# pike island road trip



## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

I found pike island locks and dam. Took the wife and 3yr old. i fished for 30min until i couldnt reel up any more. i had a big chunk of ice at the tip of my rod. I was using a jig. I had 1 hit. Next time i go ill be a little more serious. Take some minnows. Whats the best way to fish there. is it better above the dam or below? I would like to catch a buntch of sauger enough to make the 1hr and 45min worth it. Thanks for any help


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Try down there in the spring below the dam. I would say mid to late april possible early may depending on the weather. You will get a nice mixed bag during that time of the year: sauger, walleye, whitebass, smallies, possibly some hybrids. 

Jake


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Firetiger,
If you ever want to go on a somewhat shorter trip to the river, let me know once it's say 40 degrees out or warmer. From my place in Canton it takes an hour and 15-20 minutes to get to Cumberland Dam. Less crowded and I think the fishing is great. I hear it's better at Pike, but I don't like the drive or the crowd. And if you go to this website and watch for the water temps to hit 45 to 50, ya might catch them in the spawn...about mid March or so.
http://www.lrd-wc.usace.army.mil/navtemp.html Check out Cumberland and Pike right now, they are about 36 degrees, give or take a degree.


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

I wouldnt mind going along. I never fished any part of the ohio river. im all new at it. Im also looking for a lauching ramp around martins ferry/wheeling. I may head to pike island thursday since i got the day off and its going to be warm.


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## Evileye (Jan 29, 2006)

A buddy and myself went to the Cumberland dam this past weekend to scout. Where do you park? Where can you fish? A gentleman told us that
you parkon rt. 7. Is that true. Isnt it kinda Dangerous? Do the police ticket
your cars? The only place we saw to fish were the locks themselves. Do you
fish down river and is there room on the bank to wade. Any help appreciated

Thanks

Bill


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## o.c.c dave (May 28, 2005)

not real sure but I think that there is only shore access on the west virginia side, never fished it, but have read other post on this site about same subject.


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Evileye,
You can park either Ohio or WVA side. If ya park on WV side, go approx 4 mi past the Mountaineer. You'll know when ya get to it, it's at the base of a lg hill. If you go up the hill, on top is a Highway Patrol or Sheriffs barracks...too far. At the base of the hill is a lg parking lot on the left and on the right is room for 4-5 cars. I've seen as many as 12 cars there at once and the law has never bothered anyone, and I've been fishing there about 5 yrs. See cops go past all the time, no problem. Park and walk thru the gates towards the rr tracks, follow the tracks south towards the dam. I generally fish on top of the dam unless it's during the spawn, then I fish down below on the rocks/bricks. Seen as many as 15 people fishing from the shore/rocks at one time . Yes, plenty of room. Alot of guys prefer fishing from the rocks, myself....I've had great success from up on the dam wall. As for wading, can be very slippery...I guess you could do so at some risk. I've got numbers you can call for water conditions, websites for flow rate, temp and most other questions. If ya need anything, just ask and I'll try to help.
Firetiger, we'll have to get together and head down. It's getting real close to the weather being nice enough to go almost any day......a few more weeks. Keep in touch.........


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## toboso (Apr 14, 2004)

Snake is right on. One thing to keep in mind about fishing New Cumberland is the walk down the RR tracks. Keep your gear to a minimum. Trust me, hauling 50 lbs. of gear is not the way to fish there!

One thing to keep in mind about tailrace fishing on the Ohio is that every pool is like its own reservoir. If the conditions aren't right at one lock/dam, the next lock/dam up or down the river might be just right. You can fish 2 or 3 locks in a day and will likely find fish at one of them.


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## PERCHPOOP (Dec 30, 2005)

I love reading the ohio river posts. Sounds like an awesome area to fish. I mostly fish lake erie. and the tribs for the walleye spawn. and huron pier perch. I hope to get the confidence to make the drive to the ohio river this april. reading all the good posts from there has me sure thinking about it. thanks for the info you guys post.


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## fishin_fool_69 (Jan 2, 2006)

I hear ya perchpoop,they have got me pumped too.lol.Thats is some good info tho.Its nice to see people helping other people like you guys do on here.I live close to the greenup locks & dam,im in Ironton.It sounds like I need to get hooked up with you guys.lol.Take care all!


