# Fish Ohio River Monsters: 9-pound Wiper & Friends



## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

*1/12/2013: *
*Weather*: Foggy, cloudy, & warm with a high of 65*degrees. Slightly rising water levels and pre-frontal conditions. Strange wind gusts of 0-10mph (SSW) carrying very noticeable hot and cool air changes. Water visibility was good considering the recent rain; Areas along the banks were muddy but there was a distinct breakline 10ft off shore.

*Report*: I took a field trip with Matulemj and Brian on Saturday and man was it a strange day out there. Rains on Thursday/Friday brought 0.84inches accumulation so the rivers were all up. (I believe Milford was up +3 @ 8ft and the Ohio River downtown was up +2 @ 28ft.) The fog was unreal, you could not see 20yards in front of you which made for some interesting fishing when we heard boat engines getting louder and louder! 
Fishing started out with a bang. There was very little wind early on which made paddling and drifting very easy. We focused on the breakline of muddy water and clear water, and with almost no current, we were able to try some new lures this time. We caught 5 big white bass and wipers on our first 3 drifts, and then a 6th one hit that nearly flipped my kayak. As with any fishing story, this one had a memorable beginning. I had just installed a fishfinder on my kayak and as I was drifting I saw a bunch of hits and told Brian "wow, here comes a big pile of them, watch this". Not 3 seconds later, my rod was doubled over and my kayak was spinning in circles. I hadn't felt a hit like this since fishing up on St.Clair for pike and musky. After taking me for a ride, Brian was able to help me boga my personal best wiper, topping the scales at 9+ pounds:

















Mike showed up a bit later and unfortunately the big fish stopped biting. After the sun broke the tree-line, the wind picked up a bit and the fog moved all over the place. What was strange is that the wind kept changing directions on us, and the temperature would swing +/- 5 degrees suddenly which seemed to kill the action or turn it back on instantly. I believe the barometer was flying around with this storm coming which really shut the big fish off. We got into a few more decent hybrids and a lot of white bass, with a few of the 1-2 pounders showing up. Most of them were dinks suspending on channel ledges in 15-20fow. The gar were also in full force, as with any post-rain trip. I believe we all tagged or landed 5 of them apiece. I caught two 3-5pound drum to top things off. It was an amazing trip overall, with everyone catching fish. Here are some more pictures to help fend off the Cabin Fever for anyone that couldn't make it out this weekend. I fear we are doomed for a while now with all of this rain.

-House


----------



## QueticoMike (Sep 25, 2008)

Another nice fish, good report! It must be nice to be able to fish. I wanted to get out there bad this weekend but my river is 10 feet high right now. Maybe next month


----------



## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

I'd say the new lures worked just fine! Great job


----------



## 93stratosfishnski (Aug 25, 2011)

great fish guys, any tips on the "new lures" these central ohio river hybrids have some of us locals puzzled


----------



## Dandrews (Oct 10, 2010)

Daveo76 said:


> I'd say the new lures worked just fine! Great job


No doubt!! That&#8217;s awesome!!



WAREHOUSE said:


> Here are some more pictures to help fend off the Cabin Fever for anyone that couldn't make it out this weekend.


That&#8217;s a good one, you should be a comedian. 

I&#8217;ve tied a few flies, tied some jigs, attempted to make lures but all that does is make me want to go out and use them. Seriously though, congratulations guys.


----------



## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Wow great fish guys! Incredible stuff


----------



## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Super trip and that is simply a hugemonstrous wiper. I end up spending Sat at McDonalds playland with the grandaughter so I'm very jealous.


----------



## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

I almost forgot one other picture: I caught a swordfish!










Strato: I believe the term is "bouncing" and "scrounging". I just read an article online about ice fishing that pretty much sums up the techniques we've been using: http://www.fishhound.com/article/two-best-ice-fishing-presentations-bottom-pounding-and-bottom-scrounging I'll send you a PM with more specifics. Keep in mind, I'm no expert...I just fish a lot.


----------



## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

WAREHOUSE said:


>


That hat gets cooler everytime I wear it. Truth.


----------



## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

UNREAL! I knew people were out there catching hogs somewhere! I couldnt get out this weekend but thats all I thought about!


----------



## co-angler (Jan 3, 2010)

I think I saw you guys! I got off work early due to a power outage and headed to the river to scout out some spots. I saw 3 guys rather close together and they were having what looked like a great day! I called out but nobody would even turn to look my way....i thought," what a buncha Dbags" 
I hope Im wrong....were you jigging?


----------



## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

co-angler said:


> I think I saw you guys! I got off work early due to a power outage and headed to the river to scout out some spots. I saw 3 guys rather close together and they were having what looked like a great day! I called out but nobody would even turn to look my way....i thought," what a buncha Dbags"
> I hope Im wrong....were you jigging?


they could probably smell the west side comin' off ya!


----------



## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

co-angler said:


> I think I saw you guys! I got off work early due to a power outage and headed to the river to scout out some spots. I saw 3 guys rather close together and they were having what looked like a great day! I called out but nobody would even turn to look my way....i thought," what a buncha Dbags"
> I hope Im wrong....were you jigging?


