# Use ta be good



## Flatty01

I know this has came up before, but man I miss the late winter Days in the mid-late 90s when u could catch a bunch of whites, sauger and even a few hybrid below the dams.. lots of fisherman but lots of catching as well.. what happened?


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

No research here, just my opinion and observations over the years. This if for Pike Island dam and below.

Compared to 15-20 years ago the fishing is terrible. I still have a decent day here or there but overall its pretty poor. A good day today, would have been an average day back then. I feel that in my area it comes down to 3 things: how the dam is run, lack of bait fish, flood events.

#1. In the 90's and early 2000's the gate closest to the Ohio bank was always open, even in the summer. This kept the river naturally flowing downstream near the bank. For the past 10-15 years, that gate is only open at a minimum and they have the gates in the middle wide open. This causes a terrible back current pulling toward the dam and fishing is usually awful at Pike Island with a back current.

#2. Catching bait at the dam used to be easy. 1/4" hole cast net caught shiners and 3/8" hole net got shad. I never had to set traps I could throw my net. The last 10+ years, bait has been hit or miss at the dam. There is bait elsewhere, just not below the dam. Could be because of #1 and no bait typically means no fish.

#3. The last few years have been terrible with high water and flood events in the late winter/ early spring. I think this has really effected the success rate of the spawn for certain fish like sauger, walleye, and white bass. 

These are just my observations and thoughts, could be way off base. Fishing is definitely down compared to 15-20 years ago though.


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## pawcat

Fished a lot below racine dam back in the day for sauger, we could catch hundreds in a days fishin... yes hundreds during peek times.... I sure do miss those days.... would love to see it come back.


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## DShaw1989

Maybe someone could give this a try. I havent been down in a couple years to pike island but when we were down there we were succeeding where everyone else was failing throwing a 4 to 6" pearl white fluke on a quarter oz jig head. We never came home empty handed. Might be worth a shot might not. Just a tip from fishermen to fishermen. If someone does try this let me know if you have any luck. We tried jig head and twister tails minnis shiners we tried it so but that was where 99% of our luck came from


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

pawcat said:


> Fished a lot below racine dam back in the day for sauger, we could catch hundreds in a days fishin... yes hundreds during peek times.... I sure do miss those days.... would love to see it come back.


I used to have these days too. Felt like you could catch as many as you wanted. Used to slam them just slow rolling a Thunderstick Jr.


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## Pooka

It is not just the dams. Several miles up one of the tribs I had a Sauger hotspot, not anymore. Can still get one now and then but really have to work for it. 

And I tell you, I think even the Cats are down. Bigger but fewer. I still wonder if the Gar pop explosion has anything to do with it.

We should kidnap a WVDNR biologist and force the secrets out of him. lol


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## bbsoup

Do Asian carp have anything to do with it?


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## PJF

For years my favorite bait to troll was a Deep Jr. Thunderstick. Chrome and black. Only bait I really needed. Haven't caught anything on it to speak of for 5 or 6 years. I used to fish New Martinsville dam in Jan. and Feb. and it was truly outstanding how many sauger you would catch. Several different year classes/size and lots of pencil size ones. Now if I catch a small sauger I am ecstatic. Used to catch them downstream a couple dams in large numbers. Not now. We have bait in excess now and seem to catch more walleyes than sauger easily. The sauger hey days are gone in my opinion, again whether it is the extremely high water the last several springs or what I don't know. Last year we caught some nice quality hybrids in the spring, and it had been several years since that happened. I have fished the same water on the big Muddy since 1978 and it certainly has changed.


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## hatteras1

Back in the early 80's we used to fish Martins Ferry (Saugers) through the winter and rarely did we not catch our limit. Cold and miserable days always produced. I haven't been there for many years as I moved and it's just too far to be practical.


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## pitdweller

More rain since 2016 than in last 30 years.


