# Alum Spillway still Hot!



## zstelting (Apr 13, 2011)

Caught this guy on Fri April 8th! 25lbs of Muskie fun. The saugeye are on as well but it can get crowded.


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## zack pahl (Mar 8, 2009)

man, look at that.. It looks like she's been through hell and back. That Muskie has probably been caught/snagged 300 times since they let the lake out. I actually feel bad for it. Alum spillway has become a paylake.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

The marks I'm seeing look nothing like snag marks or anything of that nature...another debbie downer post...nice fish man.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Wow! What a pig! Congratulations on a great fish.


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## dfry16 (Mar 23, 2011)

nice fish! i may have to get back down there and try for another muskie, seems to be no shortage of them in there since most get released.


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## musikman43155 (May 14, 2008)

Nice fish!

Just out of curiousity, is there any reason why you're not allowed to catch a fish in the spillway then hoof it back up & drop it in the main lake? I'm just curious...

My apologies if this is a very dumb question..


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## SeaRayder (Jan 6, 2009)

musikman43155 said:


> Nice fish!
> 
> Just out of curiousity, is there any reason why you're not allowed to catch a fish in the spillway then hoof it back up & drop it in the main lake? I'm just curious...
> 
> My apologies if this is a very dumb question..


That's an awesome thought...we were discussing it last night as a group. You'd probably want a tub of water and a friend to help carry to be sure it didn't die on the trip up the steps...I sure would help if I was there. NICE FISH!


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## Muskarp (Feb 5, 2007)

musikman43155 said:


> Just out of curiousity, is there any reason why you're not allowed to catch a fish in the spillway then hoof it back up & drop it in the main lake? I'm just curious...


I think we all need to put some pressure on the DOW to get the USACE to allow the water to come over the gates when it's three feet above summer pool, instead of blowing it out from the pipe. This would eliminate the huge number of fish that were butchered this spring. What a waste of fish. I stopped by for the first time sunday as I was leaving the lake. Man, there must have been twenty dead eyes and three dead muskies just in the 50yds of shoreline I looked at. Were these fish killed from rubbing against the sides of the pipe, the near instant surfacing (barotrauma) they experience or being smashed off the opposite wall at 30mph? BTW- anybody know the depth that pipe draws from?


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## onthewater (May 20, 2005)

There is a Muskie guy who has moved quite a few of them back into the lake the last couple years. He slips them into a large PVC tube and drives over to New Galena ramp and releases them. 
No way would I want to carry a bunch of water up those steps at the damn. 
High Heart failure risk.


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## Jigging Jim (Apr 3, 2010)

onthewater said:


> There is a Muskie guy who has moved quite a few of them back into the lake the last couple years. He slips them into a large PVC tube and drives over to New Galena ramp and releases them.
> No way would I want to carry a bunch of water up those steps at the damn.
> High Heart failure risk.


Actually, removing Fish from 1 body of water and placing them into another body of water is ILLEGAL in Ohio..... Now, back to the original intent of this Thread..... That is a fantastic Musky - Congratulations !


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

In this case since it is essentially the same body of water I would think the state would have no problem with someone relocating this fish back over the dam...maybe I'm wrong...the marks on that muskie do look like its from being blown out of the pipe...lots of abrasions...anyone that thinks they go over the dam when the water is high is wrong.


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## puterdude (Jan 27, 2006)

Man that thing is a beast!!!!! I have never done battle with one of those but man I hope my first is beauty like that.Great job man & super catch!!!


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## thegcdawg (May 26, 2008)

Awesome fish. I love that a ton of people are getting the chance to catch one. A lot of people are trying to rain on the parade of the guys catching these musky. It's no different then any other time musky gets caught by a fisherman at the spillway. Just now it's getting more attention. CONGRATS on the great catch.


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## skycruiser (Aug 7, 2009)

dude that's a giant!!! how long was she? man they're eating good down there!


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Tonight I fished my butt off down there and went 0 for several on muskies.

If you heard a guy screaming a bit, it was me. lol. I got sort of worked up over losing so many. I'm going to buy a new rod already.


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Nice fish, that's a hog.......but they need to do something about all those fish being sucked down below the dam. There have been more cut off jeans and flanel shirts below alum this year than in the state combined. Not like the dam there is a secret or anything but all the posts got all the lurkers down there. 

I am all for dropping the fish back in the main lake. I have an aerated giant cooler that I have used in bass tournies before that would probably work. The marks on the fish are probably from all the rocks and shooting through the dam. Also, it's spawing time for the muskies......could be from them trying to reproduce.


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## Pigsticker (Oct 18, 2006)

It wasn't hot yesterday from 6-8. I saw one saugeye and one juvenile muskie caught, by same Guy. Water is way low.

I probably wont be back. Its not the amount of people that bothers me. Its the utter disregard of any fishing etiquette whatsoever. Its very frustrating. I don't think they're doing it on purpose, I think most are noobs to fishing in a tight crowd. I tell you if they tried some of the crap they pulled last night at Maumee it'd surely come to fisticuffs. Not me but some guys don't play that.


