# In search of hot spots!!!



## Dropline (Mar 1, 2005)

New to the site. I have fished the rivers and area creeks for a few years. I can catch catfish well here,but tried fishing the lakes (tappan atwood and leesville) a few times and was lucky to catch a cold. Does anyone have any tips where to start? I have just started to bass fish and have had noooooo luck. My friends and I fish WillsCreek often (we cheat) by using droplines and jugs. We do pretty good there, but when it comes to the lakes I have had very little luck. any help would be great!!


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Hmm.. Well welcome to OGF. Not to cast a cloud or anything, but youd probally get better info if you hung around the site and got to know everybody before asking for hot spots. Theres a ton of knowledge to gain here, just sit back & take part within the whole site.


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## FishJunky (May 20, 2004)

Have you tried AEP or what most people call it Ohio Power... One of the top 5 places to bass fish in Ohio in my mind.... Great bluegill fishing too.. Camping is free and the fishing is great.. It's even better down there if you have a small boat of float tube to fish from... There are over 350 lake and ponds at Ohio Power so you can always find somewhere to fish and be alone...


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## grub_man (Feb 28, 2005)

Tappan, Leesville, and Atwood, leave them alone. There are no bass there  

I'm new to the site too, but I don't like to give up certain hot spots. I can tell you that each of the local lakes have their own personality, and different techniques shine on different lakes.

Joe


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

Hot spots for bass I am little help there, hot spots for Catfish, I have a few, but if you are a drop line or jug guy, I would rather not hand you fish. I will set lines occasionally too, but not always. Too many people taking too many big cats this way just to kill them, or they will be dead before the person ever gets to them.

I agree, stick around and you will learn some hot spots. Not too many will just tell you right where to go to fish them out!


I fish Will's Creek quite a bit too. Maybe we can meet up sometime and hit some spots. Catfishing that is!  I only know a couple places and they are the public ones, so I am also open to fishing different spots on Will's! No not asking for your hot spots!


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## Reel Lady (Jul 4, 2004)

I'd just like to say "Hi and Welcome to OGF Joe and Dropline"...


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## Reel Man (Jul 4, 2004)

Dropline- Are you fishing from a boat or the bank? We became boat fishermen last summer and it is a whole new world when you compare it to bank fishing. The most beneficial thing you can do is pick up a map that shows contours. Fish love those little spots that are just a little bit different then spots that surround it. Channels in the water, points, and ledges are some of the best spots to cast your line. Also keep you eye out for shad, crayfish, and anything else fish eat. If you find the food you will find the fish.


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## hunt for bass (Oct 5, 2004)

Welcome dropline and grub man, They are called hot-spots because no one else knows about them. ha ha ha...............
Anyway, have you considered joining a bass club as a non-boater? That is the best and fastest way to learn. You may get to fish with 10 different people in a given year and everyone seems to have a speciality (worms, cranks, etc.) I did that around 12 years ago and its was amazing. Good Luck and keep your line wet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Dropline (Mar 1, 2005)

Hey Rockbass. We set lines at our own camp at WillsCreek. The pole fishing at the camp is not very good. We eat all the fish we catch. I agree that a lot of people just kill these fish. Last year my buddy and I started to fish with poles and enjoy catching cats with poles. I knew better than to tell anyone how we fish. A lot of people dont like liners or juggers and with good reason but I enjoy it and we eat all our fish so it aint all bad. I dont want everyones hot spots just some tips on what to use and where to start. Honeyholes are hard to find now days. Have you ever tried the old damn just outside kimbolton? GREAT POLEFISHING!!!


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## oufisherman (Apr 10, 2004)

Welcome aboard Dropline, this area of Ohio has lots of places to fish for bass, both public and PRIVATE. I grew up fishing private ponds and I believe that you will find no better bass action for convience and accessibility. Every spring I just get in the car and drive around backroads keeping my eyes out. If I see a pond, I just stop and ask. Some people might not think this a good idea, since it is a private pond. But they won't say yes unless you take the chance.
I grew up close to Salt Fork lake, which is better fished with a boat. But there are some areas that can be fished from bank. Riprap areas close to the Old Covered Bridge, along main park road, have provided me with some bass. One spring/early summer before spawn, a friend and I laid into bass from shore at marina and Ranger's station. Other than that, just find a stretch of shoreline and experiment. Good luck this year!


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## toad (Apr 6, 2004)

Best thing you could do if your fishing tappen is stop by Cripple Creek Bait & Tackle and talk to Jim Cory, I'm sure he will give you a few good ideas where to start.


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## gonefishin' (Apr 14, 2004)

Welcome to the site. This is a really great place for all info fishing wise. 