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## Fishon1546

I have also been Fishing the New Cumberland and Pike island Dams for over 20 yrs and I would agree with there being a inconsistent flow from the Dam. Flooding may be effecting the Spawn and Lack of Baitfish. I think the DNR needs to look into why the baitfish aren’t there like years past the skipjack, mooneyes, and Shiners aren’t near the numbers they used to be. I sure hope it makes a rebound soon


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## Pooka

Fishon1546 said:


> I have also been Fishing the New Cumberland and Pike island Dams for over 20 yrs and I would agree with there being a inconsistent flow from the Dam. Flooding may be effecting the Spawn and Lack of Baitfish. I think the DNR needs to look into why the baitfish aren’t there like years past the skipjack, mooneyes, and Shiners aren’t near the numbers they used to be. I sure hope it makes a rebound soon


The Shad seem to have made a rebound (in the Greenup pool) last year, maybe that will help.


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## Fishon1546

I agree the Shad are there along with some smaller minnows.But there used to be schools of baitfish everywhere.it also makes Me wonder about the Water clarity and Walleye stocking.Just when you see the changes it makes you think about it


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## Carver

There is also fracking brine draining into the river from the tributaries particularly from the Hannibal dam north up into Pennsylvania. There was a study done by a local college and the results were on the internet.


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## Pooka

Fishon1546 said:


> I agree the Shad are there along with some smaller minnows.But there used to be schools of baitfish everywhere.it also makes Me wonder about the Water clarity and Walleye stocking.Just when you see the changes it makes you think about it


Yeah, I don't recall what year it was. 08 maybe, I took a little float trip down the Guyandotte and it was darn near one huge school of Shad from Barboursville on down to the Mighty O. 
That was an exceptional year, and I have never seen the like before or since. No idea how many there were but if you said a 2 million you would likely not be too high.

It was also during that time that schools of Hybrid Stripers were so common that when I was Catfishing I took to keeping a rod and lure ready for when they came by busting bait and more often than not used it 5 or 6 times an outing.


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## Pooka

So what do we have for guesses? Water levels, Fracking waste, Gar population, We could probably toss in the Apple Grove warm water hatchery being down for a few years. 
What have I missed?


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## bridgeman

10 years ago it was nothing to run through 2 lbs of fatheads in a few hours on the mon river 40 miles south of Pittsburgh. Just had to drop the jig to the bottom below the locks and you had one on instantly, Pennsylvania never stocked a one of them all must have migrated upstream from the Ohio. The Allegheny north of Pittsburgh had a huge population of them too. Never heard of or saw anything like a fish kill from pollution but they just disappeared one year, we still have a few around but they're always the little 12 or 13 cigars. They add up to about 8 ounces each if I have em in my basket during a tournament, almost embarrassed to weigh em in lol


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## riverKing

So, let's throw out gar, because they are native and do not harm sportfish populations. Fracking is theoretically a problem but unlikely the culprit.

We have danced around the answer(s). It is a combination of mostly natural factors and cycles. Many of us remember the 04-09 heyday of outrageous sauger, whitebass, and hybrids. All of these are boom and bust fish, meaning one or two large year classes and carry good fishing for several years then it crashes. The 2000s had some great low water years, I also think 07 I recall fishing with 5-6ft of vis in may. These low water years helped recruitment of young sportfish and likely baitfish. The past decade it has been a shift to many high water years, this can lead to low recruitment. Couple that with a change in dam management style and you have tough fishing. Things will cycle back around.

Now the catfish crash is more likely due to commercial harvest problems.

For what it is worth, in those same years the once rare paddlefish and musky have been making a comeback, plus the native walleye are becoming more consistent, maybe not a booming population but if we have some low water springs who knows.

