# Alum Hellbender



## OhioAngler614 (Feb 18, 2011)

While fishing over Alum over the Summer I saw a dead Hellbender. I was wondering if anyone has seen any of these alive and know any places where I could possibly catch one. Thanks


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## BobcatJB (Mar 30, 2005)

It was most likely a mudpupoy. Hellbenders are endangered and only inhabit one or two streams in Ohio.

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## OhioAngler614 (Feb 18, 2011)

This was quite large, which is why it intrigued me and I want to see a live one. I don't know how big mudpuppies can get, but this was 8-10". I am kind of mad at myself for not taking a picture.


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## BobcatJB (Mar 30, 2005)

8-10" is about average for a mudpuppy

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## OhioAngler614 (Feb 18, 2011)

Looking at pictures of muddy puppies, I think that is what it was. The guy I was looking at it with identified it as a hellbender and I am not very knowledgeable about amphibians. Do you know how common mud puppies of that size are to find?


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## geoffoquinn (Oct 2, 2011)

i've seen a live mud puppy. it was a strange lookin thing. it looked almost like a salamander.


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## fishslim (Apr 28, 2005)

They are thick at Alum see them quite often. Saw couple few weeks back on hooks up north at howard they caught them on minnows on bottom.


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## craig (Feb 9, 2008)

Alum is full of mudpuppies, caught lots of them back in the day, even saw Sadydog catch one thru the ice on a vibe.


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## timmyv (Apr 26, 2006)

I caught a 18 inch Mud puppy at alum a few years ago. It did look like a hellbender but after doing more research it was definately a mud puppy. I don't believe it was a hellbender. Sure looked like one but sure wasn't.


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## OhioAngler614 (Feb 18, 2011)

timmyv said:


> I caught a 18 inch Mud puppy at alum a few years ago. It did look like a hellbender but after doing more research it was definately a mud puppy. I don't believe it was a hellbender. Sure looked like one but sure wasn't.


Ya, after doing a little research comparing the two, it seems to me the easiest way to differentiate between the two is the gill structures the mud puppies have the hellbenders don't.


http://www.google.com/imgres?q=mud+...9&tbnw=175&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Mudpuppies are everywhere, caught them in about every stream around central Ohio. Saw my first hellbender couple years ago, last one I saw was this spring in another creek. If you do see one, please leave it be, want my kids to see one before they disappear.

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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

They are a bear to get hold of and then to get off the hook. Slippery and wiggely.


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

Good Ole Sady Dog got one last year while ice fishing.... CLASSIC!


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## Shaun69007 (Sep 2, 2009)

Ellis Lock on the Muskingum RIver during cold weather. I have had days down there where i am slamming catfish, bowfin and even the ocasional Northern Pike. then there are days where all i catch are mudpuppies. Creeeeepey little things.


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## MDBuckeye (Sep 29, 2009)

I caught 4-5 last year on the ice. All were caught on tip-ups with minnows. This season I am going to put my tip-ups a little higher in the water column and see what happens. Last week I saw one caught on a jig an minnow. Those things are pretty ferocious and slimy as all get out!


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## n-strut (Apr 14, 2010)

This one is from the Kokosing river near Gambier caught on a small crankbait and released unharmed.


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

You sure that isn't a beaver? That thing looks huge!


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## n-strut (Apr 14, 2010)

Yeah, it was pretty large, I thought it was a flathead at first then I saw its legs. It was so strong it was all I could do to hold onto it to get the hook out of its mouth.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

If that is a mud puppy its biggest by far I've ever seen, might be a hellbender, looks like a forked tail, strange. Did it have gill looking things sticking out ? 
I've caught almost all of my mud puppies in cold water, early spring or late late fall, during summer for me they disappear

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## craig (Feb 9, 2008)

Ya I forgot about Sadys mudpuppy pucking up a largemouth bass, that was classic.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

n-strut said:


> This one is from the Kokosing river near Gambier caught on a small crankbait and released unharmed.


That's probably a true hellbender....hell of a catch! Did he swim away alright? kokosing is one of the few streams they inhabit. 

http://www.knoxcountyparks.org/hellbender.htm


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## alumcreeker (Nov 14, 2008)

You want a mud puppy go to alum during cold water and fish the bottom with minnows. A few years ago on the ice at galena ramp a guy caught like 5 of them seemed like all at once they become so active in cold water. Also I think I caught a hellbender when I was real little in the a river in southeastern ohio can't spell but it was the muskingmn hope you can read that lol

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## n-strut (Apr 14, 2010)

It was Hellbender for sure, if you look real close at the tail you can see were something took a chunk out of it.

After I released him he just laid on the bottom for a few minutes and then swam away.


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## richard78 (Mar 28, 2011)

I have to be honest, I had no idea what a hellbender is so i went to the source of wisdom, youtube, and found this. This is first time adding a link, hope i did it right.

video.




BTW Why does he lick the hellbender?


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## foundationfisher (May 12, 2008)

from what i've learned on youtube, hellbenders are a sign of excellent water quality. back in the early '70s, they were pretty common in the muskingum watershed. caught them at mohawk on the walhonding, brinkhaven on the mohican, and the biggest i ever saw was in the kokosing near gambier, close to 30 inches. thanks to no till farming, the water quality isn't the same.


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