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## ChardonRob (Apr 7, 2005)

I too am a northerner. I mainly fished Lake Erie and the rivers and inland lakes in this area. I drive a truck and I had a delivery several years ago to a factory in East Liverpool right on the bank of the river. As I waited for the ungodly slow dock guys to unload my truck I took a little stroll along the rivers edge. The first thing I saw as I peered over the riprap filled bank was two nice smallmouths just sitting there looking up at me. I had always heard that the Ohio River was disgustingly dirty and I had thought the fishing would be lousy at best. Seeing those two smallies sparked my interest so I talked a friend into making a recon style road trip with me a few days later.

We left Cleveland with just the intentions of heading down to the Ohio to find out info. Bait shop locations, boat ramps, places to fish from shore and things of that nature. We took some gear with us just in case we got lucky and found bait and a spot to fish quickly. This is exactly what happened. Without pulling a boat we had made the trip from Cleveland to Chester WV in less than two hours and found a bait shop immediately. The bait shop owner hooked us up with a few spots to try and we were fishing within two and a half hours of pulling out of our driveway.

We tossed out a couple of our rigs for cats and fished a couple of rigs near shore for smallies. Our light action spinning tackle was fine for the smallmouths but the first fish of the day was a 12 pound flathead that hit about a minute after our first cast. We got the fish to shore but after fighting it up off the bottom on 8 pound test and a spinning rod we knew what the guy meant in the movie Jaws when he said "we need a bigger boat." We ended up with a couple of dozen cats, both flatheads and channels, a couple of saugers, a dozen or so smallmouths and a 6 pound hybrid. Not to mention the many fish that broke off due to our light action gear. I was hooked. The minute I got home I called in an order to Bass Pro Shops for a couple of heavy casting setups and some 20 pound test line. 

In the years that followed that first trip I've had good days and bad on the river. We started bringing the boat with us and I will admit that it took some getting used to the barge traffic. Some of the good days included winning a catfish tournament and catching the biggest fish of my life, a 48 pound flathead. We started out fishing for smallmouths but we kind of evolved into hardcore catters. With that said, just about anything that swims can be caught in the Ohio with the exception of trout. The only negative thing that I can say about fishing the Ohio is it's not the most senic or relaxing fishing that you can do. You always have to pay attention to the barge traffic and there's almost always a factory or power plant or something less than pretty in veiw The river is two hours or less from Cleveland and there's plenty access and fish of every kind to be caught. There is no earthly reason for guys from this area to not give it a try.

Sorry for the long post but I'm bored as hell and needed something to do


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Perchpoop,
Hey pal, where ya at? Ride along with someone else first, get a feel for it. You can ride with me if'n ya want. I'll start going every weekend till the middle of April when it cools down, action wise. It's fixin' to pick up here in the next 2-4 weeks big time!!


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

Do u take a boat there snake? I dont think im going to try my boat down there on the river. Ive seen railroad ties 55gallon drums trees floating down the river, I dont want to hit one of those. Although if the fishing is good enough i may change my mind. What do u fish for? sauger,walleye? Ill keep in touch snake

Chris


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

just remember when you have a east or west wind you can hardly find debrie in the river,its on shore,but a south or north wind beware and go slow.thats what we look for at pike island above the dam


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

I haven't seen that much debris except at the dam and the river is big enough that you should be able to miss *anything*. I fish for walleye, sauger and saugeye mainly. But if I see a good chance to catch some of those big crappies, I won't pass it up!! Also chase the stripers and white bass from time to time. Haven't yet taken my boat to the river but told myself I will this year. Won't be long now folks......  By the way, thanks Husky, never thought about it like that. Makes sense to me.


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

im heading to pike island saturday 3-4-06 to try it out for a few hours. ill let u guys know how i do. If saturday ever gets here.


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

I did good after i seen 4guys catch sauger left and right. They were in the current not the calm water. I caught 1 17incher and missed i dont know how many and lost a bunch of jigs. Next time i know where to go. Ill get an earlier start. Fishing there is a little differnt then fishing the rivers in the northeast i think. once i get the hang of it look out sauger. Also the sauger was full of eggs when i fillet it.


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