Basically, the river is a pain and goes through cycles, its nature, it will rebound as long as we keep it clean


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## Pooka

riverKing said:


> So, let's throw out gar, because they are native and do not harm sportfish populations. Fracking is theoretically a problem but unlikely the culprit.
> 
> We have danced around the answer(s). It is a combination of mostly natural factors and cycles. Many of us remember the 04-09 heyday of outrageous sauger, whitebass, and hybrids. All of these are boom and bust fish, meaning one or two large year classes and carry good fishing for several years then it crashes. The 2000s had some great low water years, I also think 07 I recall fishing with 5-6ft of vis in may. These low water years helped recruitment of young sportfish and likely baitfish. The past decade it has been a shift to many high water years, this can lead to low recruitment. Couple that with a change in dam management style and you have tough fishing. Things will cycle back around.
> 
> Now the catfish crash is more likely due to commercial harvest problems.
> 
> For what it is worth, in those same years the once rare paddlefish and musky have been making a comeback, plus the native walleye are becoming more consistent, maybe not a booming population but if we have some low water springs who knows.
> 
> Basically, the river is a pain and goes through cycles, its nature, it will rebound as long as we keep it clean


I don't think we can throw out Gar, there are certainly a lot more of them and they often booger a bank spot after dark. Been my experience anyway, when the gar find you the Catfishing tends to shut down. -- From the Big Sandy to the Byrd. Not saying that is the whole cause but that many of them have to be taking a toll on something. --Fry?

Commercial harvest of Catfish could be a factor south of the Byrd.

The high water years are almost certainly a factor. 

It would sure be nice to have a WVDNR perspective on this.


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## katfish ken

I can remember years ago catching enough Skip jack for a years worth of catfish bait in one outing, but not so much anymore.
Gar would have to be figured in the equation cause they are meat eaters. Fracking would have its toll as part of the problem and high water at spawning time would take its toll as well. I'm sure there is something we've missed in our ponderings . Rivers like everything else go through cycles, so think of it this way, Better days are coming , till then we will have to be content with what the river gives us.


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## landen daugstrup

can't say exactly why this decrease is happening, but I think Asian carp and pollution, along with un-conservational harvest and floodwaters have been the big factors. I think we can eliminate the theory of natural predators such as muskie and gar as it has been proven that they don't truly complete. As muskies are not agile enough to catch a walleye or sauger and gar are true scavengers and prefer to feed on the weak and dying bait. in fact, they could cause an increase in the game fish population by killing the diseased bait before it can spread.


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## Pooka

landen daugstrup said:


> can't say exactly why this decrease is happening, but I think Asian carp and pollution, along with un-conservational harvest and floodwaters have been the big factors. I think we can eliminate the theory of natural predators such as muskie and gar as it has been proven that they don't truly complete. As muskies are not agile enough to catch a walleye or sauger and gar are true scavengers and prefer to feed on the weak and dying bait. in fact, they could cause an increase in the game fish population by killing the diseased bait before it can spread.


Discussing similar about another river on a WV board, Muskie impact in particular. It is my contention that while the Muskie are likely not picking off fish of size, they likely are feeding on the younger smaller ones. 
That could be extended to Gar on the Mighty O.


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## ristorap

Here is a thought the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram was not around then but it is now.


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## PJF

Never done farcebook, titter, or Instagrubs......The section of river I fish, I have been fishing it since 1978. The internet on this particular area of the river has had no effect. But it could also be space aliens......


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## Thomas m.

Alot more Musky in the river than ever before.


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## Pooka

ristorap said:


> Here is a thought the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram was not around then but it is now.



So you think the fish are all watching internet porn instead of eating?
Orgy videos?


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## Pooka

Thomas m. said:


> Alot more Musky in the river than ever before.


One of the local youtubers nailed a nice Muskie on cutbait last year, Muskie folks seldom speak of the Mighty O but apparently they are in there.


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## PJF

Agree there are more muskies now than in the past. The one interesting non discussed topic/concept is fisheries management or lack of it on the river.


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## Tinknocker1

landen daugstrup said:


> can't say exactly why this decrease is happening, but I think Asian carp and pollution, along with un-conservational harvest and floodwaters have been the big factors. I think we can eliminate the theory of natural predators such as muskie and gar as it has been proven that they don't truly complete. As muskies are not agile enough to catch a walleye or sauger and gar are true scavengers and prefer to feed on the weak and dying bait. in fact, they could cause an increase in the game fish population by killing the diseased bait before it can spread.


