Several from area hooked for illegal Ohio fishing State anglers from Fond du Lac to Suamico tried to beat bag limits By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle The South Bass area in Lake Erie's western basin is a fishing hotspot for walleye and smallmouth bass. It got a bit too hot, however, for 34 fishermen - including several from Northeast Wisconsin - who were arrested by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for breaking the rules and trying to overfish the area. No names were released, but the arrests included anglers from Green Bay, Suamico, Luxemburg, Wrightstown, Greenleaf, Maribel and Suamico. Others were from Appleton, Kaukauna, Fond du Lac, Waupun, Manitowoc, Oakfield, Glenbeulah and Combined Locks. Not only the fishermen had catches above their limit. Kevin Ramsey, law enforcement for the Lake Erie unit of the Ohio DNR wildlife division, said the division thought it might catch 10 or 15 folks. "We placed officers on the island in plain clothes, looking for overbagging (catching more fish than the limit)," Ramsey said. "The project was to look for double-tripping. Essentially, you're allowed six walleye each day, but some were going out again." The Ohio DNR had heard some fishermen who were caught last year in the area had vowed to return and "do it right this year." Ramsey said the 34 arrests were not all from one group, but that there were several small groups. "They may have loosely known each other," he said. The majority of the arrests, he said, were for having fish in an unacceptable condition - in other words, for having fish that were all chopped up, making investigators unable to see just how many fish had been caught. Ohio law requires the fish be kept "in the round," or basically in one piece. The area, also known as Put-In Bay, is a well-known hotspot for walleye and bass fishing, drawing people from as far away as Massachusetts, Ramsey said. It also is know for its camping areas, nightlife and a nearby amusement park.