# High water hybrids



## Mosey (Oct 31, 2010)

Hooked up on some big girls up in some ohio river tribs. These fish continue to amaze me. Water temps were 40 degrees up from 34 on Saturday. 6 over 10 lbs and 4 over 8lbs.




























oh... and this big carp









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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

Dang! Nice fish! I'm surprised you were able to keep them outta that flooded timber. Sure it wasn't easy.




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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Mosey said:


> Hooked up on some big girls up in some ohio river tribs. These fish continue to amaze me. Water temps were 40 degrees up from 34 on Saturday. 6 over 10 lbs and 4 over 8lbs.
> View attachment 68780
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> View attachment 68781
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## Mosey (Oct 31, 2010)

I've been fishing hybrids for about 4 years now and learn more every year. They usually run in the spring, I have no idea why they were up in the creeks this time of year. I had a hunch based on the warm weather last week and the 3" of rain that fell, went with it and it payed off. I was throwing crank baits; rapalas and smack tackles "flitterbaits"


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Great job.Depending on the weather, you can catch them up tribs all winter long. I usually get them up the Scioto in Portsmouth until I can't take the cold anymore. Hybrids are eating machines and the do love that Flitterbait. Great job again Mosey. I've been fishing for them for about 25 years and they are the one species of fish you will never figure out all the way but the greatest fighting fish period! I don't want to figure them out all the way. Stay after them and have a blast!!


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## jwfish (Jan 28, 2005)

Nice job on the wipers love to fish for them but they are hit and miss and it is a long drive from columbus.


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

montagc said:


> I keep hearing "Smack Tackle" and "Wiper" in the same sentence on this board, usually accompanied by pics as above. Sounds like those lures do the job.


Not to take away from Mosey's post, but here are some Flitterbaits and some results.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Daveo76 said:


> Not to take away from Mosey's post, but here are some Flitterbaits and some results.


WOW! I'm IMPRESSED! 
IF it warms up again,,, I'll give it a try up here.
Thanks


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## Mosey (Oct 31, 2010)

Thanks everyone. Fished the same spot this evening and caught 1 white bass. Quite humbling and that's why I love fishing. Anyone ever notice that different species seem to move in and out of the tribs as a group. I.e white bass then hybrid then gar. Any thoughts?


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Schooling together following baitfish???


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

There's a prime time when the temperature peaks...and the amount of food holding or being flushed is highest. 


They definitely don't sit still for long! 


Way to crack the code.


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## BigFishHunter (Dec 14, 2011)

Nice fish man! Would this weekend be a good time to hit the river for them?


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## Mosey (Oct 31, 2010)

BigFishHunter said:


> Nice fish man! Would this weekend be a good time to hit the river for them?


The river is cresting today. I've never had any luck when the river crests and is on the way down. 


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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

Way to go Mosey!

I know that when the gar move in, it's over. I don't think I've ever caught any fish where gar are thick.


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

Just out of curiosity, aren't Gar fun to catch? I know they ruin your chances of other fish being in the same area, and often caught when you're not fishing for them, but if someone just wanted to catch fish to enjoy the fight..... Just seems like fun to me.

I want to find an area to catch Gar and/or Bowfin. Not interested in eating them, just fighting with them. Then a little CPR, and go for another!

I grew up in Mansfield, where I never met anyone that tried to catch carp, they were "junk fish." I get the feeling that people see Gar the same way in other places.

Any thoughts on that?

Mr. A

(2013)
Bass: 0
catfish: 0
bluegill: 0
Other: 0


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## Mosey (Oct 31, 2010)

Mr. A said:


> Just out of curiosity, aren't Gar fun to catch? I know they ruin your chances of other fish being in the same area, and often caught when you're not fishing for them, but if someone just wanted to catch fish to enjoy the fight..... Just seems like fun to me.
> 
> I want to find an area to catch Gar and/or Bowfin. Not interested in eating them, just fighting with them. Then a little CPR, and go for another!
> 
> ...


From my experience gar are tough to catch. Super hard mouths and lots of sharp teeth.


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Mr. A said:


> Just out of curiosity, aren't Gar fun to catch? I know they ruin your chances of other fish being in the same area, and often caught when you're not fishing for them, but if someone just wanted to catch fish to enjoy the fight..... Just seems like fun to me.
> 
> I want to find an area to catch Gar and/or Bowfin. Not interested in eating them, just fighting with them. Then a little CPR, and go for another!
> 
> ...