I know muskies eat walleyes/saugeyes in lakes thats a fact ! Now in a river system you might be right I don't fish rivers . I do agree with flooding issues though just way to much rain .


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## landen daugstrup

Pooka said:


> Discussing similar about another river on a WV board, Muskie impact in particular. It is my contention that while the Muskie are likely not picking off fish of size, they likely are feeding on the younger smaller ones.
> That could be extended to Gar on the Mighty O.


yea, I could see young muskies picking of some babies but anything over 30" takes to long to turn to really pick off anything like a baby walleye that is small, fast, and agile. it was found by many studies that other game fish (of any size) make up less than 5% of a muskies diet. if you want here's a video covering some of these studies,


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## Tinknocker1

Lol I conducted enough of my own studies thanks


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## landen daugstrup

test (sorry)


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## Thomas m.

They stocked the Ohio yearly prior to 911. Ohio University had a boat on the river quite a bit tracking fish back in the day.


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## hoosiercanadian

Thomas m. said:


> They stocked the Ohio yearly prior to 911. Ohio University had a boat on the river quite a bit tracking fish back in the day.


The past 5 out of 6 years the river has been absolutely wrecked during the time when most species spawn , especially sauger. If their spawn gets ruined, or they just absorb the eggs that many years in a row, what are you going to end up with ? We are seeing the effects of that . And why does this seem to be happening ? Obviously the balance of nature has been altered. Here comes the dreaded term , Climate Change. Google sauger decline, and see what pops up , same thing is happening to birds, when was the last time you heard a whipporwill ? Yeah we have about made them extinct as well . Natures balance is delicate. We have taken it all for granted as we go along struggling for the legal tender, and have made money more important than our environment. If we do not wake up , we will be showing our grand children pictures of animals that used to be here .


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

hoosiercanadian said:


> The past 5 out of 6 years the river has been absolutely wrecked during the time when most species spawn , especially sauger. If their spawn gets ruined, or they just absorb the eggs that many years in a row, what are you going to end up with ? We are seeing the effects of that . And why does this seem to be happening ? Obviously the balance of nature has been altered. Here comes the dreaded term , Climate Change. Google sauger decline, and see what pops up , same thing is happening to birds, when was the last time you heard a whipporwill ? Yeah we have about made them extinct as well . Natures balance is delicate. We have taken it all for granted as we go along struggling for the legal tender, and have made money more important than our environment. If we do not wake up , we will be showing our grand children pictures of animals that used to be here .


I agree with some of this but not all of it. Nature tends to run in cycles. Late 90's-early 2000's there were a lot of spring and summers that we had almost drought conditions. This led to low, clear water and baitfish and game fish spawning was excellent. The past 8-9 years we have had above normal rains in spring and summer. This has led to blown out rivers and creeks and terrible spawns for baitfish and gamefish. This area of the river is cleaner than its ever been. We have multiple nesting pairs of osprey and bald eagles. I see them fairly regularly. 

Many of the local lakes are doing fine because even though the water has come up, it really hasn't effected the spawn. These conditions have ruined spawns, especially for fish that run up these flooded creeks and rivers. 

Hope I don't jinx this, but this has been one of the more normal late winters/ early springs that we have had in a number of years. The creeks have looked good for the last couple months and the river has been up some but not 30+ feet off and on all through the late spring. Over the last decade, I can't tell you how many times we either moved stuff or was prepared to move stuff from my wife's grandmothers house who lives on Wheeling Island due to flooding. We haven't even come close this year and lets hope it stays that way.

I have a poster in my class room that shows the wildlife history of Ohio from 1803-2003. It has a timeline that shows all the legislation, etc. the state has done to protect wildlife and various conservation efforts. What we have today isn't as great as 1803, but its a hell of a lot better than 1903.