If you saw 2 dbags and 1 megaDbag with a dumb hat on, then yes thems was us dbags.


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## co-angler (Jan 3, 2010)

I effen knowed it. Buncha bags....


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

Great report House. You guys are killing it!

Curious as to what fishfinder you went with?


----------



## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

Nice report! A couple of those fish look interesting. The one looks like a true striper. I love that jigging!


----------



## misterbreeze (Dec 19, 2011)

How do you tell the difference in a big white bass and a small hybrid or stripper? Thanks


----------



## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

misterbreeze said:


> How do you tell the difference in a big white bass and a small hybrid or stripper? Thanks



White bass Ive caught are generally smaller and more silver..Hybrids have broken lines and more of a hump, Stripers get huge, less of a hump and stripes that go straight to the tail that dont break.


----------



## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

..guys...NICE!!!! great wipers and nice reoprts...keep at "em!


----------



## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

misterbreeze said:


> How do you tell the difference in a big white bass and a small hybrid or stripper? Thanks


Alright, alright, one more time:










Another way, as mentioned, is that wiper's lines are usually broken up. Even with all this information, there will be a few fish that I catch that are in the 2-3 pound range that I just can't tell the difference. The quickest and easiest way to tell is the "3 stripe" rule. If 3 stripes reach its tailfin, its a wiper/striper. 

This topic has been beat on the head many times though, so search around and I'm sure you can find the answer you're looking for if it hasn't been answered already.


----------



## Ajax (May 16, 2008)

Wow nice. I'd get on the river with my yak but I don't want to risk hypothermia.


----------



## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Mean Morone said:


> ...I love that jigging!


When I mentioned the new secret bait, I was referring to your Smack Tackle Flitterbait. I really need to stock up on more of these bad boys, you guys have made an amazing lure.



deltaoscar said:


> Curious as to what fishfinder you went with?


I had a FishEagle320 laying around that I used to use when I'd rent a rowboat from Sharon Woods so I just threw that on the yak. I bought a cool swivel mount for it online and it fits nicely. I'll take a picture of the mount next time I'm out.

-As to the white bass/wiper/striper discussion: If I think it's a large white bass, I do a quick oral exam and look at his tongue for the tooth patch. It's usually pretty distinct. Most of the true stripers I catch usually have very dark black lines (and are longer/skinnier). If it's football shaped and has any lighter stripes broken up, I just assume it's a hybrid. It's the big fat round ones that only have 1 or 2 subtly broken stripes that fool me.


----------



## Smittyfisher (Dec 11, 2012)

Awesome freakin fish!!!! Just neef to finish this kitchen then i am hitting the river with my yak. You guys got me pumped up


----------



## misterbreeze (Dec 19, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I was fishing Lake Cumberland in Ky. I caught what I thought was a nice size white bass,but just under the limit for a striper. After several minutes of discussion with other two buddies we keep it as a white bass. Later that afternoon we were checked by warden, even they had a hard time to determine what it was. Finally they said it was a white bass. I don't fish lakes that have both species often, and when I do now I don't keep any that aren't striper size limit just to be safe.


----------



## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

Those are some of the coolest pics I've ever seen with the background and all, very nice. How long was the 9-pounder it looks huge in the pic, that must've been a tremendous fight. What pound line you using and what action of a rod? Very nice! Jealous here:


----------



## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

Well I hope I didn't start anything by pointing out that a couple of those fish look different. It's hard to tell the difference between whites, hybrids and stripers at times. It really doesn't matter to me because I love to catch all in the Morone family. Here's a fish I caught at Cherokee Lake recently(full report in the TN forum) that threw me off for a second.








Here's another fish from the same school.








One fish I haven't caught is a yellow bass or hybrid yellow bass. One of the characteristics of a yellow bass is they have very dark lines like a striper. They don't get very big though. When they cross with white bass they can cause some confussion. The one fish you have there has very dark lines. I can't see the fish very close, but It did make me wonder. The other fish that you are holding facing the camera looks like a striper because of the shape and the lines. Like I said, I love them all. 

Thanks for the compliments on the lure. It will catch most anything.


----------



## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Do we have yellow bass around these parts? I have heard of them but never seen one. Of course, I had never heard of a spotted bass until I caught one in the Hocking when I was in college.


----------



## Dandrews (Oct 10, 2010)

kingofamberley said:


> Do we have yellow bass around these parts? I have heard of them but never seen one. Of course, I had never heard of a spotted bass until I caught one in the Hocking when I was in college.


I&#8217;ve caught some in Tennessee but none in Ohio.
Really, I don&#8217;t know whether they were yellow bass or yellow bass/striper hybrid but they were pretty small, looked like white bass only a golden yellow. That was in the early 90&#8217;s.


----------



## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

I've never seen any yellow bass in Ohio, but I know they've been caught in Indiana. I would love to catch one even if it was a dink. I've caught white perch out of East Fork and didn't know what I was catching and had to look it up. I know down south the yellow bass is considered a pest. Not to me! I would love to catch one. Warehouse, nice pictures and nice report. Keep them coming. Oh, I meant to say I posted a full report on my Cherokee trip in the Out of State forum.


----------

