# The River...whats your thoughts?



## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Ok stinkin snow sucks so I'm bored. A few weeks ago I was in my boat now were snowed in. So I have to make a thread and hope it will draw interest.
I fished a few circuits in the late 80's thru 90's and the Ohio river was a big focus on our events back then. I got to know the pools from the NE to about Gallipolis and had some of my best success there. I left tourney fishing and have not been back to the river since the mid 90's.

Why are Ohio tourneys except for BFL avoiding the river? I hear the conditions have changed thru the years and catches are very low, but then I hear they still bust them on there.

I loved fishing the river. I fished in during flood stage down to horrible summer pools with zero current. I felt it gave us inland Ohio anglers a true test and allowed us to branch out and discover water and conditions we seldom see. You had large, small and spotted bass with allot of various structure to find them.
Everything from rock wingwalls with current, flipping backwaters to deep water main river patterns. Run a mile or run 100 miles and thru locks...it was all there. This was the only time besides fishing southern waters that I felt like what true tournament bass fishing was.
I remember allot of guys grumbling about the river and failing there when they were taken off their pet lakes. I just wonder those who fished the river in the last 20 years have to say River "Yea" or "Nay" and why?.


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## Drop-tine76 (Apr 24, 2013)

Low numbers and weights in my short experience. Nobody wants to fish for 6 lbs


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Drop-tine76 said:


> Low numbers and weights in my short experience. Nobody wants to fish for 6 lbs


Which I understand. The river like allot of lakes has its good and bad periods. I have no issue fishing tough tourneys and in fact prefer them . Makes you plan and fish differently then say a waters that produce large bags like say Mosiquito.


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## V-MAX200 (Oct 16, 2007)

I love the river. Some years you can catch a hundred a day and some years you wonder if all the fish all died off. lol. I guess you have to take the bad with the good. I wish some of the bigger circuits in Ohio would have tournaments on the river. If these circuits tried in the past and didn't get the numbers needed for a good payout then I can understand why they don't go back.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

V-MAX200 said:


> I love the river. Some years you can catch a hundred a day and some years you wonder if all the fish all died off. lol. I guess you have to take the bad with the good. I wish some of the bigger circuits in Ohio would have tournaments on the river. If these circuits tried in the past and didn't get the numbers needed for a good payout then I can understand why they don't go back.


I'm with you. I'm sure one reason is guys grumbling about low catches but the choice of pools and time of year can make a difference in fish caught. Plus isn't it all about competition? You really are competing against the fish. I think the river is getting a bad rap and for years it was a spot many tourney trails stopped at a few times a year. The catches varied but overall it gave the fields a very fair chance to unlocking the potential this Ohio river has.

The Bassmasters classic out of three rivers hurt the river when the pros cried about 1-2 bites a day. The lowest recorded catch for a classic before that tourney was also the Ohio river when Nixon won in Cinncy.
Both were in the middle of the summer in low pool and current conditions. It was the world championship! Make it hard on them don't go to lakes where its all about who gets a kicker in their limit everyday.


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## V-MAX200 (Oct 16, 2007)

There is a small river circuit the goes out of Steubenville and Wheeling. It is ran by the Team Extreme bass club and they have had some decent turnouts the last couple years.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Snow is evil. Anyway not allot of discussion here about the river. I guess I'm old and remember the glory days I spent on St Marys, Powhatten point, Stubbenville etc. I challenged a tourney director to take their Championship to the river this year since its about the best of the best competing for the big prizes...right?
There was no interest, guess everybody wants fish in a barrel?

It amuses me to see 21' foot bass boats with 250 hp motors on Portage lakes or lakes around here that allow you to run a mile before you shut down in a no wake. You want to run those horses boys? Run the river LOL.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

Don't you have some special fingering technique to work on?-LOL! Anyway I think we all like to get bit and the river is such a challenge at times creates a dynamic most would shy away from. The water levels and times of year issues always make a T.D. nightmare. Most of the field wait to pay at the ramp, if they show at all. I think the Xseries went a few years back (7lbs won), and the NOAA scheduled one-then cancelled due to lack of interest-I think. It's also hard to draw boats from locals due to the high membership fees associated with the circuits, since they only fish the one tourney. You should talk to your TD buddy 'Ike' and get a open down there at the best time. BTW- I love runnin the river, but I've seen first hand what hitting a barge wake at 60+ MPH-OUCH!!