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## hoosiercanadian

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> I agree with some of this but not all of it. Nature tends to run in cycles. Late 90's-early 2000's there were a lot of spring and summers that we had almost drought conditions. This led to low, clear water and baitfish and game fish spawning was excellent. The past 8-9 years we have had above normal rains in spring and summer. This has led to blown out rivers and creeks and terrible spawns for baitfish and gamefish. This area of the river is cleaner than its ever been. We have multiple nesting pairs of osprey and bald eagles. I see them fairly regularly.
> 
> Many of the local lakes are doing fine because even though the water has come up, it really hasn't effected the spawn. These conditions have ruined spawns, especially for fish that run up these flooded creeks and rivers.
> 
> Hope I don't jinx this, but this has been one of the more normal late winters/ early springs that we have had in a number of years. The creeks have looked good for the last couple months and the river has been up some but not 30+ feet off and on all through the late spring. Over the last decade, I can't tell you how many times we either moved stuff or was prepared to move stuff from my wife's grandmothers house who lives on Wheeling Island due to flooding. We haven't even come close this year and lets hope it stays that way.
> 
> I have a poster in my class room that shows the wildlife history of Ohio from 1803-2003. It has a timeline that shows all the legislation, etc. the state has done to protect wildlife and various conservation efforts. What we have today isn't as great as 1803, but its a hell of a lot better than 1903.


 The one thing i know for sure is that the sauger fishing was worse this fall and winter than it was last winter, i think they are in trouble, everybody keeps saying they run in cycles , all i have noticed in the last decade is a steady decline. I live right on the bank of the Ohio about 20 miles downstream from Markland dam, and can see by the fishing reports that it seems to be the same all up and down the river. I too used to see huge schools of shad the size of houses, they are not there anymore , neither is the sauger. It could be a combination of things, but i am afraid the prognosis is not good . We need to strengthen pollution rules , not weaken them .


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## Flatty01

I live right along the river and agree the winter/spring high water events have been really bad the past several years. I also dont remember the last time I caught a bullhead or crappie out of the river. Been that long. We are catching more citation flathead which I'm sure doesnt help the baitfish/young fish. Funny how some years the river seems dead. Like was mentioned, hopefully this is just a cycle and will come back around..


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## Hatchetman

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> I agree with some of this but not all of it. Nature tends to run in cycles. Late 90's-early 2000's there were a lot of spring and summers that we had almost drought conditions. This led to low, clear water and baitfish and game fish spawning was excellent. The past 8-9 years we have had above normal rains in spring and summer. This has led to blown out rivers and creeks and terrible spawns for baitfish and gamefish. This area of the river is cleaner than its ever been. We have multiple nesting pairs of osprey and bald eagles. I see them fairly regularly.
> 
> Many of the local lakes are doing fine because even though the water has come up, it really hasn't effected the spawn. These conditions have ruined spawns, especially for fish that run up these flooded creeks and rivers.
> 
> Hope I don't jinx this, but this has been one of the more normal late winters/ early springs that we have had in a number of years. The creeks have looked good for the last couple months and the river has been up some but not 30+ feet off and on all through the late spring. Over the last decade, I can't tell you how many times we either moved stuff or was prepared to move stuff from my wife's grandmothers house who lives on Wheeling Island due to flooding. We haven't even come close this year and lets hope it stays that way.
> 
> I have a poster in my class room that shows the wildlife history of Ohio from 1803-2003. It has a timeline that shows all the legislation, etc. the state has done to protect wildlife and various conservation efforts. What we have today isn't as great as 1803, but its a hell of a lot better than 1903.



Agree 110% on the high water destroying the spawn for the sauger and other species. Don't think you can blame Muskie or Gar. Not that many Muskies but the Gar have always been there. Have fished the Ohio since 1970 and seen many cycles but none like the high water for the last 4-5 years. Just removing one year class does damage, four or five? Big trouble. In the mid 70's below Pike Island there were days that you couldn't hardly cast without a Gar pestering you and the next day couldn't keep the sauger off your jig. White bass are almost non existent also. Buckeye, were you ever checked by the ODNR Creel Clerk at Pike Island?


