# Racine Info Needed



## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

Hey guys,

I’d like to head down end of next week after Christmas. I’m north of Columbus and only get to head down once or twice a year. Would love to know what you guys think. I understand it’s a little high but I’m hoping it will be fishable by then. 

Is anyone catching? I typically use Silver Buddies of the lock walls. 
Just something different to do and I LOVE fishing the river!

Thanks for any insight you are willing to share!

Brahmabull


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/riv...143371,153521,153530,143683&data[]=hydrograph

I can’t speak for the fishing but I’ve been watching the water levels for duck hunting. Looks like it will be very good level wise but have no idea what the clarity will be. I may be in the area once West Virginia duck season comes in which is 12-23. I hunt the Ravenswood area which is below Bellville dam and above Racine. Anything around 14.5-15 ft is about as low as I see it during winter and anything around 20 ft and up the current is ripping. I would imagine Racine would be similar. If I get down that way I will let you know what’s up water wise. Although I’m having a tough time debating duck hunting the Big O or heading to Huron for more EYES


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## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

I will be at Huron eye chasin Monday, and hopefully duck / sauger chasing on Ohio River Thursday / Friday. Was hoping this cold blast brings some birds down. Alum had quite a few today moving when I was scouting. Thanks for the heads up.


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Don't know about Racine, Yesterday in Marietta River was up 10+ ft. Dropped all day and mid afternoon it had dropped about 4 ft. Not seeing many ducks. Was a big push a couple weeks ago but appears they didn't stay.


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## Fisher1672 (Oct 18, 2014)

I believe walleye/sauger numbers are down on Ohio River odnr sent out survey to possible reduction in limits hopefully they figure out what is being dumped in River....fracking waste exc. Hope EPA is involed


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## hoosiercanadian (Dec 31, 2012)

There is definitely a sauger decline in the Ohio river. I have been wondering what everyone's opinion is on this subject. I fish with a friend who refuses to accept it , even though it is quite obvious. i have tried to find as much info as i can on the internet , fishing reports up and down the river etc. My thinking is that the past 5 years or so the river has been absolutely wrecked when it is time for them to spawn, if there spawn gets ruined then what are you going to end up with ? I just think it eventually has taken its toll on them.


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## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

Aren’t the stocking number WAY down also?


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

Brahmabull71 said:


> Aren’t the stocking number WAY down also?


Not aware of any sauger stocking, mainly just walleye


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## hoosiercanadian (Dec 31, 2012)

I doubt if Indiana has ever put a single fish of any species in the Ohio River, they do stock some walleye in Indiana lakes , using eggs taken from walleye in Brookville Lake. As far as the river is concerned i'm pretty sure they do not care.


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Fisher1672 said:


> I believe walleye/sauger numbers are down on Ohio River odnr sent out survey to possible reduction in limits hopefully they figure out what is being dumped in River....fracking waste exc. Hope EPA is involed


I agree with you that the sauger numbers are way down....The walleye numbers in the section of river I fish has never been hirer. Muskie numbers being caught are also more common than in the past. Had a good spring on Hybrids and White bass compared to past years. The amount of bait in the river the past 2 years has been unbelievable. Lots of biomass so to speak. Fish didn't need to exert much effort to get a full stomach. I personally believe that the sauger population has been effected by the unusually hire water the last 2 to 3 springs. More so than other species....All species are cyclic and we are on the down side of the sauger cycle IMHO.


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## hoosiercanadian (Dec 31, 2012)

I am quite a ways downstream from you all, i live about 20 miles downstream from Markland dam, there is probably 1 walleye for every 5 miles of water . If i was to catch one i would just put the boat on the trailer and go buy a pick 6 lotto ticket , as it would be an exceptional stroke of luck. I have caught the odd one at the dam , i could count them all on one hand in the last 7 years. It may be that the water temperature is just that much warmer this far downstream. There is a commercial fishing business about ten miles downstream, i have to wonder what ends up in their big hoop nets.


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## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

Never caught one sauger in 3 hours of fishing. Caught several carp and had ahold of what we assume a big catfish. Used Blade baits, Joshy’s and various jigs. No live bait. Fished lock walls, rocky shores, sandbar area and creek dump out.

Scouted for ducks and hope to have better luck in the morning but doubt it since it’s so warm.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Sauger numbers are definitely way down the past 5-6 years. Fishing Eastern Ohio, sauger catches would outnumber walleye catches at least 5 to 1. These days it seems pretty rare to even catch a sauger. My own personal numbers would be in the neighborhood of 10 walleye to 1 sauger. Granted, the walleye population has increased but the sauger population has really declined. The new limits on the Ohio River may help, the river not constantly flooding in the spring would help even more.

I have seen a sizable drop in my sauger and white bass catch rates but an increase in the amount of walleye and smallmouth bass caught. The last few years i have been catching a lot of healthy 12-14" smallmouth all over the river. White bass have really seemed to bottom out. Areas that were always either a pre-spawn or spawn area, are now devoid of white bass. This has been a few year trend.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

BFN "Sauger numbers are definitely way down the past 5-6 years. Fishing Eastern Ohio, sauger catches would outnumber walleye catches at least 5 to 1".


I keep reading ALL of the O river reports, hoping that something changes for the better.

Like I posted earlier, we spent a whole afternoon down NC Dam & only seen 6 keeper eyes caught.
NO Sauger, & NO perch!
I worked fatheads every way possible & never had a tap,,,,, I was also praying for a perch.
They seemed to disappear too. 
Years ago, We started catching quite a few fat, healthy, Erie size perch in December & Jan,,,, & I haven't kept one in 2 years,,, I didn't even SEE any all last year.

What about you guys,,, SEE ANY PERCH?

