# The Mighty (Muddy) Ohio



## FishNerd (Apr 22, 2013)

I went down to RC Byrd last weekend and it was at 25ft, which meant the upper platform was completely under. It was a raging, muddy, debris-filled torrent. My buddy and I gave up after a half hour and went out to Tycoon (caught 2 channels there).

I'm not digging this weather. Today the river is at 29', which, i believe, is too high to do much of anything. And it doesn't look like it's gonna stop anytime soon, not with 2-3" of rain forecast in the next few days. Anyone even still trying to fish the river? Or is it a good time to switch to inland fishing for a while?


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

yes,yes and yes . i,m loveing the river forcast for fri., and sat.. hit the feader creeks, u should do well. i,m hitting tham tommarow. A GOOD INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL.


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## zippododa (Sep 8, 2010)

Sometimes you would be surprised at what is in that muddy water. I have caught some of the best fish when the water is up and muddy..... 


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## ranger373v (Oct 26, 2012)

i caught so many big bass on picnic tables and shrubs... went back a week later for the bass tourney, and everything was out of water... disappointment... lol


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

High and muddy in the summertime is great. It concentrates the fish and pulls them out of the middle of the river. They're also more willing to hit since forage is better able to hide, but their metabolism is still in summertime feeding mode. The downside is that since visibility is shot, you have to get right on top of them or use lures that appeal to lateral line detection or sound. They do behave differently in high and muddy water, so clear water tactics won't work as well, but overall high and muddy is my preference for summer fishing. My general rule for muddy water fishing is move downstream from tailraces and out of currents and if you can, find a clear feeder creek feeding into the main body and fish the line where the clear hits the muddy, you'll sometimes have them stacked up like cordwood within about fifteen feet of that line on either side. If you hit the conditions just right, you can have days where you're catching every other cast.

My only other piece of advice is that muddy water tends to produce poorly timed reaction strikes, so often they'll short strike, make sure you use trailer hooks and that your hooks are sharp. In clear water, I'll lose maybe 1 out of every 4 or so bites. In muddy water, I only get about half of them.


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## FishNerd (Apr 22, 2013)

Yeah my big problem is shoreline access. I don't have a boat some I'm pretty much limited to public access...of which there isn't much on my stretch of river (Gallia & Meigs counties) save for the dams and boat launches.


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