# Baitfish non-existant?



## HANeal (Nov 8, 2009)

First: let me apologize for using the "Big Fish" icon for the post, I just wanted everyone to read this post.

Second.... 

I recently went to the RC Byrd dam (just below Gallipolis, Ohio) and observed the lack of baitfish that I have seen this fall. From looking at the forums, I have seen many other contributors comment on the situation. Does anyone with some biological background have some input on this matter? Last fall, you could almost literally walk across the backs of the baitfish. I saw shad, skipjacks and minnows in numbers that I had never seen before. But this year it has been a bust. Is it attiributed to the long lasting winter that we had or the extra 2" of rain that we got in the Ohio Valley? Please speak up. I'm not the only one concerned about the mess that is "Fishing - 2013"


----------



## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Plenty of shiners and occasional skipjacks below Greenup, no shad. We've had a good bit of Mooneyes too. I don't know but I think the high water through the middle of summer had something to do with it and the water has stayed a bit higher than usual all summer and fall down here.


----------



## C J Hughes (Jan 24, 2006)

I hug a light off of my dock last week , 3 shiners showed up . No shad .


----------



## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

I fished at Marietta last weekend on the muskingum and Ohio rivers and seen no shad anywhere flipping the surface. Only caught a few crappie and wasn't even trying for them. For me river was still to warm


----------



## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

No shad in evidence at the mouth of the LMR where they normally congregate at this time of the year.

No shad = No Whites/No Hybrids.


----------



## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

BMustang said:


> No shad in evidence at the mouth of the LMR where they normally congregate at this time of the year.
> 
> No shad = No Whites/No Hybrids.


Don't you have any shiners? That's all besides skipjacks that are at Greenup.Small baits have been working for me, marabou crappie jigs, tiny flukes. Whitemw caught Whites at the mouth of the Scioto last week on spoons and on up the river used crappie jigs Monday and caught them. So you might try shiners or something smaller. They do eat more than just shad so just downsize your lures.


----------



## willy heft (Oct 18, 2012)

The last 2weekends have been fishing around the coolville area.We have been on the hybrids long and skinny but great fighters.Have seen minnows but no shad,water temp high 60's.


----------



## bsmith (Mar 26, 2010)

I haven't seen any shad near Cincinnati for about 3 weeks. Not even in the mouth of the Little Miami. As BMustang mentioned, they're normally thick there this time of year. I do occasionally see what I believe to be balls of shad on the fish finder but they've been near the bottom in 20' of water or more.

I haven't figured out how to reach them reliably with a cast net when they're that deep. I occasionally try to tie a long rope to my 10' net (the biggest your'e allowed to use in Ohio) but I almost never get any shad this way. With the current and boat moving around, it's really hard to guess where to throw the thing so it ends up on top of them when it gets that far down in the water column.


----------



## spiff (Jun 3, 2004)

Starting to catch shad easily (at least the last 2 times out) in the mouths of creeks and further up the creeks now in the Markland pool tributaries. Have caught skipjacks and shad twice in 2 weeks....a record for this summer. The shad are finally coming in. Filled my 4' radius net with them in one cast. I then proceeded to fish and caught an almost 5' gar after many runs. It's "almost" because I got it up on the bank but didn't have the guts to grab it after it threw the hook and started to slide back. I have scar on my thumb from the last one I tried to grab. Lesson learned. I might try tonight. It will be cool down at the river and a full moon.


----------



## jastew (Nov 18, 2011)

I haven't been to the river since March or so, I'm mostly a cold weather sauger fisherman there. I do check the forum pretty regular though and I got curious about folks talking about skinny fish and a lack of shad.

I e-mailed the KY Northeastern region fisheries biologist and asked him about it. He's going to contact whoever the Ohio River biologist is. I'll post any info I get from them.

I spent a long time searching the web to find out what causes a poor shad spawn but couldn't find much.

I personally think it was a combination of high water and a very cool early spring and early summer.


----------



## spiff (Jun 3, 2004)

The ODNR guy is named tip or trip for Clermont county. I emailed him a while back on the Markland skinny fish. He said it could be caused by a lot things, or that it might be nothing at all. He will be doing an electro census at the Meldahl tail waters in November that should be telling as to how much different..or the same the fish populations are. He asked me to email him then.


----------



## HANeal (Nov 8, 2009)

Thanks Spiff and JASTEW! Any info would be better than none.


----------

