# Paylakes and or..... CATFISH



## FDW (Sep 21, 2007)

New to this board... Hello everyone.  

I live in the Zanesville area. I have found a couple of paylakes in this area for BIG CATS but, I am looking for other resources. I am usually gone all week as I drive a truck for a living and my hometime is limitted. So I would like to find other lakes or areas of the river (Muskingum) where I won't have a lot of travel time in order to get to. A 60 mile radias seems like a good place to start. If you have any info on locations then I would be very much interested in knowing where some of these places are at. 

Thanks in advance... FDW


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

well if you're in zanesville you're already close to lots of good catfish water.the dams on the muskingum are great spots as well as other areas of the river.dillon is another good place both the lake and spillway/river below.then there's the the mwcd lakes.there's more good catfish water within a 60 mile radius than you can cover in years


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## OSU_Fisherman (Mar 1, 2007)

I agree with Misfit on this one. The area below Dillon has been pretty successful for me this past summer. Dillon Falls especially. Stop by the Dillon Falls bait store on Dillon School Rd (i believe), they can give you some local knowledge. Right now the river is probably about perfect for wading up here. Watch out for slippery rocks and these weird holes that are perfect circles in them.

Chicken liver was definitely the ticket for me this summer. Put about 1.5' below a bobber, cast upstream somewhere and let it drift til whenever you feel like it. 

The falls have tons of holes to fish, and I've caught some decent cats out of there. Also, further down just above the bridge (bottom of the falls) seems to produce well. 

I've also heard that Duncan Falls and down towards McConnelsville has some amazing catfishing. But, i've never been down there, so I can't back that up.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

forgot to mention the falls(below),LOL.good tip.also good tip on the drifting baits.liver,crawlers,chubs,cut shad,etc.
wading directly above can be tricky as mentioned.i've stepped into those holes more than once when i was a kid.wasn't fun
but caught lots of fish.
the wall and the stretch directly below is also good fishing.drifting baits under a float just above the narrow chute there can produce well.same for the hole below where the river opens up.so many spots it's hard to mention 
the lake itself has great catfishing also.along the rip rap at the dam or up north in the beach area and above.


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## FDW (Sep 21, 2007)

OSU_Fisherman said:


> The area below Dillon has been pretty successful for me this past summer. Dillon Falls especially. Stop by the Dillon Falls bait store on Dillon School Rd (i believe), they can give you some local knowledge. I used to get my bait at the Sportsmans One Stop just down the road from here until they closed down. Always heard about Dillon but never went there.
> 
> 
> 
> Right now the river is probably about perfect for wading. If it has a cement bottom I might wade in it...lol... Never did care much for walking in water I can't predict where my next step will land me.


I know that fishing the paylakes is like fishing in a fishbowl but I enjoy the tournaments. I can usually finish well enough in them to at least pay for my weekend of fun. I have a couple of friends that go with me and we compete amongst ourselves as well as everyone else. "Bragging rights".  
I've fished the dam down by Malta and Eaglesport (muskingum) but haven't had much success. Haven't hung out there enough to watch the locals or regulars show me where the holes are. Never have figured out if it's better to fish right under the dam or to find an eddy of slower moving water down stream. I'm thinking that the feeder streams might produce somewhere around the openings after dark. Deep water and darkness seem to be common factors when it comes to big cats but I kind of figured that they will move into more shallow waters after dark to feed on smaller fish that use the feeder streams for safe harbor.


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## OSU_Fisherman (Mar 1, 2007)

FDW said:


> I know that fishing the paylakes is like fishing in a fishbowl but I enjoy the tournaments. I can usually finish well enough in them to at least pay for my weekend of fun. I have a couple of friends that go with me and we compete amongst ourselves as well as everyone else. "Bragging rights".
> I've fished the dam down by Malta and Eaglesport (muskingum) but haven't had much success. Haven't hung out there enough to watch the locals or regulars show me where the holes are. Never have figured out if it's better to fish right under the dam or to find an eddy of slower moving water down stream. I'm thinking that the feeder streams might produce somewhere around the openings after dark. Deep water and darkness seem to be common factors when it comes to big cats but I kind of figured that they will move into more shallow waters after dark to feed on smaller fish that use the feeder streams for safe harbor.


In my experience, both directly below a dam and downstream in eddys are productive. If I had the choice though, I believe that I would probably throw my bait in a place where the current would take it into the eddy. I've caught dozens of catfish this way this past summer. But, I'm not a catfisherman (mostly bass for me), so some other guys on here would be more knowledgable.

Oh, the wading where I was talking really isn't that bad. I'm not a large fan of it either, so I pretty much stay at or around knee level the entire time. (and I'm not a tall dude). After the falls, under the bridge, and down to the huge rock you can see from the bridge is pretty much all gravel with some larger rocks scattered throughout. This is my favorite part because I dont slip and fall on huge rock sheets that have a bunch of moss in it. I usually go across the bridge (from the bait store and 146) and then turn right into that little parking place. You can go down the hill further and park almost under the bridge. I place my chicken liver and junk under the bridge, or carry it in a plastic bag tied to my belt. I wade up to within casting distance of the bottom of the falls and catch lots of fish haha. Cast to the part where the last fall falls  and let it drift. You can tell that the current is much more swift in the middle, so I sometimes work the edge of that and also some of the other eddies. Its a good place to go, and under the bridge I've never even gotten my shorts wet.


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## OSU_Fisherman (Mar 1, 2007)

misfit said:


> wading directly above can be tricky as mentioned.i've stepped into those holes more than once when i was a kid.wasn't fun
> but caught lots of fish.


My very first wading trip was here with a friend and his dad. My first cast EVER wading the river and caught a 6lb cat. BEFORE my next cast, I found (fell into gracefully haha) a hole that was deeper than I am tall. I am 5'8". One of the scarier moments of my life (which means I dont live on the edge too often). Still have the 2" scar on my knee to remember that by. 

I should mention that I DID see the hole before I fell in. There was a small ledge that I thought I could step on, but the moss and my badly worn tennis shoes met and didn't like each other. Now, that rock is probably out of the water because the river was a little up at that point.


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## FDW (Sep 21, 2007)

I'll have to get down to Dillon and take a look at this place. Thanks for the info OSU.
I went to Grove City last night and fished a tournament at "Fat Cat's". I'm glowing like a neon bobber from the sunburn I got yesterday standing out there watching my poles.  There was 28 people in the tournament and I ended up in 3rd place. 1st and 2nd was won by the same guy.
I found a flyer for another lake close by (Groveport) called Clearwater Lake. I guess the guy that owns it is a comercial licensed fisherman and stocks it regularly. I was told that it is one of the older more established lakes in the area. There are supposed to be catfish in that lake that go over 70 lb's.
I suppose that fishing paylakes aren't for everyone but as I said, I like to fish tournament.


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