# Paddlefish above Greenlawn. Yes, it's true.



## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Ran into a guy tonight while fishing North of downtown, got to talking with him and he mentioned he caught (snagged) a Paddlefish last year at the spot we were fishing. At first I wrote him off, because it's rare enough to see a paddlefish @ Greenlawn (can't recall ever hearing of one) let alone North of the Dam. I casually mentioned he might want to take pictures the next time he caught one, because verified proof would be of importance to some people in Fisheries. He responded, "oh I took a few.."

Yea, so this is pretty big news. Heck, Paddlefish below Greenlawn are big news in general. Paddlefish above Greenlawn? Unheard of. Article is definitely a bit dated (There's surely been a few found at the Dam since) But here's an EPA article from 1987 that notes Paddlefish hadn't been seen nor heard of in the Scioto (near Columbus) in *10* years....

https://books.google.com/books?id=Ouo0AQAAMAAJ&pg=SA2-PA53&lpg=SA2-PA53&dq=paddlefish+columbus+scioto&source=bl&ots=MSpdzHE61s&sig=Ei7TzjkE2hb8ZHXj5Rax6G__K2I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK5qefk_vTAhWBVyYKHVp_DHwQ6AEISTAG#v=onepage&q=paddlefish &f=false

Here he is, this dude likely traveled a long, long way up the Scioto to get here. Not only that but he overcame what is considered by many in Fisheries to be an impassable obstruction to any/all migrating Fish (97% of the time), that obstruction being Greenlawn Dam.

Pretty cool stuff.


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## Fisherman14 (Apr 12, 2010)

acklac7 said:


> Ran into a guy tonight while fishing North of downtown, got to talking with him and he mentioned he caught (snagged) a Paddlefish last year at the spot we were fishing. At first I wrote him off, because it's rare enough to see a paddlefish @ Greenlawn (can't recall ever hearing of one) let alone North of the Dam. I casually mentioned he might want to take pictures the next time he caught one, because verified proof would be of importance to some people in Fisheries. He responded, "oh I took a few.."
> 
> Yea, so this is pretty big news. Heck, Paddlefish below Greenlawn are big news. Paddlefish above Greenlawn? Unheard of. Article is definitely a bit dated (There's probably been a few found south of the Dam since) But here's an EPA article from 1987 that notes Paddlefish hadn't been seen nor heard of in the Scioto (near Columbus) in *10* years....
> 
> ...


I actually talked to a biologist that shocked a paddle fish below Greenlawn about three weeks ago. They're definitely super cool


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Fisherman14 said:


> I actually talked to a biologist that shocked a paddle fish below Greenlawn about three weeks ago. They're definitely super cool


Yeah, as I said that article was a bit dated. I know they are occasionally found immediately South of the Dam, although I've yet to directly hear of one caught / snagged. They are by no means common up close to Columbus, at least last time I checked. Deer Creek? Different Story.

North of Greenlawn? Unheard of. They're thought to have been extirpated (extinct) from that section of the River for close to 100 years...


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## nope (May 19, 2017)

Cool and congrats! 

Never mind the screen-name, I wasn;t happy with forced registration and my password is worse. LOL, and neat fish. Title eludes me but I have a great book that covers commercial fishing in the Ohio river beyond 100 years ago. Title is "Flatheads and Spoonies". Interesting book. Amazon...


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## FOSR (Apr 16, 2008)

Sometimes the Greenlawn dam is completely submerged.

With the Main St. dam gone and the 5th Ave. dam gone on the Olentangy, there is spawning ground all the way up to Dodridge.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks for sharing the pic Aj! It's a big river that's been around a long time. I would not count anything out....
Hook any bull sharks lately....
Haha... cool stuff thanks again...


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## FOSR (Apr 16, 2008)

Been around a long time ... Google "Teays River" the Scioto runs in its bed below Chillicothe but the Teays ran north in that bed. There isn't complete agreement on where it went, probably across Indiana into Illinois where there was a gulf in the current Mississippi bed. Or it may have gone north to a watershed where Lake Erie is now.

edited to add, heck Google "Lake Tight" and "Deep Stage Ohio".


