# Spring is almost here, lets start seeing some reports



## acklac7

Going back through the threads, man there's only been a handful of reports this Winter (outside of the Rainy Nights thread). Looking forward to that changing soon, i'll start:

Hit a local Wintering hole before Winter made its last stand (better be it's last stand); action wasn't hot, but fish were found. Hit two FishOhio's Morone's slowly retrieving, but not quite dead sticking HJ-14's

First up is my PB Goliath of a White Bass (yes, that's a White Bass, not a Wiper). Went 18" and nearly inhaled an HJ-14, not surprising given how fat that fish was.

Next up is a 22" Hybrid, which went bananas at first, only to wimp out after roughly 30 seconds. Sort of depressing, as that fish would have fought 3 times as long in May, but I'll take it.

Next couple weeks should be great for hitting our local Rivers and Streams. Looks like they're finally going to stay down for a bit, and give us a good chance at hitting the S-eye Spawn. Let's all together pray for no more rain....


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## Saugeyefisher

Super nice white bass aj! Things a tank!

I hit a new to me spot last Thursday looking for pike/bass/crappie an ended up finding my pb pike for central ohio and a couple crappie. Pike on a 4"venom twister an 1/8 oz head. Crappie on a brushpile jig. Both pike and crappies from the same lay down in a slackwate pool about 7 ft deep...
Then went an hit a shallow lake east for some eyes at dark an hit3 on a jr rouge.
Lol I've shared the pike pic in another thread but I gotta throw it up here to!!















Then saterday I decided to take my kayak out and dip some crappies before the real cold set in... I wait till 1 to get out an fished till 530 with a brushpile tail in chartreuse with a clear straight tail on a 1/32oz jig 18" under a bobber.
Bite was slow at first but finally found a string of hot docks an finish with about 15 crappies an 20-25 gills an 3 smaller bass. I even had one bass blow up on my bobber. Took home 4 crappies and 7 gills. Hoping to get back on productive water bye Sunday.


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## edlovereze

You guys are making me jealous! Haven't gotten out yet but planning on going out this weekend for the first time. Might try a new to me local flow to see if I can get anything. Any cold water tips for bass? Can't wait for the warm weather. Today is (hopefully) the last freezing cold day!

Edit: Have a fresh order of Joshy's on the way so planning to slow roll those and maybe try a chatterbait.


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## crittergitter

Wow! Some good late winter fish. That pike picture is my new favorite!! That's awesome!


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## Saugeyefisher

crittergitter said:


> Wow! Some good late winter fish. That pike picture is my new favorite!! That's awesome!


Thankyou! I really appreciate that! Its awesome getting them so close to home! She swam back to make future pike babies! Tried hard to keep her off the ground,but she bit the $&/! Out of me an her bottom half got in the mud.


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## Dillon.R.Nott

That Wiper probably gave out in the fight probably because they are a pretty sensitive. In my experience when i released them in cold water, they just swim straight down into weeds or algae. I had open float up and i had to revive it for almost ten minutes to get it to swim off cleanly. No bad hooking or bad handling. They are a somewhat sensitive fish.


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## allbraid

Got out last Sunday during the snow, picked up a small Pike and this very hungry Big carp! Both on a small silver and blue spoon. Switched to swimbaits and hooked and lost 1 nice sized Saugeye. 
Really nice fish AJ and Saugeyefisher!


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## Saugeyefisher

allbraid said:


> View attachment 296065
> View attachment 296067
> Got out last Sunday during the snow, picked up a small Pike and this very hungry Big carp! Both on a small silver and blue spoon. Switched to swimbaits and hooked and lost 1 nice sized Saugeye.
> Really nice fish AJ and Saugeyefisher!


Back at ya Mike! Keep getting at them man!


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## acklac7

allbraid said:


> View attachment 296065
> View attachment 296067
> Got out last Sunday during the snow, picked up a small Pike and this very hungry Big carp! Both on a small silver and blue spoon. Switched to swimbaits and hooked and lost 1 nice sized Saugeye.
> Really nice fish AJ and Saugeyefisher!


