# deer creek spillway



## jason78

Went to deer creek today (1/20/09) I got there about 9 am was the only person there for about a hour I fished the wall because water was so low but i caught about 30 saugeyes mostly 10 -12 inches did get four keepers i say there was about 15 people there by 2 pm everyone fishing the wall was catching fish:G :G


----------



## London calling

Nice catch on a mucho cold day  sure beats a good day at work 
Where they still hitting pink twister tails ?


----------



## jason78

i caught them on pink white and green


----------



## London calling

Thanks for the info, keep on catchen them :B


----------



## Clayton

Nice day!

Do you guys use a heavy jig head or lighter? I've never had any freaking luck with saugeyes >.< and I'm getting horrible cabin fever!!


----------



## jason78

i was using two 1/16 ounce plain jig heads


----------



## Fish Slayer

Glad to here it's turning around! Ya did a lot better than me, and I fished off the wall with pink on Monday. My efforts only amounted to One, and it wasn't very big!


----------



## gobrowntruck21

I fished it this afternoon (wed 1/21) for a couple of hours and caught four keepers using a single 3/8 chartreuse jig with a pink grub. I missed at least a few more. Didn't try any other colors or tippin w/a minnow. Everyone I saw was catching fish. With the weather warming up a bit the next few days, I wonder what it'll do to the fishing?


----------



## jason78

did you fish the wall brown and how many people were there


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Yea I fished the wall. I was a loner on the east side though, facing the wind. There were probably 7 or 8 on the opposite side and a couple down at the base on each side.


----------



## 66johnson

Thinking of going tonight around 9......Anyone think it would be worth it?


----------



## Clayton

good question johnson, i was thinking about going tomorrow after dark.


----------



## 66johnson

Had a buddy call me tonight and tell me he caught about 20 between 5 and 7 PM tonight. Only one was worth keeping to his standards. Sounds like the bite is on but only catching small ones. Were plannin on hittin it tomorrow night. Hope to see ya there Clayton.


----------



## jason78

fished today (1/22) i caught around 40 to 50 from 9am to 3 pm mostly 10-12 inches did get 6 keepers 17-19 inches did see the game warden get a guy for snagging a couple of catfish and not having a license


----------



## Big Joshy

A GAME WARDEN ! busting people for SNAGGING at DEER CREEK!!!
It must be a cold winter because hell has frozen over.


----------



## 66johnson

If you cant follow the rules then you deserve everything you get. I give every ounce of respect to them for doing their jobs.


----------



## gobrowntruck21

I was wondering the "standards" for keepers. What in your minds is keeper status? Last time I was out I kept 4 fish 11-14". It made a meal for my pregnant wife so I was happy! If I fish for three hours in the cold at deercreek I'm keeping anything I catch over 10" but thats just me. Is there an unwritten rule I don't know? If so, what do you base your slot limit on? I know they grow fast, but saugeye are a stocked "meal" fish right?


----------



## Clayton

66johnson said:


> Had a buddy call me tonight and tell me he caught about 20 between 5 and 7 PM tonight. Only one was worth keeping to his standards. Sounds like the bite is on but only catching small ones. Were plannin on hittin it tomorrow night. Hope to see ya there Clayton.


Maybe you will  and hell, if all the fish are under 12", I'll just bring my 5' ultralight spinning rod with the 6 lb test lol. Gotta keep it fun


----------



## rossco

My "standards" for a keeper is anything over 15". I say this because that's the length limit for a keeper walleye in Ohio, and the population of large saugeye can't really be increased by keeping the little ones. I'm not bashing anyone who does, because saugeye are raised with Ohio tax dollars, put into Ohio public waters, and there's no length limit, so it's really a matter of choice. I just choose to do it this way for conservation.


----------



## twistertail

gobrowntruck21 said:


> I was wondering the "standards" for keepers. What in your minds is keeper status? Last time I was out I kept 4 fish 11-14". It made a meal for my pregnant wife so I was happy! If I fish for three hours in the cold at deercreek I'm keeping anything I catch over 10" but thats just me. Is there an unwritten rule I don't know? If so, what do you base your slot limit on? I know they grow fast, but saugeye are a stocked "meal" fish right?


Well everyone does have their own standards but for me around 12" is about the smallest I like to keep. Most of the time I toss them all back because I would rather stay and fish later instead of going home earlier to clean fish. But I do love a good fish fry so I'll keep a few limits every once in a while. I may try to get over there tonight!


----------



## Welsh Dragon

Never been down to deer creek to fish. What's the bait/lure of choice this time of year? Sounds like it might be worth a trip down there on Sunday.


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Welsh Dragon said:


> Never been down to deer creek to fish. What's the bait/lure of choice this time of year? Sounds like it might be worth a trip down there on Sunday.


Small jigs and twistertails and/or tippin with a minnow.


----------



## twistertail

Some people always tip with minnows but I have not noticed any difference when using them. It seems like they either bit or they dont. I've been right be people using minnows and have caught just as many. To be honest I dont even know if color makes much difference. I always use white and pink or red but when they are biting good I will start using different colors just to see and have caught them on every color.


----------



## tnant1

I fish with a guy who uses just a minnow and a weight about 6-8 inches above it. Does just as well that way as anyone else with a Jig and twister tail.


----------



## twistertail

tnant1 said:


> I fish with a guy who uses just a minnow and a weight about 6-8 inches above it. Does just as well that way as anyone else with a Jig and twister tail.


Yep I know guys that do that to and do well. I just like to not have to mess with minnows. Maybe sometimes they do work better but if I can still catch fish without them I'll just use jigs and tails. Its probably about half and half as far as people using minnows or not.


----------



## 66johnson

I will be fishing there tonight with Rossco......You better believe that if he catches one 14 inches and says he's throwing it back that I will be puttin it in my bucket.


----------



## flathunter

I dont fish for saugeyes, but it seems most people have the same complaint about deer creek spillway, to many dinks.

I have catfished there and saw people taking out saugeyes only 8 inches long.

It seems to me if people want bigger fish they would try to get the state to put a length limit on them so they can grow up a little before being harvested.


----------



## cubsfan

I go y the weight as a general rule anything under 1-1/2- 2pds is not going to give enuff meat after cleaned to be worth the time to clean them. If given another year to grow you will see alot more 2-4 pounders being caught. But once again I am not cleaning other peoples fish!


----------



## ajangsta04

I agree with cubsfan.

It's not so much the length of the fish but more so the girth. People who keep fish keep it to eat it.

With that being said, if they were fishing for crappie or bluegill (more abundant fish) size doesn't matter, quantity does. Whereas for saugeyes, catfish, etc...size of meat they will produce after being cleaned should determine the "keeping value"


----------



## Fish Slayer

My buddy hit Deer Creek Friday morning. The only downfall was people were elbow to elbow. He caught some dinks and so did other folks. Last year seemed so much better in terms of the size of the fish we were catching! The water is much lower than at this time last year! Maybe it will pick up soon. It's still fun to get out and try to find the bigger fish.


----------



## cntfshalic

Went to deer creek yesterday (1/23/09) got there around 3:30 left around 7 lot of people fishing and lots of dinks being caught saw people leaving with saugeye in a small minnow bucket (WOW) dont know maby they were gonna can them like sardines. Any way caught a lot of fish only 3 keepers (13+ inches for me) and snaged one gynormous carp. Seemed to me that people with minnows were doing a little better than those without.


----------



## cubsfan

Fished it this morning from 6-8 a.m as you said alot of dinks I caught a few guy 2ft to my left caught 20 plus non of which were over 10".I agree about the size some people keep that may be the reason for the decrease in the quality size of fish. But to each there own, but throw that 10 incher back and he will be 16 next year!


----------



## Fish Slayer

I gotta agree with you guys. It's almost unbelievable. Saugeyes are so much fun to catch when there 15in. or better that it's worth the wait. I wish they'd throw them back and let them grow grow grow!


----------



## Clayton

I went today, 10 a.m. to 12:45. I was the guy in the black and white coat, blue hood, and gray pants. I caught 4 saugeyes on jig and twister, as well as about a 3 lb carp. On a pink jig with chartreuse twister, fished 15" off the bottom, lol.

It was a hoot


----------



## ajangsta04

gonna be heading out there on thursday this week. Anyone got any tips or advice?

I've never been to deer creek so if the fishing doesn't work out, i could always learn the lay of the land.


----------



## twistertail

I fished Friday night from about 7:30 to 8:30. There were only about 4 or 5 other people there. I got 2 small ones, couldnt really see if any one else was doing any good. Talked to one guy who was leaving and said he did pretty well. Probably could have caught more but my dad was with me and he got cold so we left early.


----------



## twistertail

ajangsta04 said:


> gonna be heading out there on thursday this week. Anyone got any tips or advice?
> 
> I've never been to deer creek so if the fishing doesn't work out, i could always learn the lay of the land.


 
Its pretty easy fishing, just use small jigs and twistertails. Probably just need 1/16th or 1/32nd jigs and 2" tails. White, pink and yellow seem to be the most popular colors. Seems like the closer you can get to the wall the better, but then again I'm not sure it makes a huge difference.


----------



## Clayton

I did pretty well with a 1/16th oz and 3/8 oz jig combo, the latter being to help get the whole rig to contact with the bottom. Fish seemed to enjoy it!


----------



## gobrowntruck21

I saw a dandy caught there yesterday (1/25). Guestimating maybe 24" and fat as can be. Just wonderin if you all would at least put that one in your bucket. haha. Seen a few catfish caught as well as a big old carp, which the guy drug home with him. I fished there sat, sun, and a short trip today and didn't catch anything decent ecspecially today. It's tough fishing if you aren't catching them.


----------



## Mushijobah

Good post. Wish I had time to make it down. I figure that if a fish is already out of the reservoir at 12", it will only be there a limited time. It will either be caught and eaten, or spend its life downstream in the Scioto. No real proof of this, just an educated guess .


----------



## jason78

i fish there today from 9am to 130pm did catch about 10 small ones did get two alright ones fishing was better last week but they are still biting


----------



## ajangsta04

thanks for some of the tips.

another quick question, where abouts is the wall everyone seems to be fishing from?


----------



## gobrowntruck21

The wall is the head of the dam and probably 25' high on both sides of the creek. You can't miss it. It's off Crownover Mill Rd. which is off SR 207. Turn onto Crownover Mill Rd. at the boat cover shop. Go down a ways then stop at the bait shop on your right. That's Frostee's. Buy something there. They have anything you'll need. Then travel on down that road some more. It'll lead you right down to the creek. Dress warm, the wind never stops there. And good luck.


----------



## Renegade Angler

I aswell saw the dandy caught yesterday.If I had to guess I would say 25" range close to 4lb.Hey gobrowntruck what side was you on the were the guy caught the carp or the eye?I was on the side were the guy caught the eye and he was from chilicothe.


----------



## gobrowntruck21

His side. I was the last one he had to go around to walk it down. I should have talked to him a little more, I grew up in Chilli. Live in roundtown now. That fish was one that you don't see or catch that often. He did a good job of landing it with no net also.


----------



## Fish Slayer

Just got off the army corp sight and it looks like Deer Creek has an awsome flow this morning (flood stage), but my car is iced over and there is a level 2 snow warning! Maybe later!


----------



## fishdealer04

Sounds like they are biting really well. I might have to make a trip up there sometime soon, have not been up there in a few months. Keeper size for me is about 14 inches and up. I might keep a 12 incher if it is to finish out my limit, but nothing under that.