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

Hatchetman said:


> Agree 110% on the high water destroying the spawn for the sauger and other species. Don't think you can blame Muskie or Gar. Not that many Muskies but the Gar have always been there. Have fished the Ohio since 1970 and seen many cycles but none like the high water for the last 4-5 years. Just removing one year class does damage, four or five? Big trouble. In the mid 70's below Pike Island there were days that you couldn't hardly cast without a Gar pestering you and the next day couldn't keep the sauger off your jig. White bass are almost non existent also. Buckeye, were you ever checked by the ODNR Creel Clerk at Pike Island?


Yeah, used to see that guy down there all the time, especially on weekends. He would start at the pier and walk all the way down through the rocks. Haven't seen anyone doing a creel survey in a long time though. They used to even have a box there that you could fill out a card and they would pick them up.

Before I could drive in the early 90's we used to ride our bikes though the steel mill in Martins Ferry and fish the area of the old dam by where the water pumps are for the city. There was a deep hole there and we used to catch all kinds of stuff. Every late winter/early spring that area would be stacked full of 1000s upon 1000s of gar. We would snag them with 1/2 oz jig heads and catch them with white yarn tied to a hook with a slip sinker. Every late winter/early spring they were there like clockwork. Gar are annoying but I don't think they are culprit, they have been in that river a loooooooooooooong time.

As a kid in the late 80's I remember catching tons of Largemouth bass, rock bass, and bluegill below Pike Island dam. There were healthy weed beds all through those rocks, then the Ashland oil spill took place in 1988 just north of Pittsburgh. All the weed beds were gone, rarely catch a LM, bluegill, or rockbass. That was when we started to catch a lot more white bass, sauger, smallmouth. The habitat changed but other species of fish filled the gap. This was when I was 8 or 9 so my recollection of fishing might be off slightly but my dad has confirmed this.


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## Hatchetman

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> Yeah, used to see that guy down there all the time, especially on weekends. He would start at the pier and walk all the way down through the rocks. Haven't seen anyone doing a creel survey in a long time though. They used to even have a box there that you could fill out a card and they would pick them up.
> 
> Before I could drive in the early 90's we used to ride our bikes though the steel mill in Martins Ferry and fish the area of the old dam by where the water pumps are for the city. There was a deep hole there and we used to catch all kinds of stuff. Every late winter/early spring that area would be stacked full of 1000s upon 1000s of gar. We would snag them with 1/2 oz jig heads and catch them with white yarn tied to a hook with a slip sinker. Every late winter/early spring they were there like clockwork. Gar are annoying but I don't think they are culprit, they have been in that river a loooooooooooooong time.
> 
> As a kid in the late 80's I remember catching tons of Largemouth bass, rock bass, and bluegill below Pike Island dam. There were healthy weed beds all through those rocks, then the Ashland oil spill took place in 1988 just north of Pittsburgh. All the weed beds were gone, rarely catch a LM, bluegill, or rockbass. That was when we started to catch a lot more white bass, sauger, smallmouth. The habitat changed but other species of fish filled the gap. This was when I was 8 or 9 so my recollection of fishing might be off slightly but my dad has confirmed this.



Wanna guess who that clerk was ??


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## Fishon1546

Hatchetman does your daughter work for the odnr


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## Hatchetman

Fishon1546 said:


> Hatchetman does your daughter work for the odnr



No, she lives in California


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## Fishon1546

Alright I used to Fish with a guy who did surveys for the odnr at the River and I thought he said his daughter used to do the Fish shocking for the odnr


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## Hatchetman

The guy that did surveys from above Pike Island to New Cumberland Dam, his daughter used to work for the ODNR and she has moved to Texas. I went shocking with the crew she was on a couple times. I worked from Pike Island down to Fish Creek and as far as French Creek one time. Mostly at Pike though.


