# New PB Wiper



## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Man alive has it been a rough past eight months on the river. Fall bite = horrible, Winter bite = horrible, Spring bite = horrible. Thank god did things finally begin to kick on about two weeks ago!

At any rate hit my local flow a couple days back, water had a good stain to it, and was up decently. Got there around 6pm and started working a $1.99 Walmart lipless crank that I had upgraded the hooks and split rings on (thankfully)

About 10 cast in this slob old girl smashed it, Then took me on a ride...

29” and Fat! (also landed a couple good eyes)

30” here I come!


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## RiparianRanger (Nov 18, 2015)

Good job, AJ. I’ve yet to land one of those but Your enthusiasm for them has me looking forward to the day.


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## Marshall (Apr 11, 2004)

Congrats. Had to be fun.


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## 3 dog Ed (Apr 25, 2014)

The sweat say it all! Nice job.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

3 dog Ed said:


> The sweat say it all! Nice job.


She had my heart pounding, thats for sure.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

Congrats AJ, she is a tank!
Would like to get with you and sample some of the fun your having.
Send me a PM


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## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

Nice job AJ! That’s a BEAST!


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Nice fish! I'll be going to greenlawn tomorrow to attempt to catch my first wiper. I plan to use joshy swimbaits. What color patterns do you guys recommend and when is their peak feeding time? I've only managed to hook one but he quickly straightened out the hook because I was fishing for crappie. That was over 5 years ago.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Nice fish! I'll be going to greenlawn tomorrow to attempt to catch my first wiper. I plan to use joshy swimbaits. What color patterns do you guys recommend and when is their peak feeding time? I've only managed to hook one but he quickly straightened out the hook because I was fishing for crappie. That was over 5 years ago.


They’ve been feeding pretty well during the day recently. The first/last couple hours the sun is on the water has produced the best bite, although they’ll definitely bite outside of that window.

I’ve been throwing either silktruese or lemon shad Joshy’s. Personally, I’ve caught / hooked more on clown HJ-14’s more than anything else this Spring. Had another monster straight destroy one a few days ago, still bitter about loosing that pig.

And Greenlawn isn’t the only place you can catch them right now, although it seems to be the most reliable.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Thank you for your help. I was mostly thinking of going to greenlawn because people have told me that's where they catch them. I have heard people catch some at buckeye but I have never had much luck there. Unfortunately, I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to wiper fishing and my knowledge of accessible areas that hold them are fairly limited, but I'm willing to put my time in to figure it out. I figured there's better spots on the scioto than greenlawn, but honestly it'll be the first time I've ever fished it. Am I on the right track or are there better bodies of water? I'm not really looking for size, I just want a place that I can get my feet wet and to get a little confidence.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Thank you for your help. I was mostly thinking of going to greenlawn because people have told me that's where they catch them. I have heard people catch some at buckeye but I have never had much luck there. Unfortunately, I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to wiper fishing and my knowledge of accessible areas that hold them are fairly limited, but I'm willing to put my time in to figure it out. I figured there's better spots on the scioto than greenlawn, but honestly it'll be the first time I've ever fished it. Am I on the right track or are there better bodies of water? I'm not really looking for size, I just want a place that I can get my feet wet and to get a little confidence.


Best advice I can give is to focus on the Spillway closest to you and just fish the piss out of it.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Hahaha, thank you. That helps, I would go to Dillon. That is where I hooked my first one but they probably opened the flood gates there, because east of us got drenched again so I'll try to get a game plan to fish spillways of lakes that are stocked with wipers somewhere in Columbus.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Hahaha, thank you. That helps, I would go to Dillon. That is where I hooked my first one but they probably opened the flood gates there, because east of us got drenched again so I'll try to get a game plan to fish spillways of lakes that are stocked with wipers somewhere in Columbus.


Sorry, didn't realize you weren't in the Columbus area.

And not to be a debby-downer, but if you're driving any more then 30 minutes to Fish the River Wiper bite for the first time it's probably not worth it. I say this because i'm hearing more and more about people traveling an hour + to get here, thinking they're going to find a bite similar to the Ohio River.

What a lot of people don't realize is just how much time is spent on catching these fish. Most of us are fishing 25+ hours a week, to land maybe 6 or 7 Fish. That's about one fish every 4 hours. Fish over 24"? Probably one every 8 hours. And that's for the diehards who know every last spot/trick in the book.