----------



## Garyoutlaw77

Guys I have been pounding this place for the past few nights (Sun-Mon) & though I cought a good # of Fish I think I've had my fill of all the dinks..The best I have cought was close to 3 & I have been fishing heard. Kinda wonder were all the pigs of the past went


----------



## Garyoutlaw77

Mushijobah said:


> Good post. Wish I had time to make it down. I figure that if a fish is already out of the reservoir at 12", it will only be there a limited time. It will either be caught and eaten, or spend its life downstream in the Scioto. No real proof of this, just an educated guess .


I have a few ideas about the same thing..care to share your theory ? or just shoot me a pm - Gary


----------



## Fish Slayer

I honestly don't know, but I would guess they are able to make Deer Creek, Alum Creek, etc. home. I wouldn't know why they would want to go to the Scioto if they have plenty of bait fish right where they are. Salmon have a built in homing sense, but I have never heard of this happening in a Saugeye. Are there any biologist, or ODNR guys on here that can help us figure this thing out? Sincerely,


----------



## Mushijobah

Saugeye (see walleye) prefer larger streams. The Scioto is much more appatizing for them. They will move up smaller streams during high flow and take residence when the water goes down, but there is so much more habbitat and bait in the scioto. Ever wonder why you catch way less fishin stretches other than below the spillway? They keep going to greener pastures. If they can find a place in a small stream where they feel comfortable (deep and spacious holes), they will stick around. Muskies do this even more. One day, after a hard rain or high flow, there will be visible muskies cruising a certain hole in Alum. The water rises a bit, and they are gone; to greener pastures.

I've caugh my share of eyes in Alum, but only below the last dam. I've heard of them being caught directly below otterbein, but it's rare (even in electroshock surveys). Anywhere south of Bexley on Alum always held a lot of eyes. This can be explained by two factors:

1. The stream changes there to a more habitable place for eyes (deep, long stretches with current)
2. Eyes that choose to migrate up Alum, or that wash down from upstream, are stuck there due to the dam.


----------



## cntfshalic

Not a biologist or ODNR guy, but even though saugey are sterile i would guess that they still go thru the spawning ritual so maby we are just a few weeks away from some big females coming up stream to "fake pre spawn" and eat everything we throw at em. (Keeping my fingers crossed)


----------



## Garyoutlaw77

I think your right on Mushi - I hate to hint at Saugeyes being a bad thing because we all love to catch them but I know of some locations that have been historical Smallie streams that are now full of Saugeyes( & a few Cats) only..
I know more people are fishing the area & you asume everyone does not release big Fish coupled with smallies slow growth but we don't even see fingerling Bass when we seine. This River was once Ohio's ichthyology hotbed for darters, sculpines,shinners and madtoms but most are now so few that some are thought to be extinct... 
I know what I pose is a huge spectulation but if you replace a top predator (Smallie) by a more efficiant one that also inhabits the same part of the water colum as the forage it makes things get lop sided & is now showing..Quite a pickle ehh boys ?


----------



## Knew2Fish

Couldn't score a golden ticket today. First time I've been out to Deer Creek during the winter and what a day for the trip! The fever was running heavy after reading all the posts the past few weeks. Showed up just before 10am and called it a day around 3pm. I managed 4.. none of which were above 12". My brother finally managed to hook up just before we left. His ran about 7" I think  . 4 others were there when we showed up, 2 left soon there after, and other 2 were off around noon. Saw several other dinks brought in, all, including ours, were sent back to fatten up! No dinner fare this trip, but still worth the day away from work. All were caught on restroom side of dam (east side?), then we tried opposite side only to get pounded by cross winds. 6 other guys showed up on original side so we called it a wrap. Hope they did better than us!


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Props to you if you were out in that crap. I worked in it all day and it was rough. I was hoping to here better news but glad you got out. Btw, restroom side is south/west side.


----------



## Knew2Fish

thanks truck for the directional assistance.. I hope to try may luck again next week sometime. It was either go fishing or skiing and I know now I would have gotten more accomplished on the slopes. My ride was more apt to fish for the day so I won't complain one bit. Also curious if any of you have tried the same approach at Hoover Res. I've fished the hole below the dam for years and the upper from boat, but haven't tried as close to the dam as we did at Deer Creek. I think someone may have mentioned the water was mostly frozen, which of course would eliminate opportunity to catch. Much shorter drive, but any Saugeye in the freezer is well worth a trip. I don't have any real ice fishing gear so Buckeye and Indian won't work for me. I do have the few items needed to manage at deer creek, so I hope it is possible. Thanks for all the info!


----------



## Mushijobah

Garyoutlaw77 said:


> I think your right on Mushi - I hate to hint at Saugeyes being a bad thing because we all love to catch them but I know of some locations that have been historical Smallie streams that are now full of Saugeyes( & a few Cats) only..
> I know more people are fishing the area & you asume everyone does not release big Fish coupled with smallies slow growth but we don't even see fingerling Bass when we seine. This River was once Ohio's ichthyology hotbed for darters, sculpines,shinners and madtoms but most are now so few that some are thought to be extinct...
> I know what I pose is a huge spectulation but if you replace a top predator (Smallie) by a more efficiant one that also inhabits the same part of the water colum as the forage it makes things get lop sided & is now showing..Quite a pickle ehh boys ?


For this, I am much more liberal in my choices in regards to keeper saugeye. Anything that actually has meat to be eaten is being put on the stringer.

The decline of the stream you speak of could be for many reasons, but I'm sure the new presense of a voracious and non-discriminating feeder isn't helping.


----------



## tnant1

Well, Gary and Mushi, you've kinda made me rethink about eyes. I guess I'll start keeping them if it helps Smallies. I usually never keep anything except maybe a couple steelhead per year but you make some pretty good points.


----------



## Garyoutlaw77

I have always been one to preach C&R but knowing big Saugeye don't make little Saugeye & they are in direct compitition with Smallies for forage... I have changed my outlook & will keep some of these winter Fish for the skillet.


----------



## Garyoutlaw77

Oh yeah I also forgot to mention ..why not keep a few as Ohio fishing liscance holders we are paying for them ..why let the poachers below the dam's be the only ones to enjoy this resource WE provide...but I digress


----------



## Mushijobah

Exactly. Expendatures on saugeye stocking has increased dramaticly over the years. I don't know what proportion of our license fee goes to that, but I'm sure a certain $XX.00 or $00.XX of our license fee goes directly to it. Might as well take advantage of our stocked fillets


----------



## cntfshalic

Hit deer creek this morning (1/31/09) it was COLD -4 fished from 6 til bout 9 managed one 15.5" four others around 12" only 4 or 5 other guys there. Try again tomorrow it should be a little warmer.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

I went down on 1\30 from 11-1 and didnt manage one bite..I was on the opposite side of the restrooms/the first parking lot you pull into..I fished the bridge and right at the wall..I was using Renegade Twirltails(white with pink heads) with about 1/8 size jigs and 1/16 size jigs as well...I was just casting and retrieving at a steady pace and would jig a little bit. Could somebody please help me out and tell me what im doing wrong? Thanks.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

And one more thing..do you guys have any tips on catching carp out of there? Ive never been able to get one of them but have caught Grass Carp


----------



## riverKing

its mostly bigmouth and smallmouth buffalo, the best bait, throw a bladebait, the saugeye eat it and the buffalo....you hook lots of them.


----------



## Dandaman

went to spillway today and got sick to my stomach. Guys were keeping 8 to 10 inch eyes all morning. All we caught were carp and sheephead.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

What bait was you using for the carp/sheephead Dandaman? If you dont mind telling..


----------



## hadriancaesar

From Chillicothe (my luck )--I just started fishing for Saugeye and find it lots of fun. They are great food too. Deer Creek spillway is interesting. I cant buy a bite downstream below the spillway, but do have great luck on the wall usin 1/16 oz double jig rig with pearl green and orange or pink twisters.

What do you guys think about live bait at this time of year? Setup?


----------



## gobrowntruck21

A lot of people tip their jigs with minnows. Or just lightline minnows with a weight a foot or so above the minnow. That's about the only live bait setup I know of or have tried for saugeye. As far as getting bites downstream, I think that'll change once the water level comes up from the snow melting and some rain. Saturday is supposed to be dang near 50d.


----------



## cubsfan

Dandaman said:


> went to spillway today and got sick to my stomach. Guys were keeping 8 to 10 inch eyes all morning. All we caught were carp and sheephead.


 A big fat copy that I was there yesterday and was amazed at how small some/most of the eyes were that were being kept!


----------



## hadriancaesar

Thanks Gobrown I appreciate the advice. A couple years back I used to catch saugeyes on crappie bobber and minnow in some ponds I frequent--not my intension though.


----------



## 66johnson

cubsfan said:


> A big fat copy that I was there yesterday and was amazed at how small some/most of the eyes were that were being kept!



Once you fry em up I guarntee you cant tell the difference between a 10 inch saugeye and 25 inch saugeye.........


----------



## fishdealer04

Dandaman said:


> went to spillway today and got sick to my stomach. Guys were keeping 8 to 10 inch eyes all morning. All we caught were carp and sheephead.


I personally wont keep a saugeye that small, but it is completly legal for people to keep them that size as long as they are caught legally. Plus the people that are keeping those fish are also helping the population get bigger. You know when you fish in a pond that is loaded with bluegill and you can never catch any bigger than 6 inches, well you start taking some of them out and "bam" bigger ones start showing up.

I am by no means advocating that everyone should keep 8 inch saugeye, but its not a going to hurt the population.

ON a side note has anyone been doing any good on the cats up there? I am looking to get up there sometime soon, I usually do really well on the channels during the winter.


----------



## acklac7

cubsfan said:


> A big fat copy that I was there yesterday and was amazed at how small some/most of the eyes were that were being kept!


I'd rather see someone keep six 10-14" Saugeye vs. two 21"+ anyday. Same thing for smallmouth: if your going to keep a smallmouth, keep one (or two) that are between 13-16" and let the bigger ones go. 17"+ Smallies/Saugeye will only get bigger, as the threat of predation goes down significantly as size increases.


----------



## cubsfan

acklac7 said:


> I'd rather see someone keep six 10-14" Saugeye vs. two 21"+ anyday. Same thing for smallmouth: if your going to keep a smallmouth, keep one (or two) that are between 13-16" and let the bigger ones go. 17"+ Smallies/Saugeye will only get bigger, as the threat of predation goes down significantly as size increases.


 I can't agree with you more about smallies and even the saugeye to some extent. I have no issue with a stringer of 14" eyes but 8-10" give me a break!


----------



## cubsfan

I was there sunday afternoon and one fellow had caught 6 cats 12-16" off the wall on a rapala jig.


----------



## fishdealer04

cubsfan said:


> I was there sunday afternoon and one fellow had caught 6 cats 12-16" off the wall on a rapala jig.


Thanks for the update. I might head up there on Thursday


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Quick question..

I was there yesterday and hooked into something that im not sure what it was.. It was either a common carp or a big mouth buffalo? Could someone help me identify it


----------



## Mushijobah

Do you have a picture? Describe it to us if not.


----------



## Dandaman

we were using pink grubs on pink lead heads.


----------



## symba

Went today, first time at deer creek. Talked to one old timer on the wall who got 1 dink in 2 hours. He said they kicked up the flow 5 minutes before I got there and that should start the bite up. I ended up hooking into 3, but none landed. Was there about 1.5 hours. Saw 4 more guys downstream as I was leaving. Was windy (as ive heard) and cold as a witch's titty. Though it was great to get out and use the new reel.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Mushijobah said:


> Do you have a picture? Describe it to us if not.


