# koko report



## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

I'm looking to head up there this weekend and was wondering if i could get some info on the place.
Info like water level, hopefully its getting some rain, its probably low like everywhere else right now, and if possible, info on a good stretch to hit from a kayak. Looking for as little dragging and as much fishing as possible. Ideally if there is a stretch that is better to fish than another, that info would be really nice. Not looking for any hotspots, just don't want to go all the way there and fish a dead spot. 

If you want to pm any info as opposed to posting, thats fine.
Thanks.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

33 views and nada huh?


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

USGS shows the water level is coming up fast. If we keep getting rain, I'm not sure it would be worth the drive.

CG


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I would say it is definitely too early to tell what the river condition is going to be like by the weekend. Who knows how much more rain we will get? Also, if they get a lot from the Loudonville direction (which I believe they did already) then that will slow the recovery of the Kokosing because they converge for the Walhonding which can be controlled by the Mohawk Dam. My rain gage has totaled nearly 2.5" so far in the last day and a half. That was before the torrential downpour that hit about a half hour ago and is still going. So I would say check back later in the week.


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## oucat (Aug 18, 2005)

Like they said it is to early to tell, but in general head farther east(down river) for more water. There will be shallow spots, but how can a day on the river be ruined by a little dragging?


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

With the rain we have and the forcast my bet is it will be too high and fast to fish this weekend.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

A coworker was late to work today due to cleaning up his basement. He is up around the Charles Mill area and said that he had something over 6 inches of rain overnight through this morning. He did not know how much because the gage overflowed. So all of that water has to make it down through the Muskingum water basin. It will take a few days for it to make it through. So definitely check in later in the week. Who knows what it will be like.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

Thanks guys. Not what I wanted to hear, but oh well.
I will check back later.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I drove across up in Mt. Vernon this afternoon and I can tell you that it is only a bit muddy and has risen a couple of feet. It would probably clear up by the weekend if it were not for the fact that there is a ton of water joining downstream from the Mohican River. Mohawk Dam has already risen nearly 15 feet and shows no sign of stopping yet. That will slow the recovery of the Kokosing somewhat as well.

You can use these sites to check on the status.

Mohawk Dam

USGS Real-Time Water Data for Ohio


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

It could get a litte dangerous in a kayak. I don't know you're skill level, but it might not be the best weekend to explore new water:


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## oucat (Aug 18, 2005)

The river was way up at my place this morning, I would not want to go out on it now, but if it drops about half way Ill be there friday. I dont know what the fishing will be like then, but the rapids should be fun.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

andyman said:


> It could get a litte dangerous in a kayak. I don't know you're skill level, but it might not be the best weekend to explore new water:


The river did rise a couple of more feet since I posted the last time. We really didn't get any more rain but it just had not reached the crest yet. Even where it is right now I don't think it is much of a hazard to an experienced kayaker. It has only risen about 3.5' and it was extremely low to begin with. I doubt that it is much more than a foot above its normal early season level. At this point I think the question that remains is whether it clears enough to become fishable. If I think of it I will try to post back in a day to let you know how it is then. The Mohawk Dam has risen more than 22' thus far and doesn't appear to be done so the drop will be delayed somewhat.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

More rain in the forcast for Friday and Saturday......but who knows.........maybe we won't get 19.5" and the river will not be raging out of control. Well, then by all means.......let's all grab our rods and kayaks and head north. Life vests.....pfffft.

 

CG


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

bkr43050 said:


> At this point I think the question that remains is whether it clears enough to become fishable.


It's amazing the different viewpoints on what is "good" water to fish in a river.
We've been chomping at the bit for the last two months to get enough water so our flow WOULD be all muddy and high...so the fishing will get better.
I'm sick of catching 20 12"ers for every decent fish. 
I say bring it on, the muddier the better.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

I like the water a little cloudy, atleast I think I do. I haven't seen any this summer though.
The closer it gets to the weekend, if someone who sees the river could give me an update, that would be great.


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

Dude, just watch the gage.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/uv/?site_no=03136500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060,00010
It aint rocket science to figure out whether it's going to be muddy or not.

With the exception of two particular flows that I know of, MOST rivers are going to fish pretty dam well when they are muddying up and on the rise.

If you were a fish and your water started to drastically rise, what would you be doing to plan for a possible extended flood?
I know I'd be hiding behind any current break I could find and eating everything that came close to me.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

> Dude, just watch the gage.