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## katfish ken

Was just listening to a local lake report and thought of this thread. It made me wonder what effect the lakes that have been made in the last 50 or so years has on the Ohio river fish populations. We know they have an effect on water flow as they were put in in the name of flood control


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## Hatchetman

Other than fish from those lakes that were never in the river could pass through the spillways and migrate down to the Ohio, I don't think there would be any effect


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## Pooka

katfish ken said:


> Was just listening to a local lake report and thought of this thread. It made me wonder what effect the lakes that have been made in the last 50 or so years has on the Ohio river fish populations. We know they have an effect on water flow as they were put in in the name of flood control


50 years ago the mighty O was quite a different river. It still has a bad rep but is far far cleaner and more alive than it was then. I joke(?) that swimming in it as a kid is probably why I am such a nut.


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## katfish ken

I know the Big Sandy is much cleaner now than 50 years ago. Back then they were both probably much like garbage/waste dumps.
What made me wonder was the difference in the water temps of the lake and the outflow. there was a 4 degree difference in the two, and it made me wonder the effect it had on the temps at which different species spawn. Wonder if it could make enough difference to make some species miss the needed temp for the amount of time they need to spawn. I know of two lakes in E. Ky. that were made in the last 50 years. Probably been some in W. Va., Pa. and and Ohio that I know nothing about. Makes me wonder if many lakes dumping colder water all at one time would have an effect on the spawn in the Ohio.


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## Doboy

Pooka said:


> 50 years ago the mighty O was quite a different river.* It still has a bad rep but is far far cleaner and more alive than it was then. I joke(?) that swimming in it as a kid is probably why I am such a nut*.



lol,,,, I've often thought the same thing. 
Some Explanation Why, *I'm* Mentally & or Physically handicapped,,, lol ????

story,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Back, when we built the rt30 bridge, my friends would bring down their ski boat & pick me up after work,,,,, we would water ski till dark.
It was like mandatory, to take a very good shower, after,,,, maybe TWO!
We were covered with oil,,,,, & whatever.

( BTW,,, on other jobs, I use'ta help clean the water inlet screens in some of the steel mills,,,, wish I had a 'fancy' camera back then,,, you guys just wouldn't believe the amount of fish that we would scrape off of those screens! Buckets & buckets full.
We seen 'mill' ducks that couldn't fly,,, totally covered with oil )

Even though, The fishing was unbelievable back then,,,,, most likely why I'm so HOOKED on that River still today. I could catch smallmouth, one after another no-stop,,, no-matter where. 
CATS,,,, all that your carpal tunnel fingers could stand.

WE didn't eat ANY of the fish out of the River back then,,,, no matter how you fixed 'em they still tasted like OIL! Then, 10-15 years later, after most of the mills went down, we noticed major improvements. The bait-fish & pan-fish exploded,,,,, there would be no problem catching a bucket full of slab crappies behind every barge tie-off. 
& man,,,, thankfully, the River really cleaned up, & they were now GOOD EAT'N!? (tasted good anyway)

Back then, it didn't matter where I was working, or fishing along The River,,, From Quipa to Steubenville, Clairton to Kittanning,,,,, We'd Pull off the side of the road, & easily catch fish.

Try that now,,,,,,,,,????????????????


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## kycreek

Fishing has certainly dropped off in the Meldahl pool also. Used to be able to find/fish grass beds in the summer for bass. You can't even find a grass bed now???


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## Pooka

katfish ken said:


> I know the Big Sandy is much cleaner now than 50 years ago. Back then they were both probably much like garbage/waste dumps.
> What made me wonder was the difference in the water temps of the lake and the outflow. there was a 4 degree difference in the two, and it made me wonder the effect it had on the temps at which different species spawn. Wonder if it could make enough difference to make some species miss the needed temp for the amount of time they need to spawn. I know of two lakes in E. Ky. that were made in the last 50 years. Probably been some in W. Va., Pa. and and Ohio that I know nothing about. Makes me wonder if many lakes dumping colder water all at one time would have an effect on the spawn in the Ohio.



I don't know about spring time but the Mighty O gets plenty warm in the summer. 
In fact, I am showing 48 degs at Ironton Oh already.


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## kycreek

Tribs were 47 here last week.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

Went tuesday below Pike Island, threw everything in my bag and didn't get a single hit. Water was 16' and good clarity, should have been on fire but not a damn thing. I am honestly about to give up on fishing below Pike Island dam and focus on some other spots down river. They aren't pulling up in there like they used to.