It was about 10lbs.. Had the scales like a carp, and was kind of golden but not really more colored like a grass carp sort of..but I didnt see any barbs on its mouth..caught it on a white curly tailed grub right of the wall.


----------



## mjchiodi

I would say smallmouth buffalo


----------



## CrewCabMax

Anyone going to be out there tomorrow??


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Yeah it was a Smallmouth Buffalo, Common Carp have barbs and this one did not.


----------



## bstew

thinking of taking tomorrow off and heading down. Sounds like fish are being caught. I talked to a game warden last year, and guys keeping the smaller fish actually hurt nothing. The fish are stocked yearly, and if they are in the spillway they are only there for a short time and then head down stream. I'm not saying that I agree with keeping an 8" fish, but if you are feeding your family, and the fish won't be there tomorrow, then not a big deal. Anyways, just my 2 cents. would be interested to know if any one's been down today and how they are doing?


----------



## fishdealer04

There are a lot of smallmouth buffalo in the tailwaters. I snag a few every once in ahwile, when jigging, but also catch them on nightcrawlers and minnows sometimes. Fun to catch though.


----------



## Clayton

Hey, to anyone who has gone today... post a report! I'm going tomorrow hopefully in the morning and I was wondering what I ought to expect 

Thanks!


----------



## JBLLURE

went down to the spillway this morning really early decided to take a day off work to fish before the sun came up i caught 5 eyes 3 were dinks put back and two were nice one at 16" and one at 18" had alot of weight to the big one there eating really good right now once the sun came up the fishin stopped seen alot of small dinks caught up on the big wall.


----------



## NLC25

I just got back a little while ago...caught one smaller keeper. The fish turned on after the sun set but I only saw fish in the 10-14 inch range caught. There are lots of people there now...I'd say 30ish.


----------



## Clayton

Wow, what a bust!

My gear tangled a few times, I had maybe 5 bites all so short I couldn't get a hookset, and my dad caught 2 little dinks. One guy caught a dozen or so, but he was 'jigging' pretty damn hard, with a treble hook. Funny how his fish tried to eat it with their stomachs 

We got there at 7 a.m. or so and fished until 9:45. Fished the wall on the south end and caught the babies, then went down to the bridge for zero luck before coming home. Went and saw Taken instead. Good movie


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Yea I've seen the Snagger and the dog before. Or should I say, I've heard him before. "Whoosh" 180 times an hour. Dude must have a Popeye forearm and biceps. I wonder if the fillets are even worth a damn after he rips through them? To each his own I guess.


----------



## Smallmouth Crazy

fishdealer04 said:


> There are a lot of smallmouth buffalo in the tailwaters. I snag a few every once in ahwile, when jigging, but also catch them on nightcrawlers and minnows sometimes. Fun to catch though.


I remember seeing guys hook into huge suckers below the dam while jigging for eyes..fun to watch them hang on for dear life, you really need to play them in that situation.


----------



## Clayton

gobrowntruck21 said:


> Yea I've seen the Snagger and the dog before. Or should I say, I've heard him before. "Whoosh" 180 times an hour. Dude must have a Popeye forearm and biceps. I wonder if the fillets are even worth a damn after he rips through them? To each his own I guess.


Yep, the dog came too. That guy's a moron, IMO, because he was throwing the fish he snagged back! Of course they died, so nobody benefited from that. Maybe next time I see him I'll give the game warden a ring-a-ling, because it sounds like this guy is a real problem.

I hate cheaters >.<


----------



## CrewCabMax

Was out there from about 10 AM till 1. We got :S bad. It was bad. I dont even recall a single hit. My uncle missed a few, but it was bad. I couldnt keep from catching other peoples jigs and lines that had been snaged and broke. Fished on the south side along the rocks. North wall up on top was packed. Couldnt hardly stand up on the south side up top, the wind was horrible. Saw a couple of guys reeling in a couple 5-10 incher's. Nothing fancy. Wasnt much water running, and it was a sunny day for the most part. I tried every color combo you could imagine. Guess i'll try back next week.


----------



## NLC25

I assume with the snow melt they' need to dumb some water out. Do you guys find that brings bigger fish in? Last year when I caught some decent ones the waters was moving a bit more. Is it best to fish during the water release or just after?


----------



## Clayton

I don't think they like the sunshine, as crewcabmax mentioned. They're so nocturnal.


----------



## 66johnson

Clayton said:


> Yep, the dog came too. That guy's a moron, IMO, because he was throwing the fish he snagged back! Of course they died, so nobody benefited from that. Maybe next time I see him I'll give the game warden a ring-a-ling, because it sounds like this guy is a real problem.
> 
> I hate cheaters >.<



AHHHH the infamous Dogman........I honestly cant believe he was throwing them back. He usually fishes right on the edge of the handicap ramp and puts all snagged fish in the bucket as if he caught them legally. Also I have seen him take his limit and leave for 2 or so hours and be right back at it for more. The guy's an idiot. He makes me feel good about myself for doing things the correct way...


----------



## NLC25

66johnson said:


> AHHHH the infamous Dogman........I honestly cant believe he was throwing them back. He usually fishes right on the edge of the handicap ramp and puts all snagged fish in the bucket as if he caught them legally. Also I have seen him take his limit and leave for 2 or so hours and be right back at it for more. The guy's an idiot. He makes me feel good about myself for doing things the correct way...


Last year I saw the warden around looking for snaggers...seems like it would be easy for him to catch such a notorious offender (especially if he knows he has a dog with him). Has the warden been absent this season?


----------



## rossco

I'm pretty sure the game warden showed up about 10PM on Friday night. By that time, there were only a few people fishing, all legally from what I could tell. The snag man and his trusty sidekick had already left by then.


----------



## hookerswelcome

went to see the dog, that came with the IDIOT that keeps snagging the se. just about went over, walked up behind him and jammed a treble hook up his ass. if you see him there again call 740-412-7399 KEN BEBOUT the dog man needs to be taught a lesson.


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

just wondering if anybody did any good down there today with the warm weather? i've never fished the spillway but am thinking about going!


----------



## 66johnson

BIGWALNUT SMALLIE said:


> just wondering if anybody did any good down there today with the warm weather? i've never fished the spillway but am thinking about going!



We did good last night (Saturday) but with the water taking a huge jump up to 800cfs I wouldnt waste my time going down there until it is at a steady flow for a while. The bite turns off completely with such an abrupt increase in water flow. It will turn back on shortly though.


----------



## riverKing

about the guy whos always snagging fish, last year I called the game warden and he actually showed up(one of the times), they're busy guys have patience. but he said they fined that guy a handfull of times last year, but he kept on, I say they should confiscate his tackle


----------



## Clayton

riverKing said:


> about the guy whos always snagging fish, last year I called the game warden and he actually showed up(one of the times), they're busy guys have patience. but he said they fined that guy a handfull of times last year, but he kept on, I say they should confiscate his tackle


The fine should increase if you are a repeat offender. 

Exponentially.

fine^n, where n = # of times you do it, and the fine shoudl start at about 75 bucks. Lets see...

1st offense: 75^1 --> 75 bucks, not too bad.
2nd offense: 75^2 --> $5,625.

Do you think this would dissuade him?


----------



## jason78

Anyone been down there in the last couple of days i see the water is up its about time just wanting to know if they are biting AND DOWN WITH THE DOGMAN!!!!!!!!!:B


----------



## cubsfan

Nothig going on from 10-2pm today saw one 2-3pdr out of 15-20 guys water looks right still alittle quick mayb2 alittle quick maybe tonight or 2mrw if they cut off the flow.


----------



## Dandaman

Whats wrong with people? Can you really be that hungry?


----------



## Clayton

Dandaman said:


> Whats wrong with people? Can you really be that hungry?


Maybe they suck and don't know what a good fish looks like?

Pfft. IF we all really give a crap enough, maybe we'd fight to get a keep limit put on Saugeye. Until then, they'll keep keeping 8" dinks.


----------



## My Girl Robot

Clayton said:


> The fine should increase if you are a repeat offender.
> 
> Exponentially.
> 
> fine^n, where n = # of times you do it, and the fine shoudl start at about 75 bucks. Lets see...
> 
> 1st offense: 75^1 --> 75 bucks, not too bad.
> 2nd offense: 75^2 --> $5,625.
> 
> Do you think this would dissuade him?


Well if this guy was doing this in Michigan, he'd be in a world of hurt. 

Up there, the crime is "attempting to snag" ripping a "bait" through the water violently qualifies, actually snagging a fish has nothing to do with it. Judgement call by the DNR.

Secondly, a repeat offender goes straight to jail. 

The fine for first offense is $170. of which $100 must be paid on the spot. The fine will also include a per inch cost for any fish illegally taken. A local that was "fishing" near me last time I was on the Au Sable got popped. I left the river, an hour or so later, and ran into him in the parking lot, he said his fine was over $1,500.00-first offense. He had 5 chinooks on the ground (the limit in the river is 2) he had more fish in his trunk.

Hate on Michigan athletics if you will, but when it comes to their outdoors, they do it right.


----------



## Clayton

My Girl Robot said:


> Well if this guy was doing this in Michigan, he'd be in a world of hurt.
> 
> Up there, the crime is "attempting to snag" ripping a "bait" through the water violently qualifies, actually snagging a fish has nothing to do with it. Judgement call by the DNR.
> 
> Secondly, a repeat offender goes straight to jail.
> 
> The fine for first offense is $170. of which $100 must be paid on the spot. The fine will also include a per inch cost for any fish illegally taken. A local that was "fishing" near me last time I was on the Au Sable got popped. I left the river, an hour or so later, and ran into him in the parking lot, he said his fine was over $1,500.00-first offense. He had 5 chinooks on the ground (the limit in the river is 2) he had more fish in his trunk.
> 
> Hate on Michigan athletics if you will, but when it comes to their outdoors, they do it right.


Man, I guess they do do it quite right! Ohio seems to be lacking in that regard, way too many people scam the wilderness... which sounds very strange when you read that phrase back to yourself lol. But really, it's out of hand IMO


----------



## fishdealer04

Hit up Deer Creek today, first time in probably 10 months. It was really windy and the water was high and moving fast. Not many people fishing. Caught a bunch of smallmouth buffalo and a few carp- fun to catch, but not to eat. Got 1 small channel cat on a jig, threw him back. I did manage to catch 2 Flatheads, kind of weird for this time of year, but I always seem to catch them in the winter at Deer Creek. Caught them both on shad. Did catch 1 saugeye and that was it. Was a nice 24 incher though.

Flathead:










Second Flathead:










Saugeye:


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Good job and nice to see someone catching quality fish out of there. I know it couldn't have been easy with the water moving so quickly.


----------



## Chub Buster II

With the water coming out 1400 cfs you almost got to throw a stop sign down in the water and hope the fish will notice what you're trying to get them to bite on. Otherwise it's snaggin city.

Now if you can honestly say you made them bite. Then hats off when that happens. JMHO. Been there and seen it to many times.

Nice fish fishdealer04

Lake still rising and water cranking out still.


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Well hats off to him because he caught some dam nice fish.


----------



## Chub Buster II

That's what I said. Nice fish fishdealer04.

Just wish that water would soon get back to being stabilized somewhat whether it be 1000 steady for several days or back down to a 100.


