# Northern Ohio - River Smallies



## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

I fish the Huron river 4x a week with great results for smallies all spring/summer & a little on the Vermilion with a cpl nice holes to pull some pigs out of. 

Anyone have any favorite northern Ohio river smallie destinations??


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## Basshunter122 (May 6, 2013)

My favorite is rocky river! I have had good success on it just about any time I've fished it. Love when I go home and the river is in a wadeable condition. Me, my brother and cousin hit up a stretch one day and caught about 35 smallies and some largies out of a mile and half stretch! Most fish were over 12" so it was an awesome day!


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## Atwood (Sep 6, 2005)

Most rivers and creeks with rocks and decent water in northeast Ohio have pretty good smallie fishing. It just takes time to figure them out for what your looking for.


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## RiverRunner88 (Jun 15, 2006)

Grand river! Amazing smallie fishing


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## S.S._Minnow_Fishing (Dec 15, 2013)

River runner, where you go out on the Grand? is Masons too far south? What do you guys typically use for smallies? I am usually in lakes and ponds so river fishing is a new thing to me. Thanks!


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## RiverRunner88 (Jun 15, 2006)

S.S._Minnow_Fishing said:


> River runner, where you go out on the Grand? is Masons too far south? What do you guys typically use for smallies? I am usually in lakes and ponds so river fishing is a new thing to me. Thanks!


Masons is a great spot! I usually use chigger craws t-rigged small xraps small rooster tails and poppers 


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

Are you guys fishing closer to the mouths of the rivers?

I've waded Rocky a couple of times with nothing to show for. Ive always fished from Tyler Field on down and nothing. I tried it twice and down to where the East and West Branch of the Rocky River meet by Maple Grove Picnic Area. Found some holes, but all full of suckers and carp.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

I'm a big fan of 3" green pumpkin tubes on a 1/8" jig. Drag on the bottom. Ill catch 10-15 from 5pm- dark on any given summer evening. - bring extra gear... lots of snags. But that comes with fishing the rivers. - Green pumpkin anything in a river is killer. 

Target any hole that is waist deep or better especially with nice rock structure. Any given night on the huron river with a tube ill get into smallies, lots of rock bass, bluegill/sunfish, some largemouth, crappie, white bass, & cpl sheepheads lol


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Muddy waters I will throw a ratting jig with the tube & still do well.


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## Rayman (Jan 22, 2011)

This warm rain will trigger a push of SM's into the rivers now. A few are already being taken in Rocky River. I always had good success both upstream and down stream of the Blue clay banks. Lots of deep rocky holes and cut in banks. 
My favorite throw is a 3" Gitzit green flake and the salted ones are killer. 
Going to hit that stretch Sunday evening if the Grand is un fishable.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Lake smallies have been running in the Vermilion since the last week of April pretty good.


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## Bruin50 (Dec 26, 2012)

Portage river. This time of year thr Rebel Wee Crawl. Oh ya!


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

How long do the lake run smallies stay in the rivers? We fished the Rocky all day Wednesday and didn't see any.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Lake run smallies end of Mayish Beg of June. But most/all of our rivers hold residential smallies all summer/year long. They're in there. What were you throwin the day you went out?


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

I used my fly rod and went through almost every streamer, egg pattern and nymph I had. I even threw a dry for a while. At the end of the day I got some hits and one small steelhead on a big orange and brown woolly bugger with yellow rubber legs, but I don't think any of the hits were smallies. My buddy was throwing spinners and didn't see much more. He got 3 steelhead. We talked to several others and they all said they were having the same luck.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Guy I went with fish ^










Mine ^ 

Out of Huron river. Caught 10-15 from 4:30-8pm 3-4 the size shown in pics and a handful more slightly smaller. 

Also pulled in a 4-5lb sheephead.... lol


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## freshwaterexperience (May 23, 2014)

Hey guys I fish the two rivers out west (Sandusky and maumee) but am thinking about trying the vermilion or maybe Huron or rocky. Any advice? Also maybe try steelhead in one of those this fall for the first time


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Huron river if you're going for smallies.... Vermilion and Rocky for Steelhead. Doesn't matter which. All depends on how far you wanna drive for the steel.


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## freshwaterexperience (May 23, 2014)

Nice! Well I know how to fish smallies with cranks and tubes what do the steelhead bite on and when do they go in the rivers September?


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

they'll hit cranks, spoons and in line spinners when the waters 60 degrees and up. They also hit Jig/maggot combos, minnows, spawn sacks. Some fish enter the system in as early as September but don't show up in numbers until the spring.


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## freshwaterexperience (May 23, 2014)

Thank you so much for the info! Any particular cranks?


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

There's a whole thread for steelhead talk. Check it out, read it up!


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## mkw (Nov 10, 2013)

I went down to the rocky yesterday hoping to catch some small or largemouths. Got :S big time. I read through the posts and saw the baits you all recommend - but how bout some spots? Im not asking for your honey holes or nothing. I don't mind doing some hiking - I just dont even know where to start. At the mouth/boat launch? A mile south? five miles south? etc. What kind of water conditions, speeds and depths should I be looking for?

Again I hope you all dont think Im trying to poach your spots, just a newbie to fishing rivers. I've always fished for bass in farm ponds and public lakes. I understand looking for structure and ledges for them, but again, its just a large river and if I could get some help cutting down how much time I spend searching for a spot to fish, well, that means more catching :B !!


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

I've never fished the rocky, maybe laynhardwood could help. Guy seems to fish everywhere with great success lol Met him one time on the V and is a nice guy. 

- In terms of finding spots man, just gotta put the time in and put some miles in the river, you'll eventually find it. I fish the huron and vermilion weekly and all I throw all summer long is tubes and curly tails with an occasional small crank. I drag it slow/medium speed along the bottom on an 1/8" jig head.

Target pools that are waist deep or deeper and I like to look for the larger rocks and structure in the river, any rock that has a ledge overhanging where it looks like a fish could be hanging out in a hole underneath of it. I've pulled many large smallies out of thigh deep crystal clear water with no fish visible by fishing around larger rocks with ledges overhanging a little hole that fish hide in and ambush anything that goes by it. 

Keep on keepin on! 
River smallies wet wading on a summer day is one of my favorite things to do


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## lrobison24 (Nov 26, 2013)

Selftaught, have you been having any luck on the vermilion lately? I've been out there a few times and have been skunked pretty bad


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

I went out last weekend, to try out a new spot to me I've never fished at Gore Orphanage and only caught one rock bass... I normally fish schoepfle garden, bacon woods, and powerlines for smallies on the V. With rain on and off and busy at work I havent made it to the V as much as I would like. - Where have you been getting skunked at? 

I work a hop skip and away from the Huron so more times than not I fish the Huron for smallies most often right after work.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Gore isn't great for smallies there is normally some around but it's a decent walk to the better spots besides the cliff hole lately between power lines and mill hollow has been good for me last Sunday was getting them on grubs and #7 black and gold floating rapala





















here is a couple I ended up catching 16 not all monsters but all fun 3 biggest were just under 20"


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