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Buzzking said:


> Don't you have some special fingering technique to work on?-LOL! Anyway I think we all like to get bit and the river is such a challenge at times creates a dynamic most would shy away from. The water levels and times of year issues always make a T.D. nightmare. Most of the field wait to pay at the ramp, if they show at all. I think the Xseries went a few years back (7lbs won), and the NOAA scheduled one-then cancelled due to lack of interest-I think. It's also hard to draw boats from locals due to the high membership fees associated with the circuits, since they only fish the one tourney. You should talk to your TD buddy 'Ike' and get a open down there at the best time. BTW- I love runnin the river, but I've seen first hand what hitting a barge wake at 60+ MPH-OUCH!!


Well I practiced last night for the record. Like my fishing my playing is rusty at times LOL. I guess its just a new generation of guys and attitudes.
There were many back in the day who hated the river but the circuits still scheduled them and went there. Some catches were low some were quite high, you never knew what the river was going to do much like Lake Erie. Speaking of I blame Erie for when the smallies caught fire allot of circuits quit going to the river for the bass in a basket approach.

I guess the days of the river are gone for me unless I can drag somebody down there sometime. I miss the sights and smells of the river. From tin shack trailers community's on the river bank, dog houses and 50" phone poles floating down stream to the foul smell of large catfish and gar rotting in the locks during the heat of summer locking thru....ahhhh memories 

I remember the day having the whole front of my tourney shirt spritzed with diesel fuel that was leaking and getting on my line during casts LOL!!! The river was a hoot with some great fishing. Tough or not it was anyone's game and those river rats were a tuff bunch.
You can have Berlin and all the rest the river is still my fondest memories of all the years I was on it.

As for "Ike" he's not easy to motivate and sucks at getting the good un's in the net.


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## ChampioNMan (Mar 17, 2009)

I have lived and fished on the river for the last 35 yrs. I have seen it during great times and miserable times. I've had great tournaments and HORRIBLE tournaments.

The river goes through cycles more than most bodies of water........I can remember the good ole' days! And the bad years as well. Lots of factors and variables for the river.
A change of water level, even only a couple inches can make a huge impact on your day and the river changes by the hour most of the time. Water level, clarity, CURRENT, and water temp can change by the minute in a lot of cases which causes the fish to scatter or school and relate to current breaks, slack water, shallow, deep it is a constant change on the river........What worked at 7am may not get a strike at 8:30 because something changed, maybe only slightly but it changed.

The river can change yearly as well and it does, high water or flooding for long periods can change a really great spot into a carp infested muddy mess in not too long a time period.
High muddy water during late winter/early spring can make that weed bed that you crushed them on last year non existent this year.

Lets go back to about 2008 thru 2012........just about every boat in a tourney had a limit during these years and some good limits, I personally seen a couple 20lb (6 fish) bags weighed in and countless 12 to 15lb bags during this time period..........Then 2013 rolled around and things began to slow down. Then 2014, tourney participation dropped, instead of 15lb bags the winning weights dropped to 5,6,7lb bags at best.........the river was in a FUNK and the bite was extremely tough. WHY????? It's a mystery where all those fish went. NO.....it's just the cycle. It happened in the 80's again in the 90's and 2000's and will continue to happen and not on any certain schedule. That's how the river is...........fantastic today and miserable tomorrow.

Tournaments on the river are a tough thing to schedule as director, a lot of "lake fisherman" don't want any part of a river tournament. Then there is the conditions.....let's say you have a scheduled tourney on Sunday the river has been stable and clear for 3 weeks prior and the fish have been biting good.........BUT....Friday it rains about 2" by Saturday eve the river has risen 5 feet and is rolling mud! What do you do? Go on with it? Cancel? Reschedule? It's a tough call that I would never want to make.
Look at DoBass......they get full fields on a lot of their events and have done so for a long time...........when Rory tried to get a Big $$$ Payout tourney on the river at the request of the river rats, everyone balked ,including a lot of us so called 'river rats' I think he only had 8 or 10 pre-signs. Had this been Mosquito it would have been a full field in a couple days.
WHY?........Because the river is just very unpredictable!

