# I stand corrected (Blues in the Scioto)



## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

How many guys here catch blues out of the Scioto River and where have you caught them? 

Iv always doubted people talking about catching blues in the Scioto river. Sure I know there are some in there but Iv always thought that those numbers are limited. I hear people talk a lot about catching 20-30 pound blues around my area (Pike County). I just assume they are talking about 10-20 pound channels because I never see pictures and nothing about these people make me think they would know the difference.

Over the past few weeks a friend and myself have been fishing a very deep hole during the middle of the day. As hot as it is and with the sun high in the sky we have been catching many cats - channels 1-8 lbs - flatheads 3-12 lbs - and wait...... thats not a channel thats a little Blue! The first one caught was less than a pound. None of us had ever even seen a SMALL bluecat and in my opinion they are built differently than a large bluecat. So my buddy yells at me to come look at this fish. I look it over, high back, steel blue skin, no spots, black trim around snow white fins, and yep strait as can be anal fin. "Dude thats a blue" I tell him. He replies "I thought you said they are not in here". So in my own defense "There are just not very many and im surprised to see on this small"

Well over the next week in this same hole fishing in the middle of the day we catch 5 blue cats from 1-10 pounds. My buddy now thinks very little of my fish management education, lol. Its hard to tell if we had more or larger ones hooked because fishing in the middle of the day we were using light gear expecting small fish and we broke a few lines on fish and snagged runs. 

Over 15 years of catfishing the Scioto river around pike county I had only ever seen 1 blue cat caught with my own eyes. It was 15 pounds and was less than 100 yds from this same hole. And I had seen one other picture of one caught that was around 20 pounds. But in this one week we caught 5 blues. My thoughts on people overestimating channels and calling them blues may still be true, but it just goes to show you that you dont always know what you think you know.


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

ive seen a few over that way over the years. I think they are using the Scioto and Muskingum as spawning areas


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

As the blue populatin increases upriver as its done over the last 5 years, blues should be using the lower 20 miles or so of the Scioto as nursery waters so nothing suprises me, we have seen a big increase in them in the lower GMR and even the LMR over the last few years, always a good thing for us cat guys to see another option.

I doubt youll see the very big monsters but Im pretty sure youll continue to see the Lesss then 20 lbers every so often. They need to be around 15 lbs to spawn BTW.

Salmonid


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## jkeeney20 (Mar 21, 2006)

We have gotten several good blues around your area all the way to the ohio, got one last year that went 41lb....so they are in there...in my opinion they are increasing in population as well.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Salmonid said:


> blues should be using the lower 20 miles or so of the Scioto as nursery waters so nothing suprises me
> Salmonid


I guess that makes sense I just wasnt looking at it that way. I was thinking that that blue populations were a little low for many fish to spawn, so most of the fish that would be around would be larger fish that had moved up river over time. But its hard to tell. I would expect small fish to travel up smaller streams so you have a point.


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