Great fish Mike! Thanks for sharing


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## Jeremy Barker

Rivers finally looking fishable again. I plan on going for a couple hours after work to hit small hole usually loaded with saugeye this time of year. I'll report after. I haven't got to go out like i normally do. The whole work thing has put a real hit on my fishing career lol. Nice fish yall! I need to cross a pike off my list. 

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## Lewzer

Nice fish! I was in Columbus for work yesterday. I was hoping to wet a line somewhere on the way home. Stopped at a couple of places on the way home and was surprised to see the ponds and Knox totally iced over.


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## Saugeyefisher

Good news/bad news!!! 
Good news 1/2"+ rain saterday an saterday nite will melt off the newly formed ice!
Bad news= eh I wont go there! I'll figure something out!


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## RiparianRanger

Jeremy Barker said:


> Rivers finally looking fishable again. I plan on going for a couple hours after work to hit small hole usually loaded with saugeye this time of year. I'll report after. I haven't got to go out like i normally do. The whole work thing has put a real hit on my fishing career lol. Nice fish yall! I need to cross a pike off my list.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


Never been able to reliably pattern them in rivers and streams beyond the obvious- spillways. Not asking for GPS coordinates or even name of river, but what sort of habitat do saugeye occupy in rivers this time of year?


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## Saugeyefisher

RiparianRanger said:


> Never been able to reliably pattern them in rivers and streams beyond the obvious- spillways. Not asking for GPS coordinates or even name of river, but what sort of habitat do saugeye occupy in rivers this time of year?


ANY habitat holding shad or other baitfish! There feeding up for the upcoming spawn. If theres np food in an area they will leave it fast


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## Jeremy Barker

I like to fish right below a fast riffle or a dam. A deeper hole close to fast water. If they're feeding heavy they often move into the head of the hole just bellow the riffle in the current. I start there and move down till it gets shallow again. Hit the slack water and anything that breaks the current. Read the water. If the main current is moving in a straight direction and then does something weird like boils up or changes direction there is something there. A big rock or tree something that breaks the current. Alot of time they'll stack up right behind the current break. All they have to do is shoot out if something washes past snatch it and back out of the current they go. If there is bait in the water they're there somewhere. You find a good hole and you'll find several in the same small area. 

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## acklac7

Saugeyefisher said:


> ANY habitat holding shad or other baitfish! There feeding up for the upcoming spawn. If theres np food in an area they will leave it fast


Good info Bobby, however I might add that starting soon (like next week) the number one thing Saugeye will be keyed-in on is finding suitable spawning habitat. Baitfish (or food in general) will take a back seat. They'll still feed, don't get me wrong, it just won't be their main priority.


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## acklac7

RiparianRanger said:


> Never been able to reliably pattern them in rivers and streams beyond the obvious- spillways. Not asking for GPS coordinates or even name of river, but what sort of habitat do saugeye occupy in rivers this time of year?


Try the first Riffle ahead of a long, deep pool. For instance, the First Riffle upstream of a Lowhead Dam, they'll use it to spawn here shortly.


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## Saugeyefisher

acklac7 said:


> Good info Bobby, however I might add that starting soon (like next week) the number one thing Saugeye will be keyed-in on is finding suitable spawning habitat. Baitfish (or food in general) will take a back seat. They'll still feed, don't get me wrong, it just won't be their main priority.


I hope sooo! I'm ready to start catching some bigger fish.... so far just small jacks,andone 16" female... it's so close,sooo close!!! 
Good luck this weekend aj!


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## Saugeyefisher

acklac7 said:


> Try the first Riffle ahead of a long, deep pool. For instance, the First Riffle upstream of a Lowhead Dam, they'll use it to spawn here shortly.


I found a couple spots south on the big walnut last summer that held good saugeyes. Will these fish just swim up to the closest riffle to spawn?


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## RiparianRanger

Just to confirm, you guys are saying saugeye are active and catchable in/near moving water now or in the next week or so? 

If so, what would you throw in rivers/streams?


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## acklac7

Saugeyefisher said:


> I found a couple spots south on the big walnut last summer that held good saugeyes. Will these fish just swim up to the closest riffle to spawn?