Ouch. 
Just looking for a first hand account on the water clarity closer towards the weekend. If the gauge website tells me clarity, then I had to miss it.

I can guess it will be muddy, I just don't know how muddy since I have never been there before.


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

Sorry bout that. That came out kind of wrong. And tact has never been my forte'.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/rt
Everything in blue or black is going to be muddy as shiznit. Not kind of muddy, or a little muddy, but extremely muddy.

bkr:
_It would probably clear up by the weekend if it were not for the fact that there is a ton of water joining downstream from the Mohican River. Mohawk Dam has already risen nearly 15 feet and shows no sign of stopping yet. That will slow the recovery of the Kokosing somewhat as well.
_

Color me confused. How does the downstream conflunce effect the Kokosing and/or it's recovery and clarity?


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

andyman said:


> Sorry bout that. That came out kind of wrong. And tact has never been my forte'.
> http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/rt
> Everything in blue or black is going to be muddy as shiznit. Not kind of muddy, or a little muddy, but extremely muddy.
> 
> ...


It would probably not be very evident upstream as far as Howard to Mount Vernon but as you get nearer to the confluence the flow will slow down if the situation downstream at the dam is not allowing for it to go anywhere. It will still eventually make it down but when you are backing up water some 25' or more at the dam it will certainly have an upstream slowing effect.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

I can't post on this thread anymore.......Oh wait, I just did. Dang it!

I can't take it. I can't take it. I'm gonna need my pills. Grandma...........is that you????????????????????????????

CG


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

I'm confused.
Again.


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

Me thinks Critter is teasing me about another discussion somewhere else on the world wide web.
Doesn't your Grandma give you your pills as suppositories? That's hot!


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Well this one is getting weird. The koko has crested, YEA! It will need every darn hour to be good for sat. trip I'm afraid, but it could happen. Did anyone see the reports coming out of Carey, OH, they most definitely don't need any more rain and fishing is far from their minds.


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## andyman (Jul 12, 2005)

I drove home from Detroit yesterday. Got bumped off 75 around Findlay due to the water.
We TRIED to detour around Carey. The whole town was surrounded by cops...no one in or out except emergency vehicles.
Very hard to see...people's homes completely surrounded/submerged by the rising water.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I crossed the Kokosing at Gambier this morning and it is still a bit high and the clarity is still what I would call poor. It is very brown. The smaller tributaries are running pretty clear now though so I would suspect that the clarity will begin improving today. If I get a chance I will update again tomorrow.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

According to the gauge website, it has dropped a bit in the last 24 hours. Thanks for keeping me updated on the clarity.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

swookie, i bet it will be ripe for the breaking on sat. or sun.
u guys should have fun running factory rapids 

git r done!
:B


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## Kayakfisher (Apr 12, 2004)

Swook... just get ya a whitewater yak... roll and cast, roll and cast.. brings a whole new element to the game


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I don't think there will be any issues on running the kayaks. The level is at about a foot above its level of just prior to the rains which should put it at a real good level. The discharge level is down under 250 cfs. I saw a few kids swimming in the river in town last evening. It was still somewhat brown, more than I would want to fish in but today should be much improved. I should get another look at it here shortly. I wouldn't advise planning anything downstream far enough to reach the Walhonding (where Mohican joins in) because the dam is still nearly 25' high.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

Thanks.
I'm curious, how high is the river above normal? I would assume it was low before the rain.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Unfortunately I can't recall what the level is during early season but it was running somewhere between 2.5-3.0 reading leading into the rain and it was considerably low at the time. It is only reading 3.82' now. I am thinking that the 3.82' is about where it would be normally. I looked at it again just a bit ago and it is getting close to prime. In a day it will probably be slightly stained with good flow everywhere. I would think it would make for good fishing.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Please clear up oh river gods, and please let the water be prime for sat. fishing, and I'll promise to stop looking at porn and kicking the dog, or was that the other way around?


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Just got home from Koko with shwookie, we did pretty good I think considering the conditions. The level was about 8" to 1' higher than normal pool I would guess, but clarity was good. Its a totally different river than the rivers around Columbus, meaning the land it runs thru, elevation changes, more sandy than rocky and steeper banks. Its hard to judge since its the first time on the river and it was high, I fished any current break, you only got one chance then your 100 yards downstream, landed a few nice ones Way downstream where it hit, trying not to run into strainers. We will go back later when its lower. Caught about a dozen or more with 4 at least over 14", first fish was biggest at 16.5'. Enough talk, pics.
Mike

PS-A bunch of the SM didn't have the banded sides, and I don't know why some SM have a red eye, but she was a beauty!


