# Mystery fish @ Meldahl



## FishMR. (Nov 24, 2010)

Have been checking this site for a while & decided to sign up & throw out some questions. Went out above the dam Sunday afternoon. Water temp @ 55, but didn't get cloudy as was predicted. Anyway, there was no barge traffic so we decided to try the thru lane, it was shaded and out of the wind. Hadn't marked any significant amount of fish anywhere else. 
I have fished long and wide for most species of fresh water game fish. I'm here to tell you that I have never seen so many fish on my (or any other) screen! In many areas they were stacked in so thick the depth numbers couldn't be distiguished. The heaviest concentrations were 17-24'. Threw everything imaginable -er just about- including some live shines and bass minnows, jigs, rattlers... with nary a bump and 2 of us trying!
ANYBODY - who are these guys? What gives and WHEN?
BTW, they weren't small fish.


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## multi species angler (Feb 20, 2006)

How deep was the water? If they were within a foot of the bottom i'd guess they were sauger. But with that many fish and using shiners you certainly should have caught one with that much competition for available food. Although sauger aren't usually stacked in the water column like crappie are known to do.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

yeah, in the winter we come across fish , big fish stacked from top to bottom sometimes in certain holes and can never figure out what they are, can never catch them and always assumed some sort of carp, sucker, paddlefish or Gar. Have even tried castnetting them, ha ha, no luck, nor can you even snag them?? Then of course I always wonderd if the fish finder just randomly jumps into demo mode just for laffs.. I swear it does every so often....LOL

Salmonid


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## puterdude (Jan 27, 2006)

Don't know if this could be the culprit but I have had muddy water mixed in with clear send back false echos as fish,the density of the added mud causes it.Could possibly be it as you can't net,snag,or catch them. Just an idea for what it's worth.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> Anyway, there was no barge traffic so we decided to try the thru lane, it was shaded and out of the wind. Hadn't marked any significant amount of fish anywhere else.
> 
> 
> > The barges really stir up the bottom. They can cause feeding frenzy when they go by. Might be a good place to try when nothing else is going on.
> ...


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## FishMR. (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks for the great responses & questions. Sorry I'm just getting back to it. The 1st question was water depth; pretty consistent 45'. We noted that often there were some numbers of fish scattered below the "stacks", sometimes all the way to the bottom. 

With respect to the various interference false read questions, we naturally thought that a possibility at first, but they moved and they weren't everywhere. The screen would be clear if we moved too far from the general area. We were just drifting using the trolling motor to adjust or change location...tried the minnows at all depths I think. BTW There was no barge traffic except one small empty going up just as we put in @ Chiloh... it was quite windy, but not where we were protected by the wall.

Based on size, not crappie-larger-some much larger. Carp and the like I 'm not sure... but by fishing partner (I call him Mr. Natural World), who claims he is not of this world, even tho he's been here a long time, said those type fish aren't known for schoolin up?

So for now, I'm still calling it the mystery at Meldahl... sure hope someone knows & tells or figures it out.

Happy Thanksgiving,

FishMR.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Salmonid said:


> yeah, in the winter we come across fish , big fish stacked from top to bottom sometimes in certain holes and can never figure out what they are, can never catch them and always assumed some sort of carp...
> 
> Salmonid




Nailed it. Either suckers or carp.


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

I'm guessing paddlefish


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## ChrisB (May 13, 2004)

I wish your right Mr. FishOhio. I'm really not sure we have that many paddlefish anymore, but if there is, I hope, then yea, it's paddlefish. I've seen some old photos of underwater cameras above and below Marklan dam and some species of fish school there all winter. Maybe a school of Bluecats getting out of the current or chassing shad. There is a hole very close to that area I've slamed Bluecats at. A longshot possibility is the Shovelnose Sturgeon which is in that stretch of river. Only caught one before and I think they hang out in the current regardless of temps as long as it's rocky. Ahh, winter fishing Meldhal, if you get on top of an active school it's the best fishing around. I miss my boat.


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## FishMR. (Nov 24, 2010)

Talked to a highly experienced river/game fisherman...this guy gets out there. Laid out to him all the conditions including the way they were stacked + depth, temps etc. He said without a doubt they were 'eyes. They either weren't ready yet or just turned off by whatever. He said it had happened to him both ways and it didn't appear that differently on the screen. He's got me more convinced than the other suggested possibles...plus that it's more fun to think about.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

They're Flatheads.

The article noted the exact same thing: TONS of big fish stacked tightly together laying on/near the bottom. I remember the author (Doug Stange I think) noting that they couldn't get them to hit a damn thing either...So out came the 1oz jig heads and a few quick snaps of the wrist. Sure enough they began snagging Flatheads left-and-right.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Not the same artice, but still...