----------



## Catman63

Nice fish Brian! Guess i'm gonna have to hit the tailwaters this week.


----------



## Mushijobah

Nice fish! That saugeye looks tasty!


----------



## fishdealer04

Mushijobah said:


> Nice fish! That saugeye looks tasty!



Yes he was, ate him right when I got home, first one I have had in about 10 months...haha.

Thanks for the comments guys.

The water was really up, I was hoping it was going to be slower, but I made the hour and a half drive up there so I fished it, and it paid off. I am thinking of heading back up next week. Hopefully the water will be slower.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Was you on the wall catching them shovelhead fishdealer?


----------



## Chub Buster II

Lake level seems to have peaked finally and maybe headed back down a touch. Hopefully it'll get back down to winter pool so they can slow things down a bit. I'm hoping the bigger s-eye's will be laying in there like last year for all to catch after a similar scenario with the outflow at this time last year. Time will tell I guess.
Hopefully your fish fishdealer is a sign of what's to come.


fishdealer04 said:


> I am thinking of heading back up next week. Hopefully the water will be slower.


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Fish from 5pm-7pm, caught this one around 5:30 and lost another nice one close. Seemed like the super slow to almost no retrieve got it done. I must have got there shortly after the water was cut back 1000cfs, should hopefully pick up soon. will post pic later. 
fish stats-22"long girth-14"


----------



## Chub Buster II

Thanks for the update flttubejky. You're getting me excited.

How much weight you using FLTTUBEJKY?


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

double 1/8oz jigs with pink on top and white on the bottom. I think the white works a little better when the water is clear, but today it had a little color.


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

pic of saugeye


----------



## Chub Buster II

What a good lookin Girl. Good fish.


----------



## Clayton

Congrats on catching a fish that had been sober for 62 years! lol.


----------



## fishdealer04

I caught all my fish off the wall, had to use 2 3/8 oz jigs to keep it down by the bottom. Usually I use 2 1/8 oz jigs. Caught all my fish on black and white. Flats came on the shad though.

So the water has slowed down? 

There were a whole lot of shad being thrown around in the water, small ones and big ones alike. I saw a nice big saugeye struggle in the current and then go under, definitley a good sign that they are in there.

Flt tube- did you catch any other saugeye or just that one? I did not catch any other 'eyes, didn't even get a hit other than the fish I caught.


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Fishdealer- I lost two others close to shore, the bite was so soft, it felt like I was dragging a bucket when I had a fish.


----------



## NLC25

Very nice fish---those eyes are chunky!


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

What size shad did you use fishdealer? and can you buy shad at Frostees?


----------



## Chub Buster II

Should be able to go around the banks in the flats and round up all the dead stoned shad you need. Usually snag a few when your saugeye fishing too.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Was you using monofilament line? Just curious cause if you were using Fireline and barely feeling a soft bite I'm probably going to be in trouble. 



FLT_TUBE_JNKY said:


> Fishdealer- I lost two others close to shore, the bite was so soft, it felt like I was dragging a bucket when I had a fish.


----------



## fishdealer04

I was using about a 3 to 4 inch fillet of a shad. I catch my own shad, so I am not sure if you can buy them there, I am sure you can though, they are usually pretty stocked up, only time I am in there though is to buy minnows.

There is a lot of winter kill shad around the lakes now. I have been cast netting mine out of the Ohio river I got about 40 last week in the 1 pound range that I have vacum sealed in my freezer.

I use fireline as well, the saugeye that I caught hit the jig hard, I thought it was a buffalo or a channel the way it hit it.


----------



## fishintechnician

if you vacuum pak them does it keep them from getting soft? because every time i try to freeze it they get soft


----------



## gobrowntruck21

The water was up and MOVING this pm but saw a few nice ones that were caught including one dandy I'd say 4+lbs maybe 24,25" she was a pig. Didn't seem like many were caught in the relatively short time I was there but some bigens pulled out though. Don't know what it is but when the water is up and muddy the bite slows down but the fish are bigger.


----------



## jason78

was the water over the handicap fishing spots and is the water really really muddy go brown


----------



## gobrowntruck21

water was over the very tailend of the ramps, I've fished way higher, not covering all the bank rock, and yea it was very muddy


----------



## fishdealer04

fishintechnician said:


> if you vacuum pak them does it keep them from getting soft? because every time i try to freeze it they get soft


Basicly I catch the shad, take them home and then rinse them off. Pat them dry and freeze them in plastic bags nice and flat. Once they are frozen I vacum seal them. They will stay fresh for way longer than I will keep them. When you de-frost them, cut a slit in the bag to allow it to expand, only take out what you will use. If you freeze shad, then un freeze them, and then freeze them again, etc... they get real mushy. Whatever I don't use after a trip I throw away.

The water was really muddy when I was there on Thursday, which is not suprising with the amount of water they have been pumping out.


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

can anyone tell me the best way to get to the spillway from columbus, i'll be coming from 71s. also any tips on how to land a couple of these saugeye as far as bait. first time going down tomorrow morning. any info is appreciated. if any wants to meet down there and show me the ropes that would be cool too. i'm looking to get down there around 8 am.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Went up this morning. Ended up catching these four between me and my father. The biggest one their is right at 19". Few other nice fish being caught and some of your normal 10-12 inchers. 

I personally foul hooked 2 other nice 20-24" saugeye, 2 channel cat and another 10-12" saugeye. A lot of other nice sized snagged fish were being pulled in like a bad habbit. Some folks being honest and throwing foul hooked fish back. While others doing the old drag them up in the rocks sideways, backwards, with the net technique like someone don't notice what you're trying to do. Anyway to each his own. Then of course you got Dog Man in his honey hole.

Overall in my opinion they're not hitting very consistantly or as well as they were prior to the steep increase in outflow. However as stated by gobrowntruck the bigger ones have moved up or came out as normal when the water rises this time of year.


----------



## fishdealer04

BIGWALNUT SMALLIE said:


> can anyone tell me the best way to get to the spillway from columbus, i'll be coming from 71s. also any tips on how to land a couple of these saugeye as far as bait. first time going down tomorrow morning. any info is appreciated. if any wants to meet down there and show me the ropes that would be cool too. i'm looking to get down there around 8 am.


Get off at the Mt. Sterling exit and then just follow the signs to the park and then to the dam. I don't know the exact exit number but its in the 80's, as I always come up from Cincinnati and take back roads past the outlet malls.

As for bait, jigs seem to work the best for me. I do catch a fair amount on minnows, but all my big ones come from jigs. I like to use 2 1/8 oz jigs with 3 inch twister tail grubs ranging in color from white and black all the way to hot pink. Chartuese is an excellent color as is orange. I had most luck the other day when I was there on white and black, I also pretty much fished those colors exclusivley that day though.


----------



## CrewCabMax

I'm thinking about running back up there tomorrow to see. Does anyone know how the water flow is looking?? If i go, I'll be in a big GMC crew cab truck! Cant miss me!


----------



## gobrowntruck21

http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/dcs_of.jpg to check outflow of Deercreek at dam
http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/dcs_elev_gage.jpg to check lake level of Deercreek


----------



## Catman63

BIGWALNUT SMALLIE said:


> can anyone tell me the best way to get to the spillway from columbus, i'll be coming from 71s. also any tips on how to land a couple of these saugeye as far as bait. first time going down tomorrow morning. any info is appreciated. if any wants to meet down there and show me the ropes that would be cool too. i'm looking to get down there around 8 am.


71 S to Rt 56 into Mt Sterling. Make a right on Rt 3/62. It forks and veer to the left onto Rt 207. Follow 207 all the way down the west side of the Lake until you see the signs for the Dam on the left (Crownover Mill Road). Just follow the signs from there.


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

hey thanks for the directions guys. made it down there this morning around 8:15. fished til about noon, ended up with 1 nice one about 22 inchs. lucky the guy next to me was nice enough to net her for me or i would have had a hard time landing her. i didn't think to bring a net. bite was kind of slow, probably only seen a dozen or so fish caught between the 20 or so people fishing. the fish i caught is going to make a good dinner tonight, but next time i hope to come home with a hand full.

oh ya she hit the hot pink and white 2 inch twister. thanks for the help.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Any pics BigWalnutSmallie. That's a good saugeye. Qualifies as Fish Ohio Saugeye if you feel out the application and send into ODNR. Any saugeye 21" or better qualifies fish Ohio.

Congrats on catching a good one.


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

the only pic i have is on my cell. i dont have a way to get it on my computer. if you can get it from your phone to your computer i can send it to you by text and you could post it for me. pm your cell # to me if interested. thanks scott


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

can anyone pm me a cell # to send my pic to and post it for me? thanks scott


----------



## CrewCabMax

Was there for the better part of the day. I fished at the lower end of the hanicap acess on the rocks. The lower 10 ft of ramp was under water. The guys up on the ramp were smashing them all day. I saw 5-10, 4+ lber's caught today. There were some REALLY nice fishing taken out today, some foul hooked, and some not. I also saw A LOT of foul hooked fish make it into buckets, and some of those fish were VERY nice fish! Kind of upseting, but who am I to tell a guy what to do. We cought a few fish, only one keeper and it was 17". I'm planning on heading back out sometime later in the week. The strong bite seemed to be from 2pm till about 5pm. I fished from 12-6. Water was moving pretty quick, and tons of foamy stuff on top. I threw every size and every color combo imaginable. Not one seemed to do better than the other. Partly Sunny, temp around 35. Anyone else planning on making it up there this week? Would be interested in fishing/BS'ing with someone if we could get something figured out.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

What was the popular color jig you used today?


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Crewcab- I'm going to try to make it down later this week for a morning trip.


----------



## cntfshalic

Hey CrewMax I might be heading down early friday morning, driving blue honda pilot.


----------



## fishdealer04

I will be there Thursday. Silver ford escape with a OGF sticker on my back window. I will either be on the rocks if the water is really moving, or up on the dam if it is a little slower to try and get both cats and saugeye.


----------



## Mushijobah

Just waiting for someone to snag a paddlefish....anyone heard of any this year?


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Mushijobah said:


> Just waiting for someone to snag a paddlefish....anyone heard of any this year?


Funny you brought that up I was thinking of that with as many fish I snaged and saw snaged on sunday morning. Haven't seen one in a good 10 years down there.


----------



## Chub Buster II

I agree with flt tube it's been awhile since I've seen a paddle fish down there. About 5 years ago was last time I'd seen one.


----------



## CrewCabMax

SouthernOhioElite said:


> What was the popular color jig you used today?


I threw everything, and so was everyone else. Seems most were throwing pink, chart, and white. Those seemed to be common. I tried them all, and the all caught fish, just not big ones. 

I'll see what day i'm going to be able to make it back out there. I drive a crew cab long bed GMC 2500HD diesel. CANT miss the truck or me, i'm a pretty big guy! I'm going to try and get between the tall wall and the handicaped somewhere. Seemed to be the hot spots everytime i've been there. 

Also, are there sturgeon in Deer Creek?? I was talking with a guy there today that said there was, and i have never herd that before. Just wondering.


----------



## Chub Buster II

I've never heard of it crew cab. Can't say I know for sure either but, I'd have to lean towards the "not" side for now.

What was the guy's story?


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Is the paddlefish sign even still down there?


----------



## Mushijobah

I'm sure sturgeon migrate up Deer Creek at times. They are in the Scioto. That's for sure. And they migrate in a similar way compared to Paddles. Much more rare, though. Can anyone verify a sturgeon in DC?


