Bass Fishing Olander Park

Olander Park in Sylvania is not often thought of as a “great bass fishing lake”, but it can be if you know where to fish and you use bass fishing techniques.

Olander Park is located Here on Google Maps and is about a 20 acre man made pond. It’s stocked annually in mid April with trout for the kids trout derby. If you are a Sylvania resident, the park is free. If not, you pay a small parking fee.

The best places to fish for bass are always structure. however, it’s a man made lake, there isn’t a ton of structure, so the bass have adapted. They try to stay in the shadows of shoreline trees, which you can easily spot. Along the sides near the boat launch and right across from the boat launch where there are covered picnic shelters are your best bets.

The southern parts of the lake are better than the northern most end. At the northern most tip, there is  dock and most people fish there. That’s a great place to catch trout using trout techniques, but not bass.

You can rent a boat or bring your own. No motors allowed. Fishing the deeper waters with boats will yield more bass.

Bass have been caught on darker colored plastic worms. Fish them slowly. Texas rigged, Carolina rigged, shaky head, weightless, and retrieve them very slowly. Dark greens, brown, blacks, and purples. Power fishing with crankbaits and spinner baits doesn’t seem to work. If you’d like to power fish, try early morning and late afternoon.

Don’t try fishing from 11AM to about 4PM, the bite is very slow. When it’s cloudy, windy, or raining you will have better luck, because the bass can see better.

You can also use jigs with dark trailers on them. Bounce them around the bottom. Ned rigs will also produce a lot of bass. The same goes for tube baits.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t catch a ton of bass, this lake is heavily pressured and a lot of people feel that the bass has all been “fished out” many years ago. The state does not have an aggressive bass stocking program for this lake.

Editor in Chief

Over 40 years of fishing experience in Northwest Ohio, Southeast Michigan, and Northeast Indiana!