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## Fishin Finatic (Oct 22, 2010)

Has anyone see big fish come shooting out of the pipe below the dam. When i talked to an Army Corp guy this winter he said the lake side of the pipe has a grate with 2" x 12" slots in it. If it's true then the really big fish should be prevented from coming thru.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Fishin Finatic said:


> Has anyone see big fish come shooting out of the pipe below the dam. When i talked to an Army Corp guy this winter he said the lake side of the pipe has a grate with 2" x 12" slots in it. If it's true then the really big fish should be prevented from coming thru.


The grate only goes so high, and the water level in the lake was about three feet above that when it was really high earlier this year. What I find really interesting is that there were so many fish in the top three feet of the water column, that close to the dam. Just how many fish are really in that lake?

_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors_


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Fish go through the pipes...same thing at hoover.


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## Big James (Mar 30, 2011)

My 2 cents on moving them back to the lake. If it can be done safely for the fish then great. But it is NOT illegal, the only thing illegal in Ohio is transporting one non native species into a body of water it is not already present in.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Big James said:


> My 2 cents on moving them back to the lake. If it can be done safely for the fish then great. But it is NOT illegal, the only thing illegal in Ohio is transporting one non native species into a body of water it is not already present in.


While I do not know the exact answer on legality of putting the muskie back in the lake I can tell you that your statement here is not true. It is indeed illegal to transport ANY species from one body of water in to another. It does not matter if that species is native or non-native or whether it is already present. The reasons for limiting this is not just for the spread of species but more for the risk of passing disease, parasites, etc.

As far as the muskie goes, I guess I don't know how the ODNR views the tailwaters. I personally would want to get a clear answer from the ODNR before I took that matter in to my own hands.


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## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

Clayton said:


> What I find really interesting is that there were so many fish in the top three feet of the water column, that close to the dam. Just how many fish are really in that lake?


 It's called seasonal migration. If this was June you'd probably see mangled carp below the spillway. Wish it was June...lol


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## Big James (Mar 30, 2011)

I apologize here is the law from ODNR website. I talked to an wildlife officer years ago catching bluegills for bait and that's what he told me, that I was fine transporting fish as long as it wasn't an invasive species. I guess for bait they are hoping none get off your hook alive.


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## TeamClose (May 23, 2005)

What is the definition of a different body of water? Say you catch bluegills in Paint Creek lake and take them to the Ohio River for bait? That is theoretically the same body of water? For that matter any creek or lake with a creek coming out of it from north of Columbus south is in the Ohio River basin. The Ohio River drainage is 247,345 sq miles and includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Basically half the country west of the Mississippi is in the Ohio River drainage. 

I don't see where walking a muskie a few hundreds yards and releasing it back into the lake it either came from or is heading towards is a big deal. Really what is the harm in taking a bluegill from Alum Creek lake and using it for bait in the Ohio River in Portsmouth? Too many people are narrow minded I guess?


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## TeamClose (May 23, 2005)

Also the law says "introduce". It doesn't say release. I read it as if there are already bluegills, muskie or whatever type of fish present you wouldn't be "introducing" the fish?


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Shad Rap said:


> ...anyone that thinks they go over the dam when the water is high is wrong.


HAHA!!!



> Fish go through the pipes...*same thing at hoover*.


LOLOLOL! I can't get enough of this dude.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

TeamClose said:


> What is the definition of a different body of water? Say you catch bluegills in Paint Creek lake and take them to the Ohio River for bait? That is theoretically the same body of water? For that matter any creek or lake with a creek coming out of it from north of Columbus south is in the Ohio River basin. The Ohio River drainage is 247,345 sq miles and includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
> Basically half the country west of the Mississippi is in the Ohio River drainage.
> 
> I don't see where walking a muskie a few hundreds yards and releasing it back into the lake it either came from or is heading towards is a big deal. Really what is the harm in taking a bluegill from Alum Creek lake and using it for bait in the Ohio River in Portsmouth? Too many people are narrow minded I guess?


For what it's worth, people do this all the time with PVC carrying tubes, specifically built for muskie. ODNR has attempted to shock fish in the spillway and transport them back to the lake. I'm unsure if they are still doing this, as Alum has plenty (to some, too many) muskie. If only we could get another big flood and send them further downstream. Big Nut and the Scioto way south needs its annual allotment


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Off topic but I must be a comedian...lol...why u say that mush?


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Shad Rap said:


> Off topic but I must be a comedian...lol...why u say that mush?


Your comments make me laugh. That's all.


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## Big James (Mar 30, 2011)

It is unlawful to buy or sell any fish taken by angling from any water area in the state where an Ohio Fishing License is required.

It is unlawful to transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another.

It is unlawful for the public to tag and release fish into any public water area.

It is unlawful to clean fish or possess fillets while on or at a body of water. For more information, see OAC 1501:31-13-08 J


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

The reference was made to using bluegills for bait in another body of water. This is in fact different than transferring them if you are using them for bait. Putting them in the body of water alive to be release is transferring them. Als if you are using bluegills (or any other controlled species) the other consideration to keep in mind is that the fish you have for bait must abide by the regulations of the body of water being fished in. In other words if you were to use crappie for bait and obtained them from a lake without a size limit and took them to a lake that has a size limit they better exceed that limit. The burden of proof is on you and you have no way of proving that they did not come from the lake that you are currently fishing in.

It sounds like the transport of the muskie has gone on quite a bit at Hoover according to Mushi's account. I imagine the DOW has some stipulation as to how and when this is allowed.


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