Doug Stange said:


> Editor In Chief Doug Stange, a longtime proponent of bringing catfish regulations into line with regulations for other important gamefish, agrees. "These consolidated fish probably need protection from harvest during winter," Stange says. "Certainly, they need protection from overharvest. The problem remains that we have little definition of what constitutes overharvest in most areas. Even in conservative states, such as Minnesota, the limit on most waters is five catfish of any species, never mind that those five fish could be 40-pound flatheads with a combined age of well over 100 years.
> 
> "Never mind, too," Stange continues, "*that these fish might be taken from a winter concentration that numbers in the hundreds, these hundreds being the fish that will, once spring arrives, spread throughout the river and tributaries to provide recreation for the masses*. But I'm reaching here. All I know for certain is that we need to know more so we can protect appropriately in order to ensure good fishing for this incredible big gamefish. In the meantime, anglers need to exercise discipline by practicing selective harvest. Until we have a better handle on how fragile these fisheries are, let's release the big fish and on occasion perhaps keep only a small fish or two."


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## Chuck P. (Apr 8, 2004)

acklac7 said:


> They're Flatheads.
> 
> The article noted the exact same thing: TONS of big fish stacked tightly together laying on/near the bottom. I remember the author (Doug Stange I think) noting that they couldn't get them to hit a damn thing either...So out came the *1oz jig heads* and a few quick snaps of the wrist. Sure enough they began snagging Flatheads left-and-right.


^^ Break out the jigs and see if they are Flatties...I'd almost lay money that they are.


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## FishMR. (Nov 24, 2010)

Hate to ruin those flat fantasies, but they were not on the bottom. I believe I stated in my original post that they were suspended 18-22' in 45' water.


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## AkronCATS (Nov 5, 2008)

any chance they are schools of shad? if they are really thick they could look like one big fish on the sonar.


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## lil goose (Oct 16, 2009)

I have never fished that far south but i have fished new cumberland and pike island for 20+ years and i can tell you that certain times in the winter quill back carp will school up heavily! There have been times, especially useing a blade bait where you will snag one on every pull! Sometimes even with a jig you still cant get through them to fish for sauger and walleye! That would be my guess the only thing it seems to me they dont come to the tail waters until feburary but that doesnt mean they couldnt be staging somewhere else!


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## Chuck P. (Apr 8, 2004)

FishMR. said:


> Hate to ruin those flat fantasies, but they were not on the bottom. I believe I stated in my original post that they were suspended 18-22' in 45' water.


Darn it...


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

I also agree they are not flatties, wrong arch types and size and the arches are usually all sizes, ( just not like a big flattie) and when i fish through them, they never are snagable or cast netable??????? usually in large shools from top to bottom basicaly. 

Salmonid


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Snakeheads.... end of story!


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## jkeeney20 (Mar 21, 2006)

My guess is eyes, I had this happen to me in the tailwaters of the greenup dam from my boat. Me and a buddy had them stacked on sonar (suspended in water column) and was catching them early morning in the rain. It quit raining and the sun popped out and they just stopped biting altogether. We kept marking them stacked on our finder but could not get them to hit anything after that. They just have a tendency to go lockjaw during certain periods. Its weird, but what makes fishing so darn fun I think!


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Good chance its paddlefish. There are alot of them in the Ohio and they tend to stack up suspended mid depth like that. They could also be asian carp. We are seeing more and more of them the last few yrs on the Ohio and they follow alot of the same patterns as spoonbill.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Definately giant goldfish from what you described 

Guessing is futile. AquaView or bust!


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## Bowjo (May 27, 2006)

I saw a guy at Racine that had a fish he couldn,t identify.It was a very large paddlefish that had its bill cut off.It realy looked strange with a snub nose.....


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Trust me, there are bizzions of paddlefish. That's why the new regs about 10 years ago on snagging them as people were making stacks of them 5'-10' high killing them just for fun & for the roe (cavier) sold (illegally) to dealers. Commercial licence permits it, but not the sport fisherman to sell to a commercial. Ky allows the license of commercial fishing in the Ohio River with nets & snagging too. Only commercial may use nets, catfish are harvested too.
New regs allow for the 1st 2 fish to be harvested, no culling, you must take them. Season used to run Feb 1st or something to May 5th or something. Check the regs, same in IN too. That's where the slaughter took place, it was not breaking any laws, just a huge waste, so they got new regs & KY followed.


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

My guess is that they would be Buckeye fans. They travel in large groups and will hang around in one area if food is abundent. They are especially prevalent in the fall. You can catch them by shouting "tickets here" or you can chum for them by leaving pitchers of cold beer out. If this doesn't work try backing a motorhome to the waters edge and put out a large screen TV.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Gottagofishn said:


> My guess is that they would be Buckeye fans. They travel in large groups and will hang around in one area if food is abundent. They are especially prevalent in the fall. You can catch them by shouting "tickets here" or you can chum for them by leaving pitchers of cold beer out. If this doesn't work try backing a motorhome to the waters edge and put out a large screen TV.


Or tell them Terell Pryor is selling jerseys on the river bank...


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