized firearms dealer, and not to the general public.
- Agreed to sign an underground utility easement for the North Coast Inland Trail, in which the park district is 2% owner since it helped pay for the initial study for the trail in the early 1990s.
- Learned that two bids have been received for expansion of the park district’s stewardship building in Reuthinger Memorial Preserve. The estimated $170,000 lean-to addition will add heated and air-conditioned office space for the stewardship staff. “We’re a victim of our own success,” said Andrew Kalmar, assistant director at the park district, explaining the need for additional space.
- Rob Brian, operations manager of the park district, said workers from the county highway garage and the park district have been working together to resolve deferred maintenance issues on the Slippery Elm Trail. The trail between Bowling Green and North Baltimore had become overgrown in areas. “It was a pretty narrow corridor in some spots,” Brian said. Smalley asked for park patrons’ patience. “Bear with it while it’s a work in progress. It may look a little rough right now.”