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## fishmeister (Jul 29, 2004)

FOSR said:


> Been around a long time ... Google "Teays River" the Scioto runs in its bed below Chillicothe but the Teays ran north in that bed. There isn't complete agreement on where it went, probably across Indiana into Illinois where there was a gulf in the current Mississippi bed. Or it may have gone north to a watershed where Lake Erie is now.


And that was connected to what is now the Kanawha and New Rivers. Great stuff.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Awesome Catch - If I recall there was a paddle fish caught a few back in Alum. One of my good friends caught one two years ago in Lake Cumberland. Very cool looking fish.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

FOSR said:


> *Sometimes the Greenlawn dam is completely submerged.*
> 
> With the Main St. dam gone and the 5th Ave. dam gone on the Olentangy, there is spawning ground all the way up to Dodridge.


Pretty much what I was getting at with my "97% of the time" comment. 

Yes, Greenlawn is passable under certain conditions, but those conditions aren't met very often. When those conditions are met they don't stay that way for long, maybe 24 hours. When the river is up like that it drops FAST. Very narrow window of time for fish to move.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Snyd said:


> Awesome Catch - If I recall there was a paddle fish caught a few back in Alum. One of my good friends caught one two years ago in Lake Cumberland. Very cool looking fish.


https://www.ohiogamefishing.com/threads/alum-creek-paddlefish.173329/page-2

Forgot about that one. How that fish came to be in the Reservoir is anybody's guess...


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

acklac7 said:


> https://www.ohiogamefishing.com/threads/alum-creek-paddlefish.173329/page-2
> 
> Forgot about that one. How that fish came to be in the Reservoir is anybody's guess...


The crazy thing,as rare they are around here I think its safe to say somebody didn't just dump it in.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Saugeyefisher said:


> The crazy thing,as rare they are around here I think its safe to say somebody didn't just dump it in.


Maybe it showed up at the Spillway after one hell of a Journey (it's possible). From there someone snagged it, then decided to put it in the lake because it was "too big for the Creek?"

I have no idea.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

acklac7 said:


> Maybe it showed up at the Spillway (after one hell of a Journey - it's possible). From there someone snagged it, then decided to put it in the lake because it was "too big for the Creek?"
> 
> I have no idea.


 ya that's a good thought.i really don't know much about the fish at all other then they get snagged on the ohio. An every once in a while below deer creek. An it seems they show up more at the dams down south on the Ohio rather then out east.
I'm also one of those most anything is possible type of guys. There is a lot of water out out there. Who knows what can go on.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Not to change the subject, but what about those sturgeon they released in the scioto to several years ago? Has anyone heard of one being caught?


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## zack pahl (Mar 8, 2009)

Not only an incredibly exciting catch, but HUGE news regarding the state of our rivers in Central Ohio!!! And to boot: it's a juvenile Paddlefish! Which means there's potentially a breeding population ABOVE the first dam
on the Scioto. I got so worked up over it, that I referred back to my most prized possession that I inherited from my late grandparents. Milton B. Trautman's 'Fishes Of Ohio' book circa 1957. Here is the 2 pages devoted to Paddlefish. It even cites the building of the state dam on the Scioto in Columbus as the major reason for the decline of the population


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## gahannafly (Aug 11, 2012)

Definitely a survivor!


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

Wow, few years ago I saw a group of what looked like either a paddle fish or a very fat gar near the friesbee golf course when the water was gin clear, I wrote the paddlefish theory off as fantasy... but now who knows...
Any chance there are any pipes that run though the greenlawn dam that would allow fish to migrate north?


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## zack pahl (Mar 8, 2009)

Govbarney said:


> Wow, few years ago I saw a group of what looked like either a paddle fish or a very fat gar near the friesbee golf course when the water was gin clear, I wrote the paddlefish theory off as fantasy... but now who knows...
> Any chance there are any pipes that run though the greenlawn dam that would allow fish to migrate north?