RiparianRanger said:


> Just to confirm, you guys are saying saugeye are active and catchable in/near moving water now or in the next week or so?
> 
> If so, what would you throw in rivers/streams?


Not necessarily right there at the Riffle, but in the vicinity. Truth be told I've never targeted them outside of Dam's before during the Spawn, but I've heard they frequent Riffle/Gravel bar areas with current to get their thing on. Personally, I'd just stick with Dam's, those are your safest bet.

Saugeye are active and catch-able almost year-round in current, as long as there is bait nearby. Icy cold water and current doesn't phase them a bit, although they might not be right up in the fast stuff (usually about April is when they transition to the fast current areas).

I throw stick baits or Jigs, I personally like X-raps or Husky Jerks. Now's the time you want to speed up your presentation a little instead of deadsticking, as the fish will be significantly more active. In March I like to slow-roll, then give a short pause here and there.


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## Saugeyefisher

"""Not necessarily right there at the Riffle, but in the vicinity. Truth be told I've never targeted them outside of Dam's before during the Spawn, but I've heard they frequent Riffle/Gravel bar areas with current to get their thing on. Personally, I'd just stick with Dam's, those are your safest bet."""

Ya more curios as to what you thought about a situation like that. I already know what areas I'll be fishing the next month.

"""Just to confirm, you guys are saying saugeye are active and catchable in/near moving water now or in the next week or so? 

If so, what would you throw in rivers/streams?"""

Aj knows the spring river bite way better then me. I have 2 or 3 creek/river spots I fish from now-post spawn In between my lake trips. 2 of them being well downstream of any dams. One of them is more "upstream" from a lake...
And imo aj is right on about saugeye not being scared of current. And once a bunch of fish are in a area getting ready to spawn,you can normally get them to bite no matter the conditions. I mean unless it's just totally blown out unfishable. But they'll bite in dirty or clean water. The creek/river spots for me produce more numbers during of smaller fish during the day on jigs and twister tails,and jigs/swimbaits. Some times on blade baits hopped back to me or slow rolled along bottom.
At night I catch less fish but there usually bigger and on stickbaits.on the creeks/rivers I fish before and during the spawn. I will still start out with my normal twitch, twitch, 2-5 second pause and speed up from there to a steady retreive if needed. Or more aggressive twitches when I see them spawning.


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## Jeremy Barker

Finally got to sneak out for about an hour and a half after work. Not as long as I planed but my 1st trip of the year. Only hooked one on a jerk bait and lost her at the bank. A solid fish but no touch no catch. Water still really dirty but they're there. Hope to get more time this weekend. Did get to see a bald eagle come down and take a shad less than 30 yards from me. Pretty cool to see. 1st time I've seen that on the Scioto. Wish I had my camera

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## BigDub007

Went out last night to a Central Ohio spillway. I will give you a hint it's the one they are doing construction on and it's not the Scioto. First fish came on a number 13 Rapala ripstop Houdini colored. I was crawling the bait super slow with subtle twitches and 10-15 second pauses. The bigger fish came on a Rapala Rippin rap #r5 chartreuse. I seen some commotion in the water and figured it was probably musky chasing Bait fish. I was wrong it came to be a 24.5 inch saugeye. I was yo-yoing the bait with slight lift and long pause, a lot slower than I fish them usually. I wish the hooks on the number 5 ripping rap were a little bit bigger, it seems like when you set the hook you pull it right out of their mouth. A good friend of mine taught me to loosen my drag while using those and the X rap number 8 to increase hookups. I have also been experimenting with different types of jigs one of my new favorite is the 8th and 16th size panfish chatterbaits. I take offthe soft plastic and throw it in the trash. I have been using live minnows & berkley 3 & 4 in powerminnows/gulp differnt colors. The key is two nose hook the bait it will provide much better action. It does not take much Rod movement to get the deep vibration this bait produces. I have been slowly lifting my rod tip and letting the date pause for up to 5 Seconds and repeat. If action is slow my presentation slows down. I am also going to try to nose hook a big Joshy or small keitech swimbait. I was at Buckeye over the weekend and put on a seminar. I literally hit a fish on every cast last half hour before dark. I am also excited to use the 16th ounce Chatterbait with a chunk of Nightcrawler early summer I bet it will be Dynamite