Gars can be a pain but can also be fun when nothing else will bite. They are actually pretty hard to catch, especially with lures. I don't think they ruin the fishing that much for other species when they are around because I've caught Hybrids, Whites , Smallies etc, right from the same water. Also you know when they are around down here because you will see them lying on the bank dead. (Ohio river & Scioto). I used to go to the Scioto River in Portsmouth and practice my topwater fishing on them and they taught me to be patient. You ever see a 4 ft long gar come out of the water after a lure? Pretty neat sight. Sure, they will shred your Shad to pieces when you float them for Wipers or scare the crap out of when you silently go over the top of them on a small , quiet river but I would rather catch a Gar than an Asian carp


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

every gar i've caught felt like i was reeling in a tree limb, they are next to impossible to hook since there snouts are pretty much bone. i've only incidentally snared them, or they've been entangled in my line after they had hit my lure. should also mention, they smell BAD. 

bowfin though, i love catching them. they fight like you wouldn't imagine. i've caught a fair amount of them in jackson lake in jackson county oh in the super shallow back end of the lake. and also in the greenbottom wildlife management area in lesage, cabell county wv.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

PPPatrick, if your catching small gar they do not have much fight but a larger one, like over 40+" and maybe over 5 lbs will really test your equipment, long fast runs, strong headshakes and they often tailwalk which is waaay cool and do not forget the "1 last run" when they see you that will shred a drag or break a rod if your not prepared for it. I love them, and have caught several hundred of them up to 10 lbs and 48.5". I always use fly rod and "rope" fly that Ive tied for many years with pretty good success on the hookup rate.

I have never myself noticed or known anyone else to ever think they "smell"???? In fact there skin is very cool and smooth and snake like, no slime and you do need to watch out for there hundreds of tiny "sharp as a needle" teeth, nothing like a pike with raw cutting power but al those tiny cone shaped teeth will put a hurting on you so be careful unhooking them. I usually wear a thick leather glove to hold them. They also have razor sharp gill plates like a walleye so when you hold them, best to use two hands, one right on top of the gill plates and the other 2/3 rds the way back the body to they dont torque on you, this works great when one person holds them while the other unhooks them. 

Also they tend to concentrate in slow moving pools and so it seems like if they are around, nothing else is but Ive caught plenty of other species with them around. It is true that if your throwning cut or live bait for catfish and the gar are around, since they are sight and smell feeders, they will usually get there before the cats do so it just seems like nothing else is around. As a catfisherman, if we start catching gar we usually move but if we do stik it out, we still get some cats mixed in with the gar but as a whole the gar will make fast runs and youll usually miss the hookset so its best to keep moving when catfishing and you start to get gar. 

Salmonid


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

I guess it just depends on how bad the water is where you catch them is as to how bad they smell. I've never noticed anything but the "fishy" smell to them(Gars).But I have caught Bowfins from the Little Scioto River while Bass fishing with spinnerbaits that absolutely stunk as soon as they were out of the water, but I've also caught them from Shawnee Marina with no smell at all.


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

i've honestly never caught one over 25 or 30 inches or so. the ones i've landed have all been out of the kanawha river and tribs, and in the guyandotte river. i've had some that don't smell, and some that smell like something rotten. unsure as to why.


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

water quality could be it. the rivers and creeks i've caught them from definitely aren't very clean to say the least.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

this is true, Ive caught about every species that has stunk before at times, like Channel Cats when its late August and there scrounging in the muck, or carp from sewer plant discharges or even smallies from the LMR that always stink like detergent. Its all in what there swimming in and eating.. I think every species can get pretty disgusting at certain times of the year. We often castnet Shad for catfish bait and at one large state lake spot, we will not castnet shad because there is apparantly a septic dishcharge in the area and every time you cut open a fish, it smells like the worst outhouse youve ever been in..

Salmonid


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Disgusting as it sounds, when we get hard up for Wipers, shad guts can't be beat, but you have to wash your hands for a month:S


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

You guys gotta watch this,,, Youtube


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

that sure looks like a ton of work without much to show from it. i'd try it though.


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