----------



## fishdealer04

I have never seen a sturgeon in there. I got this guy in December in '06










I saw one last year though swimming up on the surface for a few seconds and then went back down.


----------



## RiverWader

Where is Deer Creek , And how would I get there From Athens?


----------



## Clayton

Nice paddlefish! I hope you put him back unharmed?


----------



## Chub Buster II

RiverWader here's an address you can use for directions.
US Army Corps of Engineers&#8206;
21897 Deer Creek Rd, Mt Sterling, OH&#8206; 

Or Click this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=21897+Deer+Creek+Rd,+Mt+Sterling,+OH+43143+(US+Army+Corps+of+Engineers)&geocode=CR4Zcn6wZXAhFfedXAIdq0YK-yGSFRzew2mYlQ&dirflg=&saddr=Athens,+OH&f=d&hl=en&dq=Deer+Creek+Dam+loc:+Mt.+Sterling,+OH&sll=39.90088,-83.123367&sspn=0.711954,0.342242&cid=39624183,-83212629,10779481998077203858&ie=UTF8&ll=39.529467,-82.809448&spn=0.79441,1.230469&t=h&z=10


RiverWader said:


> Where is Deer Creek , And how would I get there From Athens?


Couple different ways you can get there off 22. You could also just take 22 all the way to 207 N then hang a right on Crownover Mill. Little bit longer that way but little easier. Plus that'll drop you past Frosties Bait shop there on Crownover Mill.


----------



## riverKing

mushi do you think the shovelnose like that type of habitat, I thought they liked that bigger water with some large woody debri and softer substrate. that would be a neat catch, as far as I know only one has been reported back to the dnr since the start of the reintroduction, so thats what 6-7years since it started. maybe they have shocked some since then too?
btw, if anyone catches one down there, thats a state endangered species, release it and report it, report a dead one even. but dont kill one, $1000 fine for a state E.

Rwader, hop 33 up to 22 where cuts across, follow that through Cville over the scioto and take a right on....350 maybe, and then I forget the road that the spillway is on. its about an hour and a half from nelsonville, less if you drive like a maniac, but dont go 80 on 22, the ticket sucks
its crowded, lots of small fish, some big ones, but its pretty fun, and they will bite any time day or night on the right day
1-800-poacher for the snaggers, its fun if you call and give the description standing 10ft from the idiots, they just give you dirty looks


----------



## Mushijobah

I read that they can enter tributaries to their 'home' stream. Knowing paddlefish do the same thing, it seems possible that they would enter DC. Now when they speak of tributaries, they may mean larger ones (from the Ohio R. to the Scioto...or from the Scioto to Big Darby/Big Walnut/Paint). I havn't found anything that says there is a limit to a size of a tributary that they may enter to spawn. Have you read anything that describes this? I'm looking for further info right now.


----------



## fishdealer04

Clayton said:


> Nice paddlefish! I hope you put him back unharmed?


Of course. Took 2 pictures and put him back. He had my jig in him, plus about 4 others with line hanging off and what not. Took all the jigs out of him and cut all the line. Took him a minute to take off (took me 45 minutes to get him in on 8 pound line an a light action rod) but he swam off with a big splash.

Strong fish. I caught him up on top of the wall, right where the water comes from the dam into the tailwaters. Where the picture is taken is where I landed him. Almost exactly across from where the handicap ramp is on the otherside.


----------



## hulapopper87

Relatively new to Columbus fishing spots, as I hail from the Cleveland area. Lookin' to head down to deer creek tomorrow for saugeyes (rain pending). Never fished there. Is it pretty much just a jig head and twister tail? Or is there a better way to approach it? If so what size jig head? Hoping to head down there with a game plan rather than going in blind. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Slabs!

I see paddlefish come out of there every year. I was wondering why they were listed as endangered or rarely seen, because I always see them caught there. See quite a few of them in the Marietta area in the Muskingum as well.


----------



## RiverWader

What are the Eyes hittin on? My Brother and I are makin the trip up early Friday morning, Any advice would be greatly apreciated!!


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

I use double 1/8oz with either white,pink, or chartruce. When are you going tomorrow? I might go tonight and or tomorrow.


----------



## RiverWader

Im headed up Friday, What does the Spillway look like? The biggest spillway Ive seen was at Wills Creek.


----------



## fishdealer04

Slabs! said:


> I see paddlefish come out of there every year. I was wondering why they were listed as endangered or rarely seen, because I always see them caught there. See quite a few of them in the Marietta area in the Muskingum as well.


They are stacked in the tailwaters pretty thick I think. When you go to lakes and what not they are harder to find. Not exactly sure why they are endangered here, but in KY you can snag them and shoot them with a bow, out west people line up on the rivers just to snag them.

Pretty much fishing for saugeye is a jig and twister tail at DC. I also use 1/8 oz jigs with 3 inch twister tails. Some people go bigger and some go smaller as well. If the current is really moving I will switch to 1/4 oz jigs and like last week it was really pushing so I moved up to 3/8 oz, which is almost too heavy though for the rods I use, but that was the only way to get it on the bottom and keep it down.

My sister who lives up in Columbus said it is supposed to storm and rain a lot tomorrow and thursday? You never know with the weather guys, but if it does, I am sure the water will be pumping big time again on Thursday and Friday.


----------



## rossco

RiverWader said:


> Im headed up Friday, What does the Spillway look like? The biggest spillway Ive seen was at Wills Creek.


gobrowntruck's description sums it up pretty well. If you make it to Crownover Mill Rd, you won't miss the spillway. Good luck. I hope it's a worthwhile trip.

From gobrowntruck21:
The wall is the head of the dam and probably 25' high on both sides of the creek. You can't miss it. It's off Crownover Mill Rd. which is off SR 207. Turn onto Crownover Mill Rd. at the boat cover shop. Go down a ways then stop at the bait shop on your right. That's Frostee's. Buy something there. They have anything you'll need. Then travel on down that road some more. It'll lead you right down to the creek. Dress warm, the wind never stops there. And good luck.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Compliments of google maps.


----------



## fishdealer04

Good shot of the dam


----------



## thegcdawg

Well I have seen many different times when people say they are biting, so since I'm off tomorrow, I will just go down there all day. Be driving the Tundra CrewMax that hasn't had a bath since the start of deer season.
Good luck everyone.


----------



## Chub Buster II

The water surely isn't that color right now but that's a good looking spillway.

Don't know if you noticed fishdealer or anyone else for that matter. As I went to bleed out my saugeye before cleaning them the other day if you flipped the fish upside down and looked at the gills when spreading them. You could see deposits of the mud on their gills somewhat where they've been filtering it through. Granted the water in my bucket in such a small area didn't help. I'll have to look at them again as they come out of the spillway.

I wonder how much of that effects their oxygen intake? You'd think it have to but maybe not. Kinda like us trying to breath in a sand storm I would imagine.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Hulapopper, River Wader - 
Best thing i can tell you is get as close to the dam as possible. Let it hit the bottom and work it SLOW on the bottom, jigin up and down or quick sweeps. Thats what seemed to work the best for me. Color didnt seem to matter, but with the clarity of the water, i think brighter is better. I use 2" and 3" twisters with an 3/8 on botom and an 1/8 oz about 6" above that. I run two different colors most of the time, but if i see them hitting on color more than the other, i'll run the same color. Keep an eye on what everyone else is reeling them in on. Give that color a try. I'm not sure how much color maters, but just switch it up. I'm thinking about going down tomorrow too, but i'll have to see what the rain looks like. If not tomorrow, I'll probably go Friday morning. I looked this morning and the lake was still 2' over winter pool, so i'm sure the water will still be moving pretty good tomorrow. If i'm there, i'll be around close to the handicaped ramp or on the rocks between the dam and ramp. I find it better fising on the N side of the creek(the side where bath rooms and shelter house is) Good luck and leave me some !!


----------



## RiverWader

Thanks Everyone for the advice. Are there alot of Snagsin the Spillway? And is there a size limit or number you can keep?


----------



## fishdealer04

There is no size limit on saugeye but the daily limit is 6. IMO anything really under 14" doesn't have much meat on them.

Snags there are a lot of rocks in there, I have lost many of jigs in there, but you can usually pop your jig free if you get it snagged.


----------



## BIGWALNUT SMALLIE

hey chub buster, just wondering if you got that text of the fish i caught yesterday and tried to post it? no big deal though.


----------



## Chub Buster II

My fault checked my sent pm's and realized I miss typed my number. Check your pm's again.


----------



## hulapopper87

Thanks all for the advice


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Whats the fishing like in late spring/summer time there at the dam?


----------



## Chub Buster II

I personally don't fish it much in late spring to summer. Heard a few folks say they still do pretty good on the saugeye all the way up into late spring. I'm hitting the main lakes in the spring for crappie and bass. Then start hitting Erie in May for the Walleye.


----------



## fishdealer04

SouthernOhioElite said:


> Whats the fishing like in late spring/summer time there at the dam?


I catch a few saugeye in late spring through the summer, but they are always small. You can catch a decent amount of catfish though and rough fish. It turns on again in the winter though for saugeye.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Here is BIGWALNUT SMALLIE's s-eye he caught the other day. About 22inches he said. Nice fish.


----------



## RiverWader

Can someone tell me What time the Bait shop opens and are they carrying minnows yet?


----------



## CrewCabMax

I'm not sure about what time they open, but yes they have minnows. I stoped and picked some up on Monday. I'm planning on being back out there in the morning. I wasnt able to make it this morning, but i'll be there in the morning. As of now i dont have to work. Anyone else going to be there in the morning? I'll be down there around 10 or so.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Frosties there on Crownover Mill I think is open as early as 5:30am. They usually are open by 6pm. Pretty sure. Some good ole farts always meet in there to drink coffee and BS in the morning. So don't be surprised if they pick on you.


----------



## RiverWader

Im going to be there in the morning , Should be there around 8 or so. Red Ranger with White Dog box in the back


----------



## CrewCabMax

Good luck, they are not letting any water out. Fished there today from about 12-5 and caught 6, all dinks. I think i'm done untill we get a good rain to get some water comming out again! The water is low now. I was there monday and the bottom 10 ft of the handicaped ramp was covered, now its a foot and a half BELOW to bottom of the handicaped. Good luck man, and let us know how you do!


----------



## RiverWader

Hows the Crappie fishing in the Spillway?


----------



## SPEAKSUP

I have never caught anything other than S-Eye's been down there with Buddys pulled out a cat or two. No Crappie or really anything else. I have caught nothing else but it's still fun.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Never fished for crappie there. The only time i go there is for eye's or cats


----------



## Chub Buster II

I'll catch a decent crappie now and again at the spillway. I've caught two this year so far. Also you'll run into the white bass sometime more often than not. However I've only seen one caught near me this year. 

Regardless of catching the dinks or not they're a lot of fun to catch. Some of the best bite can happen when the water is down 100cfs steady or lower. 12 inchers are plentiful and if you don't have a long trip. A couple limits of 12 inchers can be a nice meal. Regardless what others think in my opinion 12 inchers are just as nice as a yellow perch fillet. If you can't get a good fillet off them then I don't think you could get a good fillet off a perch either. They're stocked fish and there's plenty big ones in there. I've stood there I don't know how many time this year and catch 30-50 fish 10-12inchers. With my cousin or friend right beside me doing just as well. Keeping 6 -10-12inchers isn't going to dint the population.