Again, not trying to dissuade people from Fishing here, just trying to set expectations.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Yes, thanks for the heads up. I don't mind traveling to fish even if there's a low chance of success. I live in southwestern licking county so about every large body of water is 30 or more minutes. Today, I decided to travel to three different lakes (wills creek, dillon and buckeye) just to see what different species I could catch. I often travel to alum and Hoover which are also 30 minutes away and there's times I get skunked fishing them. Figuring out the pattern is part of the fun. I'll probably try fishing the scioto later this weekend and hopefully the conditions are a little better. I don't know has happened to dillon. 7 years ago, I used to see people fish the spillway and catch wipers there all the time but lately it's been a ghost town.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Yes, thanks for the heads up. I don't mind traveling to fish even if there's a low chance of success. I live in southwestern licking county so about every large body of water is 30 or more minutes. Today, I decided to travel to three different lakes (wills creek, dillon and buckeye) just to see what different species I could catch. I often travel to alum and Hoover which are also 30 minutes away and there's times I get skunked fishing them. Figuring out the pattern is part of the fun. I'll probably try fishing the scioto later this weekend and hopefully the conditions are a little better. I don't know has happened to dillon. 7 years ago, I used to see people fish the spillway and catch wipers there all the time but lately it's been a ghost town.


That's the Spirit.

Keep track of the flow rates. Analyze each spot from a high water perspective, and a low water perspective. Learn to "anticipate" holes. I find these two links extremely helpful:

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/current?multiple_site_no=03217500%2C03219500%2C03220000%2C03221000%2C03221646%2C03227500%2C03225500%2C03226800%2C03228805%2C03228500%2C03229500&index_pmcode_STATION_NM=1&index_pmcode_DATETIME=2&index_pmcode_00060=3&group_key=huc_cd&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=site_tp_cd&foorkrmat=html_table&sort_key_2=station_nm&html_table_group_key=huc_cd&rdb_compression=file&list_of_search_criteria=multiple_site_no%2Crealtime_parameter_selection

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=iln&gage=colo1

No two spillways fish the same, they each have their own "magic number" (CFS value). Some fish great high, some fish great low. Change your tactics/technique depending on the season. Fish after dark, especially from mid-July through late August.

Use no less than 15lb braid, Ideally 20, but 15 will work.

Use beefy gear: Stout Medium Heavy's increase your odds of landing one significantly. They have a tendency to embarrass you on anything less.

Bring a Net. At all Times.

Hope that helps.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Thanks for the heads up about the net. I have one but never bring it. I will now haha. I have a 2 spinfishers that I use to catch large redfish and snook. One is a 3500 spooled with 15 lbs power pro and the other is a 4500 with 20 lbs power pro. Both are fitted with stout inshore fishing rods that I use to horse fish out of the mangroves. I'll put on a 30 lbs fluorocarbon leader. How do you keep them from straightening out the thin hooks on the big Joshy jigheads? I have 1/8 oz saltwater jigheads that have stronger hooks but they're red. Do you think that will work? I take it you take the front treble off the jerkbait to keep it from snagging? I found about 8 spots along the scioto using Google earth. I saw the gage height on on USGS was much higher than normal. I might wait and see if it goes down a little before going.


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## hoplovestofish (Aug 3, 2010)

Very nice fish! hop


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Thanks for the heads up about the net. I have one but never bring it. I will now haha. I have a 2 spinfishers that I use to catch large redfish and snook. One is a 3500 spooled with 15 lbs power pro and the other is a 4500 with 20 lbs power pro. Both are fitted with stout inshore fishing rods that I use to horse fish out of the mangroves. I'll put on a 30 lbs fluorocarbon leader. How do you keep them from straightening out the thin hooks on the big Joshy jigheads? I have 1/8 oz saltwater jigheads that have stronger hooks but they're red. Do you think that will work? I take it you take the front treble off the jerkbait to keep it from snagging? I found about 8 spots along the scioto using Google earth. I saw the gage height on on USGS was much higher than normal. I might wait and see if it goes down a little before going.


I'd go with the Saltwater Jigheads, even if they're red. They'll bend out anything else. I keep all the trebles on my stickbaits, A big wiper ripped off the first one pictured above . Wipers don't necessarily like base flow.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Thanks for taking the time answer all my questions. Hopefully, I'll get to go after some this week. If I catch any I'll make sure to quickly release them after a quick picture to fight another day. Those fish are worth their weight in gold for a the work they do to help keep the shad in check.


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

Acklac, how have you been dealing with the coffee with cream color that has been persistent on the scioto everything south of O'Shay this spring? Are you finding the wipers are more willing to hit a lure , or has the conditions made an already challenging bite even more difficult?


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

Acklac, that is an amazing fish! I would kill for a 29". 

Folks, if you have never fished for Wipers you should.
On lures... When fishing for Wipers I like to have a rod with a 1/2 or 3/4 Hopkins shorty handy. I have had great success casting to jumping fish... especially if there are several attacking bait. You can cast the spoons a mile and they will crush them as fast as you can reel... often reeling so fast they skip across the water. When you have reeled past where they jumped and no hits stop the retrieve and let it fall a bit, hang on!


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Govbarney said:


> Acklac, how have you been dealing with the coffee with cream color that has been persistent on the scioto everything south of O'Shay this spring? Are you finding the wipers are more willing to hit a lure , or has the conditions made an already challenging bite even more difficult?


Conditions made for a rough March/April/May. Once the water warmed into the high 60's/70's the fish seemed much more willing to bite, despite the poor conditions.


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