Years ago,,,, I landed a nice fat eye, & this is what he had jammed in his gut;
(6, 3"-4"ers)


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## Pooka (Jan 30, 2012)

My 2 cents on the matter of limits. Greenup is my home pool and you sure couldn't say that Sauger fisherman are over running it, pick a random day and you might maybe, see 8 out at a time -both banks and boat. Most likely you would see 3 or 4 over most of the day. More than a few local anglers don't know what a Sauger is. 

At least in "my" pool, over fishing is definitely not the problem.


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## hoosiercanadian (Dec 31, 2012)

I live in the hills of southern Indiana, no more than 15 years ago i used to enjoy listening to the call of whippoorwill"s. Have not heard one now for years , why , hell we killed them , farming practices , pesticide use, they are pretty much gone. Nature is a very delicate balance , one thing effects another , an ever warming climate means droughts in some areas, too much rain in others , like in the Ohio valley, then there are the invasive species, i know , i'm opening a can of worms , but really , we only have one planet , i would like to leave some fish for my grand kids to catch but we are obviously too greedy and too stupid to realize that we are killing our selves , sauger and whippoorwills are just a small example . if we do not wake up we will be looking up these species in a book to show what used to be here. Yep , all you climate change deniers can pile on now.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Doboy said:


> BFN "Sauger numbers are definitely way down the past 5-6 years. Fishing Eastern Ohio, sauger catches would outnumber walleye catches at least 5 to 1".
> 
> 
> I keep reading ALL of the O river reports, hoping that something changes for the better.
> ...


I went down to Pike Island yesterday for about 4 hours (7:30am-around noon) and had 1 bite. There were 2 guys there when I showed up and left shortly after I got there. Most of the time I was the only person there. About 30 minutes before i left 2 people showed up at the pier. I threw swimbaits, grubs, cranks and stick baits. Used every retrieve imaginable and only got 1 hit. Water was perfect for this time of year, 16 feet and slight rise, water had a little color, over cast morning but no fish. I used to never get skunked at the dam, NEVER. Seems I get skunked more often than not now. Its a disturbing trend for sure.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

"I used to never get skunked at the (Pike) dam, NEVER. Seems I get skunked more often than not now."




BFN, Your negative comments made ME feel better! ;>)
I thought I was the only one.

We'll have to keep our eyes open for the next DNR creel survey,,,, it's the ONLY WAY we'll be able to know what's really going on. Maybe


Anyway
I trapped 3 dozen 3"-4"-5" creek chubs the other day,,,,, plus I still have 3 dozen fatheads.
They are now in my creek, waiting for me to take them down to NC Dam. 
I was hoping for some HIGH WATER. 
It's projected to be at 20' Mon Tues,,,, but only 16' now.

Anybody want to meet me down there? I got the 'live' bait.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

I have fished the Racine Dam area all my life and it seems that the sauger come and go. It seems that when you have a year with a lot of bait in the river the next year seems to be a pretty good year for sauger. I think the river has been on a decline for a while and it is just not the sauger. A lot of the back waters that were spawning grounds are now silted in which over time has a major affect on the fish.


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## Bass Assasin Slaton (May 22, 2011)

Snyd said:


> I have fished the Racine Dam area all my life and it seems that the sauger come and go. It seems that when you have a year with a lot of bait in the river the next year seems to be a pretty good year for sauger. I think the river has been on a decline for a while and it is just not the sauger. A lot of the back waters that were spawning grounds are now silted in which over time has a major affect on the fish.


What is a good water level to fish Racine? is 26 feet just too high?


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## Bass Assasin Slaton (May 22, 2011)

I ment to say 21 feet.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Bass Assasin - I think normal pool is around 21-22. To be honest growing up I never really paid a lot of attention to the level - I just went - Obviously if it was really high I would fish from the bank instead of in a boat. I live in Columbus now but still go back and fish with family every time I get a chance.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Snyd said:


> I have fished the Racine Dam area all my life and it seems that the sauger come and go. It seems that when you have a year with a lot of bait in the river the next year seems to be a pretty good year for sauger. I think the river has been on a decline for a while and it is just not the sauger. A lot of the back waters that were spawning grounds are now silted in which over time has a major affect on the fish.


This is a great point about spawning areas silting in. There is a creek mouth I like to fish, been fishing it for 20+ years. It used to be a white bass hot spot in the spring, could catch as many channel cats as you wanted in late spring, and could catch largemouth and smallmouth bass all through the summer. ODOT did a bridge project 15 or so years ago and replaced bridge pillars that were along this creek. They actually changed the flow of the creek when they did this. The creek used to be pretty deep from the mouth to about a 1/4 mile up the creek. You used to see boats hit it all the time. Now its shallow and silted in and the only reason I can think of is that bridge project because they changed the creek. This has also allowed for where the creek hits the river to silt in also. You have to be very careful taking a boat around there if your not familiar with the area. 

The fishing has progressive gotten worse in this creek over the years. During the white bass run, you could have easily caught 100+ in a few hours. They don't even run the creek anymore and you are lucky to catch a few here and there during the peak. No catfish at all anymore, haven't caught a largemouth from there in years, and any smallmouth are caught way up the creek or out in the actually river. I never really fished it for sauger/walleye but I am sure they used to run that creek too. That area is like the dead sea now because of the creek silting in. For years, we have been hearing that WV was going to dredge the river out in that area to make it safer for boats, but we are still waiting on that.


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## RiverWader (Apr 1, 2006)

if you have waders ive always done good at Racine when the water was extremely high


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

RiverWader - Back in the day if I was on the bank and the water was way up - I would get clear up against the dam - We would throw over the beam that was there. It was a little bit of a circus if we would get a hold of a big fish trying to get it back over the beam.


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