If some of the folks (and I'm not trying to say anyone on here) would turn half the 3-5 pounders they snag back. Then we'd have a lot more 6-8 pounders running around. I'll keep my 6 - 10-12inchers. It can be a fun sport but I'll manage out my share if that's all I'm catching. Some folks can disagree that's fine. They're stocked hybrid fish not native and they'll eat themselves out of house and home if you don't manage a few small or big. As stated earlier they're hard on the Smallmouth's habitat in the creeks. I honestly believe that.


----------



## SPEAKSUP

Ive seen quite a few things caught out of there just none by me. Even see a Largemouth pulled out guy was under the Bridge. I usually stop by the shop on the way to the Spillway pick up some Minnows and have some fun. When had enough time there. We go out make a right. and Head down past the Boat Launch Where the road runs next to the lake all the way on the end. Catch some cats and carp out of there.


----------



## fishdealer04

I have caught quite a few different species in the spillway. I myself have only caught a few crappie, but I have seen people there just fishing for them and catching decent ones. My dad caught a 16 incher out of there 2 years ago that is mounted on the wall right now (fathers day present for him) 

During the spring you can catch a decent amount of white bass, I have seen quite a few smallmouth bass as well.


----------



## Big Joshy

Chub buster, I appreciate how you stated your case for keeping small eyes. I would agree that there is a major major snagging problem down there and its amazing they dont have someone on site all day every day to stop it. 
I went down a few days ago. I almost never go over there even though its not too far for me. As soon as I got there I quickly remembered why I avoid that place. I showed up at noon and The first hour I was there I couldnt buy a bite, But 4 people that showed up when I did had several nice fish in their buckets almost right away, All but one of them snagged. All the while one snagger was talking about "how good they bite down when they hit" and how "they love that pink tail". Needless to say I was not happy. I was about 5 seconds from going over to him and telling him what a joke he was when they moved to another section of the spillway. The bad thing is anyone who knows anything about saugeye knows that those snagged fish could have easily been caught when they were ready to bite later in the evening, or the next morning. But the honest fishermen looses out, because the snaggers have perfected the art. Using jigs with treble stingers that hang 6 inches behind a two inch tail. I would have no problem if they made a no treble hook rule for the first 600 yards below deercreek. I like to catch them on jerkbaits but im only there a couple of times a year, and it would be a good way to make some people more honest fishermen.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Big Joshy the feeling is very mutual. I stopped down last night after work to check on the bite at 12am. It wasn't on for me. Was there for almost an hour and fished pretty hard. Before the water came up 1.5 weeks ago or so I would've done caught 6-8 fish in 15 -25 minutes. However the bite still hasn't turned back on, at least not for me. The bigger ones are now in there, but they aren't biting very well or at all in my case last night. Hopefully they'll decided to eat again more freenzy like.

I did managed to snag about an 18 incher by the tail. As cold as it was I had 3 poles rigged up and after about an hour and breaking off at least 1 jig on each double jig rigged pole I said time to go.


----------



## Knew2Fish

Hey guys i'm hoping to clarify the setup fot a double jig system. I've tried the polymer know on both jigs and found it works well, but still curious if a there is a better knot for the top jig. Do you tie a lead into the line for the top one? I've tried this and find the jig mostly wraps itself around the line anyways. I'm definately going to set up my rods with different color combinations before I get there this time.. my hands were so freaking cold it took five minutes to change my colors/size of jighead! I'd have to agree with you CB II, I'd keep those 12"s if I had at least 1-2 over 16. My luck is I'd manage 3 10-12's and nothing else. I managed 4 the only time I made it out this winter, but 2 were 8ish so they all bent back in before they froze up! Thanks for the informative posts guys!


----------



## Chub Buster II

I don't know about others but the polymer knot is what i use primarily. 

With the fireline after I tie the polymer knot I use a lock knot on top of the polymer knot sometimes. This lock knot is what PowerPro Line manufactures suggests for their super lines.

In the link below they're using a Reverse Albright Knot to tie PowerPro to Monofiliment of larger diameter. This is what I use to connect my fireline to my mono filler. Cause fireline only comes in standard 120yd. spools. So I use a little 8-10# test filler. Anyway back to the lock knot at the second part of this link below. They're referring to this as a half hitch. This pyramid looking knot is what I'll sometimes tie on top of my polymer knots while using fireline. Same should go for all super lines cause the knots tend to slip some due to no stretch unlike mono. A little TMI(To Much Info). I apologize. Here's the link. http://www.powerpro.com/using/reversealbright.asp


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Whats the water looking like up there? Is it still moving fast with that foam on top or has it calmed down a little bit? Is the bite on or off?


----------



## Big Joshy

http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/dcsns.htm

heres a link with the outflow info. That sounds funny, OUTFLOW INFO.


----------



## gobrowntruck21

Knew2Fish go to the Tackle Talk forum and search "double jig", I asked the same question 3/4 weeks ago and got some good info. Just thought I'd let you know.


----------



## jsixis

The wife and I fished for 6 hours, didn't catch a thing. Saw about 50 other people not catching either so it must have been a bad day.
I was up on top right at the spillway, the water was roaring. Had some strong hits but they were so rare we missed them.
Had to use a huge sinker to get to the bottom, tried a bottom bounce that I used in lake erie but snagged it on the first cast. It was too heavy anyways.
Heading back down there today (21st) be there from 3pm till dark.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Fishing is really slow at d-creek. Don't waste a long trip. Only managed to catch 7 fish all within an hour but fished for 2 hrs before retiring. A lot of fishing line in water. Gets annoying to deal with not blaming folks cause I break off too. Just a bunch of it in there near snags. Pulled in a 3/8 oz. jig off a snag with a 4in grub on it and a 6 inch homemade stinger hook with a huge gamkatsu trebel as the stinger. Only one intention for something like that usually and I say usually. They do work for the right reason sometimes though.


----------



## Knew2Fish

Thanks again for all the good info guys. I'm at work now, but I'll check into the link and forum when I get home. Think I'm headin to a brunch at my Mom's tomorrow. Just so happens that she lives two blocks from Buckeye Lake's North Shore ramp, so I'll be casting again.. weather permitting. I hope to make it back down to DC this week to put all the good advise to use! I'll report back with my luck tomorrow..


----------



## fishdealer04

Chub- even with the slow bite seems like you have a nice meal there...haha


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

Thinking about going up in the next few days..hows the bite been? would it be worth the trip?


----------



## Chub Buster II

fishdealer. I don't know if it was the rock I was dragging it across or what but one of my fishing partners was standing right beside me casting in a little different area and using the exact same setup. He couldn't buy a bite. However yesterday evening he did really well bringing home a nice limit. Same with him though. He thought it might be an easy evening as he had 3-4 good ones in the bucket in 15-20 minutes then spent the next 2-3 hours trying to catch his last two. 

I was retrieving it ridculously slow. Sometimes not even moving it for a few seconds before starting to drag it again with rod tip up. With that fireline most of the very few bites I had was felt with a little slack in the line. Feeling the tick. That's why I like that line. Mono I may have thought it was just a rock or tension/resistance from fishing line in water. After I caught my fish I can't remember how many times I broke and retied. Good thing about that line is it'll usually break right at the bait you're using. Would you agree fishdealer?


----------



## fishdealer04

When it does break, it does usually break at the knot, which is where the weakest point would be on that line. Fireline is awesome, I will not use any other line while fishing for saugeye.


----------



## Jighead

Has any one used a floating "Jighead" ( haha thats my sign on name) set up down below the dam. And also are you all fishing right below the dame in the current or down a bit? Tight lines!


----------



## JBLLURE

fished friday night caught alot of small ones and lost a nice one two guys next to us was doing really well one guy got his limit i decided to go back sat. night even tho the weather was horrible and it was cold good thing i went i got a 16" 18" 19" and two small ones probably could of got my limit but it was cold and i mean it was cold. i have pics but cant figure out how to post them on here


----------



## Rocky Forker

I have never fished Deer creek,are they hitting on jigs,and twister tails? And if so ripped with minnows? I live near Cinci, but want to go to Deer Creek spill way for the first time. I just want to be armed. And,do they seem to bite best in the early morning? I normally fish below Meldahl dam in the Ohio river for saugers and walleyes in the winter. But the river is up too much now.Any info would be appreciated.


----------



## fishdealer04

I fish from up on the dam all the way down to the handicap ramps.

I have tried using floating jigs on my bottom jig before, tipped with a minnow- did not seem to increase bites or anything so I went back to just using lead head jigs.

Most people are using jigs with twister tails on them. Some people tip them with minnows, I personaly do not, unless I am just using a bare jig with no plastic on it.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Rocky Forker

Sure does,thanks alot.


----------



## tnant1

I fish with a guy that doesn't even use a jig. He just uses a spitshot about 6-8 inches above his hook and just puts a minnow on the hook. No jig at all, and he does pretty well like that.


----------



## hulapopper87

Anyone think Deer Creek would be worth hitting today? Wondering if it's worth the 40 minute drive...


----------



## FLT_TUBE_JNKY

Flow is @ 150cfs, a little low for me, but I might give it a try when my wife gets home from school tonight just for something to do.


----------



## jason78

went to deer creek today a bunch of guys fishing i fished by the handicap access got a few bites in about 3 hours moved up on the wall and caught about 20 brought 4 home one other thing i have never seen so many people using the "stinger hook" and snaging fish that is sad


----------



## CrewCabMax

I was there today as well. Fished up on top from about noon till 4. Cought many fish in the 5-10 inch range, but no keepers. Also caught 2 catfish, 3 suckers and a couple shinners. BEAUTIFUL day today!! Good fishing, and talked to a couple nice guys! And yes, a ton of snaggers again. If they would treat that place like they do Maumee during the run with GW's, it would be a lot better! Had a great time!


----------



## fishdealer04

stinger hooks are real popular up there. The first time I saw someone use it a few years ago I had no idea what it was. Got a little closer and noticed a treble hook. Asked him what it was for and he said he put minnows on it....lol but his fish were coming up not hooked in the mouth...

Its pretty sad what people will do, to catch a fish....get some skill and do it the right way.


----------



## JBLLURE

my brother and i went last night caught 5 nice keepers two of them were over 19" caught alot of small ones not to many people at night makes it better you dont have to get mad at the snaggers that way. regular 1/16 jigs white twisters gets the job done nnnoooo stinger hooks thats just silly to use the bite is not that slow.


----------



## Chub Buster II

I've seen the stingers work the right way several times but more times than not they're meant for the wrong way. A lot of times they'll be biting short and when you start losing the ends of your twister/grub tails. Then that would be a reason you'd want to use a trailer hook or stinger hook in this since. But again you'll take a chance at head snagging one. I have seen them work effeciently and is why I gave them a try before. 

If you don't make them yourself them things are like $2 for 2 of them most places. I've tried them on the wall a few times but after losing two of them I said heck with that waste of money. I don't see how Dogman can afford it. I bet with all the 3/8oz jig heads Dogman's lost down by the handicap ramp. You could melt them all down to make a 25Lb boat anchor. Not to mention all them good treble hooks.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Ended up catching my best limit of the year last Sunday night. No big 20 inchers but a solid 15+ inches. I didn't catch hardly nothing for the first 1.5 hrs. I was there other than a couple 10 inchers. One of my fishing friends was there about an hour or so before me. He had caught a nice 15-16 incher right when I got there. Later he decided to pack it up and head to house giving me his good keeper as I was going to stay and wait it out. So I can't take credit for catching all 6 but I made it worth it by staying. Fished for 4 hours and after the last good one I caught I was outta there cause it was cold. Thanks to my fishing friend for the other nice fish. Here's a few picture from that catch.