 No pipes to speak of, but:
high-water events could easily afford the opportunity to move past Greenlawn, & again past the Dublin Rd. Dam. After that: it's a straight-shot to Griggs


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

zack pahl said:


> No pipes to speak of, but:
> high-water events could easily afford the opportunity to move past Greenlawn, & again past the Dublin Rd. Dam. After that: it's a straight-shot to Griggs


It's probably more likely that fish get flushed south during those high water events , not push their way north against that massive current. But who knows.


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## nighteyes1185 (May 5, 2015)

20160528_211020




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nighteyes1185


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May 22, 2017







Acklac7 last year I caught a paddle fish north of greenlawn. It actually hit my redeye shad just before it got dark. I was absolutely shocked when I realized what I caught. It wasn't a monster but man what a battle I had to get it in. The big dam stoped it's journey north.... There's a lot of smart people here so you guys all know where I'm talking about. Till this day I still get all excited tell my story of my "bucket list" fish from here in Columbus.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Amazing.

By the "Big Dam" im guessing you mean Griggs? It really wouldn't surprise me if they are showing up there, to be honest. If they can make it over Greenlawn (which is what I strongly believe is happening) there's no reason they can't make it over the Water plant Lowhead and shoot straight up to Griggs.

Coolest thing, by far, is the virgin spawning grounds afforded to them in the Scioto near the confluence. Some of those riffles / bars are damn-near 100% unimbedded. It's like they've been locked in a vault ever since the Dams went in. All we had to do was take them out...

Last but not least if you happen to catch something really cool (or seemingly really out of place) try and get a photo of it with some identifiable structure in the background. 

Like a Sturgeon or something? Please, please get something in the background to verify the location.


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## FOSR (Apr 16, 2008)

> Some of those riffles / bars are damn-near 100% unimbedded. It's like they've been locked in a vault ever since the Dams went in. All we had to do was take them out...


If you look down into the Olentangy from the pedestrian bridge near the OSU stadium, you can clearly see a stony bed where it used to be just a brown stagnant pool.


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## nighteyes1185 (May 5, 2015)

Yes Griggs. I'm curious to know why you want to make sure pictures are taken to verify location?


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

nighteyes1185 said:


> Yes Griggs. I'm curious to know why you want to make sure pictures are taken to verify location?


He wants to burn your secret sturgeon spot :/

















































Just kidding! lol


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

OT, but has Anyone ever catch or know of any sturgeon caught in the Franklin County portion of the Scioto? I know they are stocking in Scioto in southern Ohio.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> He wants to burn your secret sturgeon spot :/


Pretty much 

Seriously though, they're an endangered species, their *verified, *undisputed_, _presence can have ramifications on any number of issues involving the watershed.


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## Youngev419 (May 14, 2015)

Wow. Seeing these pictures makes me question some of the fish that have broken me off. I'm mainly above dublin dam and below griggs and have hooked into some fish that have destroyed me. Always assumed either big flat heads or wipers (and not that it wasn't) but definitely makes ya wonder...

I'm sure these are still an *extremely* rare occurrence, but then you have to think about all the people who aren't on OGF and may never get reported.


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

There are resident populations in Deer Creek and Paint Creek, near Bainbridge. I think I remember some adults being moved to the scioto in the 90s or 2000s. I know they are coming back in the Ohio River. So for some to show up in Columbus at the dams is certainly not unbelievable


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Southernsaug said:


> There are resident populations in Deer Creek and Paint Creek, near Bainbridge. I think I remember some adults being moved to the scioto in the 90s or 2000s. I know they are coming back in the Ohio River. So for some to show up in Columbus at the dams is certainly not unbelievable


I guess the cool thing is this particular specimen was found well above the first lowhead on the Scioto.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

I have snagged 2 larger sized Paddlefish at the Cherrybottom Rd section of the Nut


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## scioto_alex (Dec 30, 2015)

Here's a before-and-after comparison of the Olentangy, looking upstream, immediately above the confluence. This is almost the same spot; you can see the same railroad bridge.

The first was taken from a canoe paddle on the downtown pool in 2005.


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