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## RiparianRanger

BigDub007 said:


> Went out last night to a Central Ohio spillway. I will give you a hint it's the one they are doing construction on and it's not the Scioto. First fish came on a number 13 Rapala ripstop Houdini colored. I was crawling the bait super slow with subtle twitches and 10-15 second pauses. The bigger fish came on a Rapala Rippin rap #r5 chartreuse. I seen some commotion in the water and figured it was probably musky chasing Bait fish. I was wrong it came to be a 24.5 inch saugeye. I was yo-yoing the bait with slight lift and long pause, a lot slower than I fish them usually. I wish the hooks on the number 5 ripping rap were a little bit bigger, it seems like when you set the hook you pull it right out of their mouth. A good friend of mine taught me to loosen my drag while using those and the X rap number 8 to increase hookups. I have also been experimenting with different types of jigs one of my new favorite is the 8th and 16th size panfish chatterbaits. I take offthe soft plastic and throw it in the trash. I have been using live minnows & berkley 3 & 4 in powerminnows/gulp differnt colors. The key is two nose hook the bait it will provide much better action. It does not take much Rod movement to get the deep vibration this bait produces. I have been slowly lifting my rod tip and letting the date pause for up to 5 Seconds and repeat. If action is slow my presentation slows down. I am also going to try to nose hook a big Joshy or small keitech swimbait. I was at Buckeye over the weekend and put on a seminar. I literally hit a fish on every cast last half hour before dark. I am also excited to use the 16th ounce Chatterbait with a chunk of Nightcrawler early summer I bet it will be Dynamite


So you are fishing the chatter bait like a jig as opposed to a slow roll like a spinner bait?


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## Dillon.R.Nott

Sorry to bring this complicated topic up but...

When you guys say, saugeyes moving into spawn, they can’t actually spawn, right? Since they are a hybridized species ( such as Wipers ) they can’t have successful spawns? Like saugeye and wipers CAN NOT reproduce, but they still go through the motions?


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## Brahmabull71

Dillon.R.Nott said:


> Sorry to bring this complicated topic up but...
> 
> When you guys say, saugeyes moving into spawn, they can’t actually spawn, right? Since they are a hybridized species ( such as Wipers ) they can’t have successful spawns? Like saugeye and wipers CAN NOT reproduce, but they still go through the motions?


Yes they can and do spawn. It’s a common misconception. They just CAN’T reproduce enough to the keep species going. Said another way, they are NOT sterile.

Jim Cory has a great article on the topic.

http://www.walleyesinc.com/walleyeinc2/corey20021.html


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## RiparianRanger

Brahmabull71 said:


> Yes they can and do spawn. It’s a common misconception. They just can reproduce enough to the keep species going. Said another way, they are NOT sterile.
> 
> Jim Cory has a great article on the topic.
> 
> http://www.walleyesinc.com/walleyeinc2/corey20021.html


Yep. Has been cited as one reason why saugeye are not stocked in the Erie watershed. State does not want to muck up the natural walleye population


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## Saugeyefisher

RiparianRanger said:


> So you are fishing the chatter bait like a jig as opposed to a slow roll like a spinner bait?


Ya he is. Lift,drop,lift,drop. Hit the bottom on every drop! Change speed and pause times till fish tell you what they want..
Bigdubb is as good or better with a jig then anyone I fish with. Especially in current. He has hammered some fish on this! 
Dub,I'm glad you gave it a honest shot! I remember you always wanting to try it...
Nice fish!!!


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## RiparianRanger

Saugeyefisher said:


> Ya he is. Lift,drop,lift,drop. Hit the bottom on every drop! Change speed and pause times till fish tell you what they want..
> Bigdubb is as good or better with a jig then anyone I fish with. Especially in current. He has hammered some fish on this!
> Dub,I'm glad you gave it a honest shot! I remember you always wanting to try it...
> Nice fish!!!


Then I've been fishing that lure the wrong way. You guys might've saved them from being pitched in the trash.