----------



## cntfshalic

I fished sat morn 1-21 and caught 1-22" 1-19" 1-17" and several other smaller ones but i also managed to bring in 3 3/8 jig heads with #4 trebel hooks attached. Thats not a stinger thats a snager. Like chub buster said stingers do have a purpose on a short bite, but all you need is a #10 or #12 trebel just at the end of your grub to nail those short biters. My buddy foul hooked two that were easily 25" and fat as a pig. He un hooked em we looked at em, said that sucks and chucked em back in the drink with hopes that we or some one will reel em in with the hook on the inside of their mouth. Oh and by the way "DOGMAN" was there grippin and rippin like always. Be back again sat or sun to try again.


----------



## Chub Buster II

With his permission here's a nice 23 incher my fishing partner *johnson66* caught couple nights ago. Only one he caught as he stopped down for a couple hours in the evening to check the bite out. One nice fish like that can sometimes make it worth the trip. Nice fish johnson66.


----------



## Chub Buster II

cntfshalic said:


> Oh and by the way "DOGMAN" was there grippin and rippin like always. Be back again sat or sun to try again.


It's beyond trying to fine him. They need to take it to the next level.

By the way nice catch Sat. morning cntfshalic. Them are some good ones. I like taking them big fillets and making them into about 4-6 fillets off one fish.


----------



## Mushijobah

Is this 'dogman' fined ever? does anyone say anything to him or is his dog that intimidating?


----------



## Chub Buster II

Say anything to him? We're announcing it on a big chat forum and leaving pickaway county wildlife officer's number on here.

He was fined once last year that I seen myself. Then heard a few other times too. He just takes his fine turns around and right back to snagging. I don't get it.


----------



## riverKing

I know I have said it, probably in this thread already, but we (the fisherman) are the ones who will stop the poaching.
I called the warden on him a couple times last year
1-800- poacher stand 15ft from him and give a loud description so he can hear it, then have the guy next to you do the same thing 20minutes later.
if it gets to the point that the guy is sick of the people around him he'll stop.
and yes dogman has been fined plenty of times

on top of that (note, I am a loud often annoying person) get a nice loud conversation going with your buddy about how sad it is that a person is such a bad fisherman that they have to snag fish, they get the point


----------



## Fishingislife

> (note, I am a loud often annoying person)


Glad you are a honest person riverking! PS: Do you still sleep with darters under your pillow?


----------



## Knew2Fish

sounds like Dogman needs to be hit with a fine from the new laws. If I remember from what I've read in the Ohio Outdoor News, it's $50 a fish. Now if you could just manage to get the GW there in time to catch him red handed. I believe I can becaome a fairly annoying chap as well Riverking, I look forward to my first encounter with the Dogman! BTW, nice catches and pics guys. Nothing like a limit to feed the fever!!


----------



## KDOG1976

Guys i also had poaching and would normally try to call the gamewarden without him knowing. However there are times when you know the game warden isnt coming, or isnt coming quickly and the guy will get away. This happened to me once and I walked down to the pachers with 3 other men and we returned the fish to the water against their will and made them stop snagging. When the culprit protested we simply informed him that we are taking matters into our own hands and he needed to leave immediatly. If he failed to comply with our demands we offered to confiscate all his equipment against his will and call the sheriff, Obviously what we did is illegal, but the reality is that it was the right and ethical thing to do and I cant imagine a judge in this country cracking down on me for stopping a poacher. Guys you all are persoanly responsbile to step up and do what is right. Stop poachers, call the GW, call the police, steal their stuff if necesary to teach them a lesson, do whatever it takes.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Another thing that pisses me off about the locals down there is that they'll come in, and catch there 6, leave for 20 mins and come back with an empty bucket and catch 6 more, leave for 20 mins and come back with a differnet empty bucket and catch 6 more. Yesterday i watched a group of 3 guys do that 4 times with fish that were 6"-8". Its a bigger older guy with a black bucket with flames painted on it. Him and a couple guys that fish down there. They have been there at some point EVERY time i've been down there. I know the possesion limit is 6 A DAY, not 6 A TRIP. Call the poachers line and they dont do ****. I was there for 3 hours after i called and NO ONE showed up. I got the GW's # now, so i'll call him direct next time.


----------



## Capital outdoorsman

I don't know about stealing their stuff. You may also run into someone who could potentially cause you harm. Maybe not if you fish with 3 or 4 other guys but I have heard stories of things getting out of hand.


----------



## Clayton

Knew2Fish said:


> sounds like Dogman needs to be hit with a fine from the new laws. If I remember from what I've read in the Ohio Outdoor News, it's $50 a fish. Now if you could just manage to get the GW there in time to catch him red handed. I believe I can becaome a fairly annoying chap as well Riverking, I look forward to my first encounter with the Dogman! BTW, nice catches and pics guys. Nothing like a limit to feed the fever!!


WEll ya know, if you let all the air out of a guy's tires, he tends to drive away a ton slower


----------



## seethe303

suggesting something illegal to combat this guy doesn't make you much better than him.


----------



## Clayton

is it illegal to let the air out? It's not criminal damages or vandalism, it's just kind of a pain in the ass as far as I can tell. Never heard of anyone getting in trouble with the law for it.

Personally I'd like to see someone shove him over the edge, but you don't see me suggesting it. Because it's illegal.


----------



## KDOG1976

Regarding doing something illegal to stop a poacher(stealing there stuff) I should clarify I am not advocating stealing there stuff. I am suggesting though that you take there stuff against there will and hold it until the GW or police arrive. I would first offer the courtesy(not that they desreve it) of letting them put the fish back and leave. Legally I think it is acceptable to take their stuff and turn it into an ODNR station. That is not stealing. it is more liek a citizens arrest. Bottom line is as long as u are not putting your own personal safety at risk you can and should do whatever you can up to and including stealing their gear and slashing tires. From a legal standpoint you will not get in trouble because a pacher is not going to call the police. From a moral and ethical standpoint it is in fact moral and ethical to do whatever it takes to stop a poacher. Again as long as u are not jeopardizing your own personal safety. Doing the moral and ethical thing is not always easy or obvious. it si much easier to look the other way than it is to attack or steal from a poacher, but in the end doing the right thing sometimes means doing what u know in your heart is necesary to prevent a poacher from further harming the envirnment. It is like serving in the military to defend our country. If you are not willing to personally take action to defend our country don't complain when someone infringes on your rights. We have a duty to eachother and this country to take actions into our own hands when necesary


----------



## KDOG1976

Is it really illegal to shove someone over the edge? I mean of course it is, but can you really see a poacher calling teh police and filing a report that will result in them getting busted for poaching?


----------



## Knew2Fish

you got that GW's # handy CrewCab? I'll utilize it if I encounter this crap while I'm down there. I wonder how many eyes have been poached today that could potentially found there way into my freezer/frying pan!!


----------



## CrewCabMax

Wildlife officals #'s are posted in the back of the hunting regs.

Pickaway County Officail - Ken Bebout - 614-644-3929 Ext 1212
Fayette County Offical - Roy Rucker - 614-644-3929 Ext 1204

Also this # was posted somewhere back in this thread. I'm assuming its Ken Bebout's personal cell. 740-412-7399


----------



## JBLLURE

wondering if anyone had the idea of call the local news station and having them do a report put dogman on tv he might not go down there to much after that this is part of the reason why i fish at night my nerves couldnt take it watching the idiots and so far as everyone keeping the small ones thats just at bad as snagging them. nice job on the catches when done right and legal there are some nice fish to be caught.


----------



## Fishingislife

Does this guy carry a tackle bag or a net? I would love to snag his personal belongings.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Everytime i've seen him, its just a 5ft ultralite, single jig with a stinger and his ungly ass little dog. You CANT miss him, hes the one thats jerking the pole so hard to the side he only uses one hand and its a " across the body jerk ". I was actually waiting for his freaking pole to snap. I watched him real them in from the back, the tail, no matter the size, they go in his bucket!! I called the authorities and they NEVER showed up for the 3 hours i was there after i called. As far as i'm concerd, the GW down there doesnt give a rats ass. If he cared, they could spend a day down there, and stop a lot of it. I would love for them to do like they do during the run on Maumee. GW's fish right beside you in street clothes, untill you f'up, and then its on. They could fish at Deer Creek for a couple hours, and go through a whole freaking ticket book!


----------



## Chub Buster II

This is awesome. I like it. Rally it up.

Caught my first 20+ incher of the year last night. She measured right at 21.5" with her tail folded and weighed 4 LBS. 6 OZ.. A nice guy who's been trying to get registered on OGF and has followed the forums for a while netted my fish for me. A big thanks to him cause soon as I gave some slack to the fish my 1/32 jig fell right outta his mouth. I'd like to get me some longer shanked 1/32 jigheads. I haven't lost any good one's yet this year, but close calls. Caught a few other fish last night but nothing nicer than 13-14". Bite was alright. On and off. Seemed like I'd have a little rally then they'd move out or shut off for a bit.


----------



## leupy

seethe303 said:


> suggesting something illegal to combat this guy doesn't make you much better than him.


there are times the end justifies the means.


----------



## leupy

with all the posts about this guy and everyone in the world today carrying a cell phone why is there no photos of him???


----------



## Mushijobah

Nice eye!!


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

I dont mean to get off topic about all the snaggers and what not but I am just curious to what is the best method for catchin them big eyes.. just vertical jigging off the top of the wall or down on the rocks with a slow retrieve? Any advice would be appreciated.


----------



## Rocky Forker

Is the limit 6? Or is it 10 like the Ohio river? By the way that is a REAL NICE FISH!


----------



## Big Joshy

from my experience if you want to catch the 20 plus inchers consistently you need to thow 3 inch plus jigs, jerkbaits and other meal size baits. ive talked to guys down there that complain about only catchin little ones but they will only use 2 inch twisters. Then I toss out a jerkbait or a 3-4 inch twister and catch nice ones, and no small ones at all.
Last week when I was there there were two guys next to me. Over the course of the afternoon the one using a 3 inch twister caught 3 in the 17-23 inch range. The one using two inch twisters caught 5, all under 12 inches. You get the picture. Just look at the size of the shad that are dying. They are all in the 4-6 inch range.


----------



## Capital outdoorsman

no dogman last night. Lot of dinks caught. I caught my dinks on 3in twisters. Saw 1 nice one caught and one snagged (thrown back by a fine, upstanding gentlemen). Started to look like the maumee walleye run. People show up and just stand right next to you. When I got there I had 5ft of space on either side. Before too long I had just enough elbow room. Amazingly I only snagged one other angler.


----------



## bstew

Haven't been down there yet this year, too busy, but going this weekend. Saw the dogman last year, I asked him if he knew what he was doing was against the law and he just shrugged his shoulders. In my opinion, I wouldn't suggest doing anything to his stuff or his automobile, remember we live in a society where a woman won 10 million from a restaurant because she held a cup of hot coffee between her legs and burnt herself. So unless you are willing to be personally sued I wouldn't suggest it. But what we can do is everytime someone sees him snag a fish call the GW, or the poacher line. I mean everyone there call everytime they see it, I know we'd be calling every few minutes, but after so many calls the authorities will find it easier to deal with the problem than keep answering the ringing phone. Just my 2 cents worth.