I spend a lot of time on the New Cumberland, Pike Island, Hannibal and Willow Island pools sometimes 3-4 days a week March thru November and can tell you NOTHING is a given or very predictable. But like you Bassbully it's fun to air out that 21'er with a 250 and go 30 miles and start over!


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

ChampioNMan said:


> I have lived and fished on the river for the last 35 yrs. I have seen it during great times and miserable times. I've had great tournaments and HORRIBLE tournaments.
> 
> The river goes through cycles more than most bodies of water........I can remember the good ole' days! And the bad years as well. Lots of factors and variables for the river.
> A change of water level, even only a couple inches can make a huge impact on your day and the river changes by the hour most of the time. Water level, clarity, CURRENT, and water temp can change by the minute in a lot of cases which causes the fish to scatter or school and relate to current breaks, slack water, shallow, deep it is a constant change on the river........What worked at 7am may not get a strike at 8:30 because something changed, maybe only slightly but it changed.
> ...


Awesome info ChampioNman! Overall how is the fishing today? The uncertainty and unpredictability is one reason I loved the river but things like high water and fog delays were not fun.
I fished the old MTOC on Powhatten point a day before the Town of Shadyside had the tragedy. That river was crazy high and dangerous but we fished. That was when I seen the dog house and 50' phone poles in the river.
For all the rivers ugly and poor fishing its a fascinating area to explore. I loved the old river towns and the diners. One night we were looking for a place to eat only to find the whole town was walking to a dance hall for big doin's. The people were all dressed up, girls and women in large bottom dance dresses..very cool.
Once my partner and I were fishing the W. Virgina main river side in practice when suddenly 50 people were walking down the bank to the rivers edge. It was the local church baptizing member's in the river.

We would sleep in our trucks and vans in the lot and the local police would patrol thru and check on us and our boats. The town of St.Marys treated us like pros and loved the bass guys when we came thru...good times!
I'm finding out since I got back to fishing a few years ago its just not like it was when I left in the 90's. I hope to get back to the river again some day even if its just to take a boat ride. To me its sad so many guys want to avoid it but the fish in a bucket approach wins out. I guess guys today don't want to work and learn a new area one that is unlike anywhere else you will ever fish..that's for sure.


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## ChampioNMan (Mar 17, 2009)

Bassbully 52 said:


> Awesome info ChampioNman! Overall how is the fishing today? The uncertainty and unpredictability is one reason I loved the river but things like high water and fog delays were not fun.
> I fished the old MTOC on Powhatten point a day before the Town of Shadyside had the tragedy That river was crazy high and dangerous but we fished. That was when I seen the dog house and 50' phone poles in the river.
> For all the rivers ugly and poor fishing its a fascinating area to explore. I loved the old river towns and the diners. We would sleep in our trucks and vans in the lot. The town of St.Marys treated us like pros and loved the bass guys when we came thru...good times.
> I'm finding out since I got back to fishing a few years ago its just not like it was when I left in the 90's. I hope to get back to the river again some day even if its just to take a boat ride. To me its sad so many guys want to avoid it but the fish in a bucket approach wins out, guess guys don't want to work and learn a new area one that is unlike anywhere else you will ever fish..that's for sure.


2016 remains to be seen. In 13 the river took a downhill spiral.........14 was horrible across the board but began to get a little better last year (15). It wasn't just the bass fishing that was poor the last couple years.
The walleye/sauger crowd has been pretty slow going as well as the catfisherman. The last few winters have been brutal cold for this area for extended periods which caused a lot of river ice in 13 and 14 then 2 high water (for extended periods) springs didn't help the cause.

The hard winters and bad springs are tough on the baitfish.....be it minnows/shad/shiners many don't survive the winter then during baitfish spawning periods in the spring with the high water that may drop a few feet in a hurry it may really put a hurt on the forage which in turn hurts the fishing.
It will come alive again before long.......I've seen this happen more than a few times.

