# River Help?



## bower112 (Nov 17, 2007)

LOoking for the nearest fishing area from portage county area? Never fished the river yet, but will be looking to fish in a week or two. Are there any spots near wellsville or Mountioneer I,ve been down there before. Any help would be very helpful, thank you!


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Go past the Mountaineer approx 8 miles till you come to a lg hill, on your left is a lg parking lot on your right a gate that opens to rr tracks...follow the tracks approx 12 mins south and you'll be at an excellent fishing hole. Remember, you are now in WV so you must abide by their rules.....only 2 eyes, and they must be 18" and I believe up to 10 sauger/saugeye. 10 if ya don't have any eyes', 8 if you do have two walleye. The wvdnr guy there will check length too!! Hopefully, I'll be there this coming weekend, unless we can ice fish!!


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## bower112 (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks Snake,do u need a WV fishing license? If so ,any areas in OH would may be better? What would be your best bait or luers this time of year? Thanks again for your help .


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

You do not need a WV fishing license to fish the tailwaters of New Cumberland. I would advise following Snake's directions because that is your best bet for fish right now. Before you go, get on the USGS website for flow data. Check New Cumberland by clicking on one of the white circles bordering OH/WV on the map. By moving the cursor over any of the circles will tell you the name of the location you are over. When you find New Cumberland click on it to check the height of the flow before you travel. I have had my best luck when the water is between 15 and 19 feet. Also, if the water is rising or stable, it will be better fishing. Falling water can shut them off. Your best baits this time of year will be blade baits, Jigsn'twister tails in chartreuse, orange, white at 3" in length. You can also use livebait rigs like crappie rigs to put minnows down. BE PREPARED TO BE SNAGGED, it happens a lot here and you might as well be over it before you get there. Sometimes though the rewards are greater than the frustration. Good luck and I hope this helps.


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## RodMan (Apr 6, 2004)

Bower,

You don't need a WV license to fish the Ohio river from the WV shoreline provided:
1) you are an Ohio Resident
2) you have a valid Ohio Fishing License.

As snake said - you must abide by WV fishing regulations while fishing from the WV shoreline or out of a boat on the river.

Mastercat has given you good advise on lure selection. Throw a few shad raps as well in natural patterns (size 7 and 9).

Have fun and enjoy.


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## bower112 (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks to all .Its really nice to get a great reply and helpful tips. Any other input would be great. Another ? Is shore fishing more productive or by boat be a better way?


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## RodMan (Apr 6, 2004)

It depends. A boat gets you to areas you can't access from shore, but you can't legally fish inside the dam gates from a boat (which can be the most productive areas). I fish the dam often out of a boat and routinely do fairly well. There have been days when I was bangin' em pretty good out of reach of shore fisherman and there are days when the folks on shore put a poundin to em.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

I have always noticed that us shore anglers seem to be doing most of the catching. The eye's move up shallow in the evenings and at night in most cases. Since I do most of my fishing then it would make sense that the guys on shore generally have an advantage. The only advantage I see is not having to haul all my crap for a mile down the tracks!!! Thats my two cents lol!


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

I think by the previous posts, you have all the info ya need. There is one thing I'll add, and it has cut down my snagged and ultimately lost lures....I've switched to #20 Power Pro on my poles down there. When you snag a jig, mono will stretch and not let your "snap of the line" go all the way to the jig, whereas when you "snap" your power pro, the snap is transferred all the way to the jig and many times it'll free up. Before, I would lose about 12-15 jigs per 20 snags, now it's more like 2-3 per 20! I don't recall if I seen spoons listed as lures either. I catch probably 30-40% of my fish straight down using Cotton Cordells ,Cabelas or homemade spoons.


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## bower112 (Nov 17, 2007)

snake69 said:


> Go past the Mountaineer approx 8 miles till you come to a lg hill, on your left is a lg parking lot on your right a gate that opens to rr tracks...follow the tracks approx 12 mins south and you'll be at an excellent fishing hole. Remember, you are now in WV so you must abide by their rules.....only 2 eyes, and they must be 18" and I believe up to 10 sauger/saugeye. 10 if ya don't have any eyes', 8 if you do have two walleye. The wvdnr guy there will check length too!! Hopefully, I'll be there this coming weekend, unless we can ice fish!!


Hey guys is there a boat launch near this area? GOing to try for Sat. anyone have any advice on the fishing now? Is this where the New Cumberland dam is located? Sorry first time fishing the Ohio river just need some good advice.What would be best way to fish for saugers from shore? Thanks to Everyone!


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

About 3-4 miles south past the hill, you'll come to a town called New Cumberland( the original projected spot for the lock and dam), watch for the volunteer fire station on your right, in back of it is a ramp and and lg enough parking area. Be aware though, alot of times this early in the year there is a lot of sand and mud from the waters edge to approx 6-8' up the ramp and it can be 1' thick.(or more!!) Sometime in April or so, they'll take prisoners and clean it off. You'll need a rugged 4 wh dr to get in and out until the clean it. We did take a shovel once and do it, trust me, it was way heavier than snow and I *WILL NOT* do that again. With that being said, I'm calling off and heading down early tomorrow! Fishing from shore that is.....:B


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## bower112 (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks snake .Going to try SAt. Let us read how u did later.


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## Metzie (Feb 11, 2009)

Where you headed tomorrow snake? I may try to hit the river at New Cumberland dam.


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## Metzie (Feb 11, 2009)

The gate number 11 on the WV side is closed. Height of the river is 14.5 at the dam and the temp is 34. A bit cold and a bit early but I may try it tomorrow evening. Hopefully the rain won't be too bad. It may help warm up the river.


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Sorry Metzie, didn't read this in time as I don't have the internet at the house and use the library's. Anyhow, I evidently passed and talked to ya. Only caught one 9" sauger. Wish you'd of mentioned OGF. Oh well. As for the launch down the road, after I left the dam, I drove up to the lookout above for the first time and checked it out, pretty cool....nice view, and then went to the launch. Go into New Cumberland, cross the rr tracks and I believe it's the first street, it is called Adams St, take a right. Now, there is a good 10-12" of sand on the launch which would make it *VERY, VERY HARD* to get in and out of. Maybe we can make a few calls to the WV DNR to get it cleaned out, or possibly the New Cumberland Chamber of Commerce. Of course with all the water coming soon, they may want to wait for more stable weather.....after the ice from up north melts.


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