----------



## Columbusslim31

I went out yesterday from 12:30-3:30. I only caught two dinks, both on pink twister, both released, both were caught on the wall. I was happy just to catch my first fish of the year. Last year I didn't catch a fish until about May I believe. 

Not long after I got there a guy snagged (by jig) a 20+ incher. Some guy netted it for him and after the catcher decided he would rather not keep a snagged fish, the netter asked to keep it. The catcher agreed. About 20 minutes later the netter snagged (by jig) his own 20+ incher and into his basket it went. He left with at least 3 very large eyes. The guys with the trebles aren't the only ones snagging and keeping. Saw many dinks caught and kept and even saw a guy pull out a 20 lb plus carp. I don't know. Seeing all those eyes being caught it didn't bother me that much that people were keeping dinks. they grow almost 10 inches within their first year and it's not like Deer Creek is going to cease stocking them soon. 



Chub Buster II said:


> A big thanks to him cause soon as I gave some slack to the fish my 1/32 jig fell right outta his mouth. I'd like to get me some longer shanked 1/32 jigheads.



I was wondering about this myself. I did some searching and the only thing I found was mini foo jigs. They're dressed jigs that the steelheaders seem to favor. I'm sure there are applications where this type of jig is best, but I don't know about spillway saugeye. Any other jig I found went no lower than 1/8 oz in long shank. Anybody have any info on this?


----------



## Big Joshy

http://stores.ebay.com/TCI-Fishing-...W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ20346812QQftidZ2QQtZkm

heres a good ebay store for alot of jigs with various size hooks and weight.


----------



## Columbusslim31

Thanks Big Joshy. Didn't see any 1/32 oz though.


----------



## Big Joshy

you need to choose the type of jig on the left side of the page, then look for the weight and hook size

heres some
http://cgi.ebay.com/50-1-32-oz-roun...31690QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


----------



## Columbusslim31

Found some. They're tube heads on a #4 sickle hook. I'll keep looking.

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-1-32-oz-Tube-jigs-w-Matzuo-4-Red-sickle-hooks_W0QQitemZ330232087548QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116


----------



## Columbusslim31

Got it. Thanks.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Thanks BJoshy for link reference.

I like the shank length on the Gamakatsu's and the quality sharpness and strength. However in walmart you can only get them in 1/16 oz. Which under different water conditions I use. But when the outflow is 300cfs or less I try to get away with double 1/32nd's. I can work it a lot slower, while floating it along the bottom which in turn helps me keep out of snags a little better. My cousin purchased some 1/32 Gamakatsu's he ordered off BPro. I like them. Works alot better on them boney mouths.

I mostly agree with you on the bigger twisters. I myself use the 2 inchers primarily. Reason being is for one your standard 1/32 jighead shank doesn't match up well with a 3-4" twister. Shank is to short. And I guess the reason I haven't totally switched to just 3-4" twisters is because I do well both ways with the light jigs and 2" twisters. Catch a lot of 10-12 inchers and a good 13"+ one every now and again. I'd like to throw some stick baits, but man unless you go down a little ways to stay out of the snags I can't justify losing any. Can't really send my plug retriever down the line like I can in a boat directly over top the bait. 



Big Joshy said:


> you need to choose the type of jig on the left side of the page, then look for the weight and hook size
> 
> heres some
> http://cgi.ebay.com/50-1-32-oz-roun...31690QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


----------



## Big Joshy

for the jerkbaits you need to pre-fish the spot you are standing in with jigs to make sure there are no major snags or line in the water. Then I use 20lb braid with a 14lb florocarbon leader. Its enough to rip the baits free of most snags. I don't fish down there much but ive never lost a jerkbait there. And I hooked and lost my biggest in a while (around 7lbs) on a jerkbait there last year during low slow water.


----------



## JBLLURE

three of us went last night alot of guys down there fishing wasnt as good as its been not aleast for us we caught two keepers lost some nice ones and manage a rare keeper crappie.


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

In everyone's opinion..where is the best spot to fish there? The wall or the rocks? or the handicap ramp? Went today..No luck..tried to catch catfish using nightcrawlers.. didnt work out..


----------



## Fish Slayer

It really depends on the current and water clarity. If you move around a little you can have a better chance at locating them. I've seen where they will bite like crazy where one guy is at, and a 100 yards away they aren't even getting bit! I hope that helps.


----------



## cntfshalic

Fished this morning from 4 til around 7:30 only caught one dink, dog man fished, oh im sorry,"snaged" 20 ft away from me for 2hrs and he only managed to land 1. I went back and forth between the ramp and the wall they either werent on the bite or not in there at all since they bumped the water back up. oh well try again next weekend.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Thanks cntfshalic for the fishing report. I was kinda guessing it might not be to good. But sitting here you never know what they're gonna do for sure. Thanks much for the update.

Cntfshalic what was the water color like? It was fairly clear 2 days ago.


----------



## cntfshalic

water looked good ,fairly clear I just think w/ the water level being bumped up every 8 to 12 hours for the last couple of days has shut them off. Hopefully we will get a steady flow for a few days straight to get the bite going again.


----------



## Chub Buster II

Thanks. 

I would have to agree with ya. My father and a few of his friends went up this evening before sundown. Caught a few white bass and a few crappie. One of them foul hooked a small s-eye. They seen one guy on the other side catch a nice s-eye and possibly head hook another one. Other than that not a whole lot going on. That wind is killer out there. I'm glad I stayed home. 



cntfshalic said:


> water looked good ,fairly clear I just think w/ the water level being bumped up every 8 to 12 hours for the last couple of days has shut them off. Hopefully we will get a steady flow for a few days straight to get the bite going again.


----------



## CrewCabMax

I'm going to try and make it back down mid week sometime hopefuly. Maybe things will be turned back on! Was the water up over the ramp again??


----------



## Chub Buster II

I don't think any of the handicap was over the ramp unless it was the bottom part. Ask my father and that's what he said.


----------



## cntfshalic

None of the ramp was under water sunday morning, Looks like they have droped the level again so hopefully things will heat back up shortly


----------



## rogue

Hey chub buster when do you think you might make it back down there ? I'd like to net some more of them 20" plus fish , let me know i'd like to get back down there this week . If you take a hand grinder or file to your 1/8 oz jig heads you can grind some of the lead off and that way you get it down to the size you want and have the large stronger hook .


----------



## Chub Buster II

Actually I was down there Monday evening. Brrrrrrrr!!! It was a cold one. Started out on the eastern side cause of the wind. Then after wind died down I moved over to the other side for a little while. Caught only 7. Only kept these 4. Another 21.5" - 4 Lbs. 6 oz. twin of the one you netted last week for me.


----------



## Clayton

Sheesh! The biggest ones I was catching there were like the one on the bottom lol.


----------



## I_Shock_Em

went to deer creek for the first time today, got :S was there from 3:45-7:00 had a few bites, lost a nice 18-20 incher. lots of dinks being caught. a few people caught some keepers. gotta love the guys keeping the big carp, it always makes me laugh. !$


----------



## cntfshalic

Has any one fished bellow the bridge? And if so whats the bottom like there, Is it safe to throw stick baits without getting hung up all the time??? I like to fish rogues and husky jerks at Indian, just wandering how well they would do at Deer Creek.


----------



## twistertail

Its pretty shallow all the way down. I've lost a few crank baits before and hardly ever use them since twistertails seem to work just fine.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Think I'll be out there in the morning. As of now I'm off, so I'm planning on making the trip for the day tomorrow. Hopefuly i'll be there around 9! Anyone else planning on being there tomorrow??


----------



## Chub Buster II

Good luck. CrewCabMax. I'd say stabilized conditions and a little warmer temps should wave in your favor. 

My father and I went over yesterday evening btw 3pm-7:30pm. Fished the rip rap in the flats. Guys on wall doing pretty good but was packed for most part. Didn't catch a whole lot. 1 barely worth speaking of 13-14 incher. Caught a few more smaller ones as bite kind of spiked for a minute shortly after sunset.



CrewCabMax said:


> Thinking about heading out there tomorrow morning. Suppose to be pretty decent, So I think i'm going to get it another shot! Would love to bring home 1 or 2 like your big'n buster!! Thats a beast!


----------



## ram-rod

nice fish and twins none the less.


----------



## BKent

Went today from 3:30-5:00. Caught a nice chunky 19"er and a skinny 16"er. Saw several large eye's caught...


----------



## acklac7

We were down there on Sunday and nearly every fish that came in was snagged. I think alot of people are saying they saw "fish caught" when infact most of them were snagged.


----------



## BKent

Well I watched about 80% of the people near me pull twisters out of their mouth. There are people there that snag, as with any spillway. There are also people that take 10 cents out of the "take a penny, leave a penny" jar at a gas station....i.e. there's one in every crowd. 

I think the fact that you are reeling in two twisters along the bottom and (like yesterday) there are 60 people fishing some snags are unavoidable. 

The difference in my mind in intention. The guy or girl ripping a lure along is obviously trying to snag fish. The guy or girl that takes 100 regular casts and happens to snag one by accident, it happens.


----------



## angler69

Went 3/4/09 alot of people 25+. No bite for me but I saw 3 "caught" (read as snag) left after 1 hour


----------



## cpr_mike1

I went today. I got there about 7 30 in the morning and caught 5 and snagged one. Almost everyone that I saw come out were being snagged and it was very elbow to elbow. Also saw a guy that got a double on his jigs. Good for a little laugh.


----------



## CrewCabMax

Was there today as well. I caught(not snagged) 4 fish, 2 that were around 12" and the other 2 were dinks. My uncle caught a nice one. 20", 3.4lbs. That thing was FAT. Great day to be out!


----------



## jshbuckeye

Is the spilway off of 207?


----------



## CrewCabMax

Yes, take 207 out of Mt Sterling, go through the little town, and about 2.5 miles out, turn left of Crownover-Mill Road. Frostee's will be on your right, great bait store, and the spillway is on down aways on your left. You CANT miss it!


----------



## SouthernOhioElite

What have the 17-21'' eyes been hitting really well here lately? Im pretty sure jigs but what color? One more question.. Are most of the big ones caught off the wall or down on the rocks?


----------



## ram-rod

I was thinking about going down tonight around 6. i was wondering how the bite has been the last couple of evenings since it has warmed up a bit. oh and what color has been working it was pink has it changed?


----------



## twistertail

I went over last night and caught 8, biggest one was only about 12 inches but was still fun to catch a few. I had my 4 year old girl with me for a little while and she had a ball relling them in. Caught them on all different colors, did'nt seem to matter. My dad caught about the same amount as I did, he was there yesterday morning and caught a 20", 17" and a 16".


----------



## twistertail

SouthernOhioElite said:


> What have the 17-21'' eyes been hitting really well here lately? Im pretty sure jigs but what color? One more question.. Are most of the big ones caught off the wall or down on the rocks?


I have caught them all over, not sure if there really is a better place or not. I hear a lot of people say that closer to the wall is better, and I have done good there but have also done good all the way down to the first riffle. Right now as many people that are there fishing you wont have much choice as to where to fish.


----------



## twistertail

ram-rod said:


> I was thinking about going down tonight around 6. i was wondering how the bite has been the last couple of evenings since it has warmed up a bit. oh and what color has been working it was pink has it changed?


Last night I used pink, white, pearl, yellow, green and pumpkin seed and I caught at least one fish on each color. My dad kept changing color too and caught fish on all the same as I did as well as brown and black so just try them all.


----------