I was on the water the night of the Wegee/Pipe creek floods.........I was in the Northern end of the Hannibal pool and can remember being chased of the water by the storms and rain never expecting what was going on just a few miles south.
So far this winter the levels have not been overly high and has not been too cold for the most part.......so we'll hope for a decent spring which in turn will improve the fishing.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

ChampioNMan said:


> 2016 remains to be seen. In 13 the river took a downhill spiral.........14 was horrible across the board but began to get a little better last year (15). It wasn't just the bass fishing that was poor the last couple years.
> The walleye/sauger crowd has been pretty slow going as well as the catfisherman. The last few winters have been brutal cold for this area for extended periods which caused a lot of river ice in 13 and 14 then 2 high water (for extended periods) springs didn't help the cause.
> 
> The hard winters and bad springs are tough on the baitfish.....be it minnows/shad/shiners many don't survive the winter then during baitfish spawning periods in the spring with the high water that may drop a few feet in a hurry it may really put a hurt on the forage which in turn hurts the fishing.
> ...


I hope its a great year for you guys down there. Like I said the inland lakes are cool but the river is so different kind of like lake Erie. You never really figure it out and she can be a Goddess one second and a Bitch the next.
Hopefully a tourney circuit will give it a go again. If the river gets hot I think it might mount a comeback. It allows everyone who fishes it an opportunity to move and develop their styles much better than any other fishery we have here except for Erie.


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## ChampioNMan (Mar 17, 2009)

Bassbully 52 said:


> I hope its a great year for you guys down there. Like I said the inland lakes are cool but the river is so different kind of like lake Erie. You never really figure it out and she can be a Goddess one second and a Bitch the next.
> Hopefully a tourney circuit will give it a go again. If the river gets hot I think it might mount a comeback. It allows everyone who fishes it an opportunity to move and develop their styles much better than any other fishery we have here except for Erie.


Thanks me too!
There is no lack of tournaments. There are plenty!
As mentioned earlier a lot of small circuits such as Team Extreme, Bass Sportsman, Ohio Valley Bass, WV Buddy Trail will give a guy plenty of tournys to fish if he wants to. Along with a few Opens that pop up every year and quite a few evening 5-9 tournys put on by local clubs through the week can keep a guy on the water as much as he wants to be there.


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## RioBass (May 16, 2006)

I fish the river on a regular basis. You guys are very under estimating it. We whom live on it can fish it , we have paid our dues with really tuff days. Others won't fish it because you have to put time in and experiment. I see some posts saying it has been bad lately the past few years ( not the case). Well I guess pools have different experiences from year to year. It has gone down slightly , but it isn't horrible by any means. Everyone has opinions on that subject. We can be very tight lipped due to our learning took so long to be successful and the river can fish small at times. Spots SM and LM can be found everywhere Grass flats ( yes main river) can be found all over you just have to look.
Just my opinion. If you don't fish it much you can't get mad when you don't catch much.
We are pretty happy with it, you guys can spot jump the lakes all you want.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

RioBass said:


> I fish the river on a regular basis. You guys are very under estimating it. We whom live on it can fish it , we have paid our dues with really tuff days. Others won't fish it because you have to put time in and experiment. I see some posts saying it has been bad lately the past few years ( not the case). Well I guess pools have different experiences from year to year. It has gone down slightly , but it isn't horrible by any means. Everyone has opinions on that subject. We can be very tight lipped due to our learning took so long to be successful and the river can fish small at times. Spots SM and LM can be found everywhere Grass flats ( yes main river) can be found all over you just have to look.
> Just my opinion. If you don't fish it much you can't get mad when you don't catch much.
> We are pretty happy with it, you guys can spot jump the lakes all you want.


I feel some of do understand it and it's why I posted in the first place. To me the river offers challenges like no other water. These challenges I live for but others hate to put the time in. I have quite a few years in learning the river and I live a few hours away from most pools.
To me tourney anglers should want to go there ,learn and test themselves. Saddly they want fish in a bucket lakes.
It's hard for me to belive the river is a worthless fishery when it was so rich in the past. Yes there were slow years but even our lakes go thru that.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I haven't been down to the river for years. I stopped going when gas went over $3 a gallon, not because the fishing could be tough. And honestly, I miss going down there. Going through a lock is a very cool experience in my book. And planning your fishing time because you were making a 20 - 30 mile, run added something to the excitement of the day. There are a lot of things about the river that makes running it, fun.

And Buzzking .... I remember the first time I hit the wake from the prop wash of a barge. I didn't see it because I was too busy looking back at the barge we'd just passed. Then ....... airborne !!! lol Suffice it to say I never did that again. 