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## brhoff (Sep 28, 2006)

Is the river wadable for the most part or is a Yak or Canoe the only way?


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

As far as current and what not for wading, yeah its wadeable.


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## brhoff (Sep 28, 2006)

Thanks, it is on my list to hit one day and I hoof it.


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

It gets pretty deep in spots, so keep an eye on that.
Not like you wouldn't anyways, but, you know.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Looks like we got out of there just in time, A huge t-storm with possible tornadoes went thru a few minutes ago and dumped a bunch more water. I wouldn't wade it the way it was today, way to swift and like shwookie says, it gets deep real quick, and with this rain, I'd say all bets are off for awhile, maybe next weekend it will be ok.
I think the darby is on my list for the next trip.
Mike


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

Nice fish guys. Glad you could get out. Sounds like you had a good day with even with it being a little high and fast.

CG


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

Thanks CG, Congrats on the little girl btw.

I caught a whopping 3.5 fish, which is a little better than normal. Not sure why, but I struggle when fishing with people. Or maybe mike steals my fish, I dunno.

We floated over 7 miles faster than we do 4-5 miles here due to current. Also we didn't have to drag too much.

Def. need to go back when its more normal before I rule it out. I didn't think it was all that great, I was alone in that thought though. I will say the smallies in there have a very determined way about them, all of them were fighters. Like I said though, I need to see it at normal conditions.

Hey Mikey, my order should be here monday or tuesday.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Cool, I will get something to distract you so I can steal some of your new stuff. I don't share his feelings for the koko, he fishes Darby more than I do and I think he's a bit partial to it. For the conditions we had, I thought I caught a pretty nice bag of fish, 4 over 14" isn't bad on new high fast water! We didn't even get to fish plastics much, and we both had planned on it. I did find a new lure that works pretty well on high stained(koko wasn't that stained) water, and you can cover a bunch of water from shallow to deep quickly, more of a LM lure, a 1/4oz spinner bait with willow blades in dark colors. I first used one of the smaller crappie type safety pin spinners, but the wire isn't strong enough for SM shakes and afraid a big guy will brake it. Today I took a bunch of my older long arm spinners and altered them for SM fishing. Most were the BIG 1/4oz long arm double blades in Colorado and willow, I ground down and filed them to about 1/8 oz or smaller, then cut the long arm off, re-bent them, put bigger willow blades(in gold) and put black or brown/orange skirts on them and trimmed the skirts back to make a smaller profile. I feel the SM will hit a normal spinner, but a smaller bait and profile I believe is much more productive, and I feel they don't go for the brighter colors as much as earth tones, at least thats my experience. Now I have 4 rigged and sitting in my yak tackle box waiting on SHWOOKIE!
Where we going this week bud?
Mike

PS-feel better? I thought I heard a weird animal but it was you hacking your lungs out, stop smoking might help, but I'm one to speak, get better!

PS2- Congrats CG!!!! Welcome to fatherhood, whats the name and post a pic of that PB baby!!! SM fishing pales in comparison doesn't it? Congrats once more!


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## shwookie (Jun 15, 2007)

I'm still sick, but getting better. Quitting smoking and being sick at the same time would be fatal, for anyone around me.

Let me rest up, then I will see if I am gonna go next weekend. It is a holiday weekend anyways.
If I go, I know where I want to go. I'll pm you that info.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

4 over 14" is a pretty good number I would say for the Koko. There are plenty of fish in there but the size does not seem to be there anymore. I think it gets fished a lot harder than when I was growing up and spending countless hours on it.

I looked at it when I went over it Sunday and thought man they had some really good water for fishing. I am glad you had a good trip. By the way the storms didn't drop much rain in Mount Vernon or above. The river looked unaffected.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

Hey SAT

i also do a lot of mods. to my spinnerbaits especially when creek/river fishing.

you would be suprised of the smallmouths love for painted blades.
most smallmouth specific spinnerbaits are chartruese with painted chart. blades. i have had 60-80 fish days on the koko with a 1/4oz painted chart willow blade. i think the one i used specifically for the koko was the blue fox roland martin big bass in the 1/4 oz size. after spring and when they start being consistantly pressured the spinnerbait isnt as effective but it's still hard to put down.


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