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## Snyd

I grew up fishing the racine dam and still fish it every now and then. Yes, it does seem like fishing was better then but it also seems like it comes in cycles as well. A few years ago we slayed the sauger but there was an abundance of bait fish as well. A lot of the back waters I used to fish as well are now silted in so I think a lot of the spawning sites have deteriorated which I am sure hasn't helped any.


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## multi species angler

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> I am honestly about to give up on fishing below Pike Island dam and focus on some other spots down river.


 Good Luck. The same thing is happening at Willow Island, Bellville and Racine. I've tried all 3 to no avail.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

multi species angler said:


> Good Luck. The same thing is happening at Willow Island, Bellville and Racine. I've tried all 3 to no avail.


I have been down the river a couple times in the last 10 days. Caught 2 decent walleye last weekend on creek chubs and caught 1 smallmouth yesterday. Conditions have been tough, water going up and down, temps going up and down, and too much wind. I will keep beating the bank until I have a good day, because I am stubborn like that. Or I am just a glutton for punishment...LOL!


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## Hatchetman

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> I have been down the river a couple times in the last 10 days. Caught 2 decent walleye last weekend on creek chubs and caught 1 smallmouth yesterday. Conditions have been tough, water going up and down, temps going up and down, and too much wind. I will keep beating the bank until I have a good day, because I am stubborn like that. Or I am just a glutton for punishment...LOL!



Your last sentence is it....


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## Karl Wolf

I see many explanations but i dint see probably a huge hindrance to the game fish populations. Everyone talking about huge limits.... Well that massively depletes the fish stocks when everyone is taking out buckets from areas where most of the river fish congregate,especially during spawing.


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## BMustang

Things have certainly changed dramatically in the past 10/15 years.
For awhile, the Ohio around Cincinnati had a nice population of chunky 10"-12" Largemouth Bass. Now it is a cause for conversation if you even catch a largemouth. In the spring you would see White Bass chasing bait in the shallows and in the creek mouths. That is no longer the case in my experience. Striper, hybrids, sauger and saugeye I really can't report on.
Back before they built the power plant at Meldahl Dam in October/November sauger were plentiful. It was not unusual to catch and release 50 of them after dark. Since they built the power plant, I stopped fishing that area.
One thing that I've noticed is the prevalence of Gar which seem to be everywhere.
For what it's worth..................


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## sliprig

I fish the Tanner Creek/Great Miami area. Always catch fish but not the numbers from years ago. With most catters practicing catch and release and the regulation changes you would think it would be getting better each year.
One thing I have noticed is the size of shad I cast net (small), use to consistently get some 6" plus in short order. Can't remember the last time I got into skipjacks. They closed Tanner Creek power plant, no more hot water discharge. Need to change with the times I guess.
Any thoughts or tips.
Slip


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## katfish ken

My best day for skipjack was in late Mar./April about 11 years ago. My avatar is a testament to the day. Fished about 6 hours and had catfish bait for the year. It seemed more like work than pleasure by the time I got home and packed them up for the freezer. That day was the first time I ever left the river and the fish still biting. Figured out that day a man can only stand so much fun .


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## sliprig

Ken, sounds like about the same time Macfish and I nailed em at a creek mouth. I was in the Miami and called Jerry who was down river. Together we filled all the coolers, buckets and anything that would hold them. There was a mud line from a creek and as soon as you hit clear water they hammered the jigs. Doubles were common. Jerry buddy had a big chest freezer (mine was full of beef, no way to store that many) SOB fished with Jigger alot and they burn right thru them. Learned my lesson.


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## katfish ken

That day was a case of cabin fever getting the best of me. When i left the house wife ask where I was going and I said fishing. I then told her i'd call in an hour or two and let her know where I was. Yep lessons learned the hard way are not soon forgotten. I fished mostly by myself that summer and had plenty of bait with what shade I would net around the boat launch . I usually try to have shad and skipjack mixed up when catfishing.


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