Actually, if we were fishing a tournament on the river and there was very little current, we used to follow barges up and down the river and fish the gravel bars as the wake washed over them. The moving water over them would get the fish biting for a few minutes, then we'd pack up and head for the next one.

ChampioNMan pointed out the reasons the bigger NE Ohio circuits don't go to the river any more. Low draw, and unpredictable conditions at certain times of the year. Also, when gas went over $3 a gallon, there was a huge drop in the number of tournaments the NE Ohio circuits scheduled on the river. Now they're virtually nonexistent. 

Personally, now that gas is back down to a reasonable price, I'd be glad to go to the river for a tournament. Fishing the river is fun.


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## kickinbass (May 25, 2009)

There are definitely plenty of tournaments going on on the river. Like in the previous posts, the river just goes in cycles. The last couple years have been brutal. The 3-4 years before that though catching a limit by 8 am wasn't too hard if you stayed on them. The fall before the downward spiral I heard several people talk about the lack of baitfish in the river. One explanation would be that the bass population out grew its food supply and the fish died off (then that winter was brutal and the river froze over, which didn't help the baitfish either). I don't know if that is true or not, just an observation.

I am not surprised that tournament directors are avoiding the river. There used to be weekly tournaments on the river, but they quit having them because no one showed up. Yes, I agree that an angler should welcome a test of their skills and fish places that aren't the top producing fisheries. The river simply wasn't a challenging fishery, it was nearly a dead one. I fished several tournaments where 4 out of every 5 boats or higher blanked, and many said they struggled to even get bit. I can handle tough fishing days, but after a few dozen trips where you and every one you talk to think catching two 12" fish in one trip is an accomplishment, then at that point I don't blame anyone for avoiding the river and fishing elsewhere. With that said though, here in a few years the river will be back and hopefully tournament directors know this and factor it into their scheduling.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Its true the river faces many challenges other waterways do not. I remember having a great grass bed that I killed them on one year to be gone the next. I have had trees and logjams appear then disappear in the same year.
But the river fished decent to great all the years I was there. It offers challenges like no other waterway we fish. I know the fishing can be up and down but also feel allot of anglers don't want the challenge.

I know when we took the boys back then off their home lakes many struggled on the river and swore it off. I love its challenges and from all its beauty to all its ugliness. I hope the fishing catches fire again since I would love to get back there a few times soon.


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## Cull'in (Nov 21, 2005)

I love the river!!!
I think it's the "industrial" fishing that is so appealing for me, all that concrete, iron and steel!
Cool as hell to catch a 2lber. off a shopping cart or underneath an old hot water tank three miles up a secluded creek. Main river structure is off the hook too! I love every trip I make, regardless of how good or bad the fishing is.

Ron, last time I was on the Cumberland Pool (2014), it was crystal clear and weedbeds for miles from Chester W.Va to south of Kennedy Park. Caught a ton of smallies though nothing over 2lb.
Time is limited for me but maybe we could sneak down there one day this summer.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Cull'in said:


> I love the river!!!
> I think it's the "industrial" fishing that is so appealing for me, all that concrete, iron and steel!
> Cool as hell to catch a 2lber. off a shopping cart or underneath an old hot water tank three miles up a secluded creek. Main river structure is off the hook too! I love every trip I make, regardless of how good or bad the fishing is.
> 
> ...


I would love that John. Sounds like old Cumberland was fishing good then. I'm like you all the smells (good and bad) the sound, industry, river towns and a really unlimited fishery made me love the river. Miss it.


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## ranger175a (Apr 20, 2011)

I love the river also. Some years the fishing is great, some years it's horrible. I like the challenge. My favorite part of fishing the river is the freedom. If they're not biting or you're just miserably hot you can pull the trolling motor and run 20 or thirty miles. If that's not enough you can lock through and do it again.


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## kickinbass (May 25, 2009)

Keep an eye out for the Mound City Bass Festival Open... Right now we are looking at Sept 25th but are still waiting for the permit to be approved... Guaranteed $1000 first place and launch out of Moundsville WV.. PM me if interested and I will keep you updated

Last year a guy fishing solo caught his 6 fish limit and won.. I believe he was one of two boats or the only boat with a limit


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