This thread reminds of a story told to me by my wifes uncle that happened in the sixties. Seems a fella caught a huge bass, 8 or 10 lbs, in a little known creek, which I fish regularly. Well, news of this hawg reached a writer for a newspaper, I believe the Columbus Dispatch. He wanted to know all about this fish including, of course, where he had caught it. Well, he told the guy he had caught it in Little Walnut Creek, which was a lie. He wasn't about to divulge his spot for fear the next time he went to "his" spot everyone who read the article would be there haulin' "his" fish out of there.

What you will get here is pointed in the right direction, a starting point if you will. Talk to those bait store owners, they won't lie 'cause they want you to catch fish so you'll be back.

If you do find a hotspot PM me with the location so I can make sure you don't get in any trouble.

Good luck!


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

Hey Dropline,

I fish there at Kimbolton. I love fishing there even though it is pretty public. the area I used to like to sit is pretty much washed away now though. Kind of sucks. that is also a place I liked to set lines for turtles too. I would just set them while I was fishing and check them every now and then. I would also catch them on my rod and reel. Especially the soft shells. Maybe we can get together and fish the Will's sometime. Hopefully this year won't be as wet as last that way that place is fishable.


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## Dropline (Mar 1, 2005)

Rock bass, I work with a guy who says his cousin fishes the tusc for smallmouth and can catch about 60 to 70 smallies a day. Do you fish the tusc much, and do you have the same luck, or the same line of (bull)!! I am not saying its impossible, but I have to see it for myself ! Although last year a few would have seemed like 100!! Oh well, I have about 40 years to learn!! We only went to willscreek one time last year and we camped up in the corn field. I wounder how much the high water last year will efect this years fishing, if any? I dont know about everybody else, but my fishing last year was not worth a damn!


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## smallieguy (Apr 7, 2004)

Any size to that 60-70 a day?
sounds like a great ''fish story'' to me.  
I aint sayin it's impossible but 60 of one species in one day, without
counting all the non-targeted species, is a day of a lifetime.
just one ******** opinion.


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## grub_man (Feb 28, 2005)

Smallieguy

I have to agree. It has been a while since I have fished the Tusc., and it has a fair smallie fishery, but 60-70 smallies in a day. I have only had that happen once in my life when we had perfect conditions in Canada. I know that anything is possible, but I just can't believe that from that specific river.

Joe


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## smallieguy (Apr 7, 2004)

I did 69 in a day from lake erie in 1995 but it was a perfect day.
nothing but perfect and even that lake has gone down hill 
since then.


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## River Walker (Apr 7, 2004)

I don't fish the Tuscarawas that often,but it's not that hard for me to believe someone could catch 60 or 70 smallies in a days fishing from any stream that has a decent population of bass.I personally keep a log of my stream fishing trips,and I keep track of how many smallies I catch each time out.As I look through my log right now from last year,I had several days on several streams that I caught that many,or more.If the guy who claims to have caught 60 or so bass from the Tusky keeps track of his fish caught like I do,than he's counting "every" bass caught,from 3" on up.On any decent stream,it's not unusual at all to catch anywhere from 5 to 10 bass per hole.Of course,most of them will be of small size,but still countable for a tally at the end of the day.Hopefully,people release"all" bass caught in streams,carefully.By keeping a numbers total of all bass caught each day regardless of size,it gives you a good guess at how good the creek will be in years to come.Lastly,unless I personally know somebody that tends to run a line of BS,I find no reason to dispute their claims-call me naive!


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I have to agree with Riverwalker on river smallie numbers. I don't fish the rivers nearly as much as I used to years ago. However, I can remember several days where me and a buddy would make rather long days on the river and catch well over 50 fish per person. As he said a very high number of these fish are small with my experience having the majority in the 8-10 inch range. Then you throw in a handful of nicer fish. That is one of the beauties of river fishing and it is the reason that I still try to take my boys to the river at least a time or two every year. They can go and catch quite a few fish and keep busy.

I have also had days where I would struggle to get over a dozen fish but those days on hte river are fortunately few and far between.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

I could believe a 60 or 70 fish day. I've never caught 60 smallies in a day & I've done more than a few float trips in smallie water. But, I have caught 40 in a single float trip as recently as 2 years ago & I have caught over 100 LM bass in a single day 2 times. The 100 lm bass days were on private lakes/ponds during spring when the fish were extremely aggressive. One of those days was last year - I caught 71 lm bass on a single smithwick suspending stickbait before losing it to some brush! 

I've caught 150 fish in a 16 mile float on Mad River, but 125 were chubs, etc..


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## gonefishin' (Apr 14, 2004)

...all fishermen are liars, except for you and me and I'm not too sure about you!


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