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## NCbassattack

Yes, Spring is coming.. It snowed here today..Didn't stick thank God..


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## Fisherman 3234

Awesome fish fellas!!! It gets the blood pumping!!!


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## Fisherman 3234

Saugeyefisher said:


> Super nice white bass aj! Things a tank!
> 
> I hit a new to me spot last Thursday looking for pike/bass/crappie an ended up finding my pb pike for central ohio and a couple crappie. Pike on a 4"venom twister an 1/8 oz head. Crappie on a brushpile jig. Both pike and crappies from the same lay down in a slackwate pool about 7 ft deep...
> Then went an hit a shallow lake east for some eyes at dark an hit3 on a jr rouge.
> Lol I've shared the pike pic in another thread but I gotta throw it up here to!!
> View attachment 295971
> View attachment 295973
> 
> Then saterday I decided to take my kayak out and dip some crappies before the real cold set in... I wait till 1 to get out an fished till 530 with a brushpile tail in chartreuse with a clear straight tail on a 1/32oz jig 18" under a bobber.
> Bite was slow at first but finally found a string of hot docks an finish with about 15 crappies an 20-25 gills an 3 smaller bass. I even had one bass blow up on my bobber. Took home 4 crappies and 7 gills. Hoping to get back on productive water bye Sunday.
> View attachment 295971
> View attachment 295973
> View attachment 295975
> View attachment 295977


What was the length on the Pike? Looks like a real nice one!


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## Fisherman 3234

RiparianRanger said:


> Yep. Has been cited as one reason why saugeye are not stocked in the Erie watershed. State does not want to muck up the natural walleye population


Funny thing, every year there are Saugeye caught from Maumee River. The ODOW is real tight lipped about it...


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## BigDub007

RiparianRanger said:


> So you are fishing the chatter bait like a jig as opposed to a slow roll like a spinner bait?


The panfish ChatterBait essentially is a jig it is not a skirted bait it just comes with a gulp sized minnow plastic, I prefer to use live bait and essentially I fish it more or less like a vibee. Pretty much like a dead sticked yo-yo approach with the live bait I feel like the bait can sit on the bottom for four or five seconds before doing another lift. The lift is a real slow subtle and it is important not to let the bait free fall as the water temperature warms up I will continue to increase the speed and actually fish it like a swimbait or jig just trying to keep contact with the bottom every once in awhile


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## BigDub007

So I decided to hold off today and not go fishing I am a mess right now trying to figure out which Spillway to hit when they start releasing water anyone I choose I am going to cast my stickbait at about 11 and reel it down to depth and let the current do all the work for me every 10 or 15 seconds I will give the bait a nice twitch. Throughout the years I have learned to adapt to conditions and techniques and put my own spin on them. There are some days when I go out Saugeye fishing and I will literally never make a cast because I put a limit on the bank vertical jigging off a dock or a bridge. If anybody makes it out tomorrow remember to cast your jigs Upstream till about 2 and just pick up your line as you feel the bait bounce off of the rocks be prepared to lose some jigs so for this technique I usually use lead heads and dime store twisters notexpensive ssimbait/jig combos. Make sure to let your jig float all the way parallel to the bank sometimes they are right there in that transition. If you feel the bait stop make sure to set the hook.







Also if you are good at popping out snags a red eye Shad with a yo-yo technique if water is under 700 CFS. I am ready for another limit like this tightlines yall...


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## Baloogala

I've been out a handful of times and all I have is this roughly 12" rainbow. This particular day, I was testing a handful of things, but was on a south-facing bank with a sharp break. Something kept attacking the Slim's Bait Joshy I was throwing, but short-striking. Changed to a Death Stalker tail spin and 2nd cast got this guy. I've had exactly one hit in the creek, but it was so sluggish, I missed.


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## allbraid

First LM of 2019. Caught 2 today and lost 1. Pumpkin green tube moved painfully slow. Also found my first tick of the new year.


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## RiparianRanger

allbraid said:


> View attachment 296913
> First LM of 2019. Caught 2 today and lost 1. Pumpkin green tube moved painfully slow. Also found my first tick of the new year.


The legend lives! Was wondering if you said F it and moved the Florida. Going to fire up the boat soon. Will ping you if you’re interested and we can finally get out on Hoover.


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## allbraid

Got out yesterday (Friday) overcast and windy. Caught 7 largemouth. 6 came on tubes (green pumpkin) worked slowly around structure. Last and biggest (19inches) came on a slow rolled black spinnerbait with Colorado blade in about 4 foot of water. Water was very stained.


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## acklac7

Got out this evening for a couple hours, a little cool out but the sunset was gorgeous. TONS of activity on the water, Spring is definitely here!

Only got one hit, but made it count. Had this 24” Female straight crush a swimbait, then start absolutely heaving her shoulders left and right. Man did she toss and turn trying to spit that hook! Braced myself to loose her a good half-dozen times, but somehow was able to land her. Great Fight!


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## Clevelandtocolumbus

allbraid said:


> Got out yesterday (Friday) overcast and windy. Caught 7 largemouth. 6 came on tubes (green pumpkin) worked slowly around structure. Last and biggest (19inches) came on a slow rolled black spinnerbait with Colorado blade in about 4 foot of water. Water was very stained.


Where on earth are you fishing?


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## 93stratosfishnski

Clevelandtocolumbus said:


> Where on earth are you fishing?


he fishes in the water


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## allbraid

Clevelandtocolumbus said:


> Where on earth are you fishing?


I'm fishing in Central Ohio. I give weather conditions, lure type and color, type of retrieve and water clarity. All the things that make a actual fishing report. I never give location. Good luck and tight lines


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## Saugeyefisher

Hit up an area on my favorite lake last nite real quick,couldn't buy a bite on swims but as soon as it started getting dark the bites started coming on a steady reeled with quick pauses hj12,a custom purple/chartreuse with glitter. Had 3 males,1 milking. And 2 good females.females came after dark on more of a dead stick retreive. Only had a little over an hour to fish,released them all....
Rocky shoreline,with relatively deep water really close bye....


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## Saugeyefisher

Clevelandtocolumbus said:


> Where on earth are you fishing?


He fishes everywhere,one of the most knowledgeable fishermen I've ever met!
Is it bass your looking for,or ticks your trying to stay away from? 
If its bass get on Google maps,pick out a few(with permission if needed,but theres plenty of good public ones out there),fish the wind blown banks,look for darker bottomed areas,rocks,trees,dead vegitation,run off areas. Anything holding onto,or producing warmer water then anywhere else in the pond. Fish it with jerkbait,spinnerbaits,lipless cranks,jig/pig,rubber worm,swimbait,rattletrap,vibe,rooster tail.
If theres any bass swimming around this is the type of weather that will make them want to eat. A few days into nice steady warm ups with sun shine. 
Actually most all species in ohio bite well a few days into a early spring warm up,except maybe the colder water species like the stocked trout... 
Get out there,enjoy this weather,have fun,catch some fish. Good luck man!!


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## allbraid

Saugeyefisher said:


> He fishes everywhere,one of the most knowledgeable fishermen I've ever m





Saugeyefisher said:


> He fishes everywhere,one of the most knowledgeable fishermen I've ever met!
> Is it bass your looking for,or ticks your trying to stay away from?
> If its bass get on Google maps,pick out a few(with permission if needed,but theres plenty of good public ones out there),fish the wind blown banks,look for darker bottomed areas,rocks,trees,dead vegitation,run off areas. Anything holding onto,or producing warmer water then anywhere else in the pond. Fish it with jerkbait,spinnerbaits,lipless cranks,jig/pig,rubber worm,swimbait,rattletrap,vibe,rooster tail.
> If theres any bass swimming around this is the type of weather that will make them want to eat. A few days into nice steady warm ups with sun shine.
> Actually most all species in ohio bite well a few days into a early spring warm up,except maybe the colder water species like the stocked trout...
> Get out there,enjoy this weather,have fun,catch some fish. Good luck man!!


Thanks Bobby. Great advice for anyone, I'm going to try some of these!


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## n-strut

Ran into this old creek warrior today, blind in one eye and pushing 21 inches. She ate a 3.25” Joshy on a 1/8 head slow rolled threw a nice deep pool. 


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## allbraid

n-strut said:


> Ran into this old creek warrior today, blind in one eye and pushing 21 inches. She ate a 3.25” Joshy on a 1/8 head slow rolled threw a nice deep pool.
> 
> Great smallmouth! Thanks for sharing
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## acklac7

n-strut said:


> Ran into this old creek warrior today, blind in one eye and pushing 21 inches. She ate a 3.25” Joshy on a 1/8 head slow rolled threw a nice deep pool.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Man you're killing it! Great fish


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## allbraid

Great smallmouth! Thanks for sharing!


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## edlovereze

Nice smallie N-Strut! Makes me jealous! I went to a local flow today that was new to me and didn't have any luck. Hoping we finally get the warmer weather and I can finally get on some fish.


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## n-strut

edlovereze said:


> Nice smallie N-Strut! Makes me jealous! I went to a local flow today that was new to me and didn't have any luck. Hoping we finally get the warmer weather and I can finally get on some fish.


It’s coming,it’s about to get real good. 


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## Dillon.R.Nott

Water read 50 degrees in my farm pond. I’d imagine the shallower lakes are not too far behind that.


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## allbraid

N-Strut motivated me to put on my waders and get in the river today. Fished a central Ohio river today for about 3 hours. Caught 11 smallmouth, all on a dark purple tube with gold glitter. Biggest was 18.5 inches. 4 others between 18 and 15 inches. Pictures of the 5 best. All fish came from deeper holes near logs and deadfalls. Water had a nice blue green color




























View attachment 297997


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## n-strut

allbraid, nice job, those are some quality fish. I can’t tell you how many times you’ve motivated me over the years to put the waders on and get out in the middle of winter just to get one or two of those brown fish. Thanks for fueling my obsession with catching them year round. Tight lines my friend. 


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## edlovereze

I feel like I always ask this and just struggle with putting it into motion but I'll ask anyways Not asking for spots, but for help determining where small mouth may be Like I said I tried a new area on a flow and just couldn't find fish I fished in riffles, above the riffles, below them, but just didn't find them I always see tips like fish the deep pools, or fish eddies (my names Eddie, do I fish myself) and I just struggle to actually figure this out in the water. Maybe I was fishing some of the right spots but they are too cold to work right now. Thanks for any help with this! I need to catch a darn fish haha


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## allbraid

edlovereze said:


> I feel like I always ask this and just struggle with putting it into motion but I'll ask anyways Not asking for spots, but for help determining where small mouth may be Like I said I tried a new area on a flow and just couldn't find fish I fished in riffles, above the riffles, below them, but just didn't find them I always see tips like fish the deep pools, or fish eddies (my names Eddie, do I fish myself) and I just struggle to actually figure this out in the water. Maybe I was fishing some of the right spots but they are too cold to work right now. Thanks for any help with this! I need to catch a darn fish haha


Rule out the too cold, today's smallmouth fought like they were possessed!! I reread your post and yes a lot of areas are to cold to hold fish right now (shallow riffles and fast current areas) Everything I caught today was in no less than 5 feet of water in the middle of the hole(Midway between riffles) and next to wood. Also I fished 6 good holes and found willing fish in only 2. This was about a 2 mile section of river. Stay after it, switch up colors, cover lots of water.....you will find them! Good luck


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## edlovereze

allbraid said:


> Rule out the too cold, today's smallmouth fought like they were possessed!! I reread your post and yes a lot of areas are to cold to hold fish right now (shallow riffles and fast current areas) Everything I caught today was in no less than 5 feet of water in the middle of the hole(Midway between riffles) and next to wood. Also I fished 6 good holes and found willing fish in only 2. This was about a 2 mile section of river. Stay after it, switch up colors, cover lots of water.....you will find them! Good luck


Ok sounds good. I will just keep at it! I just get so stuck in my ways of fishing the same spots since i know where the fish are. But I really want to find new spots and just usually struggle. Thanks for the response. Gives me some hope!


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## Dillon.R.Nott

edlovereze said:


> Ok sounds good. I will just keep at it! I just get so stuck in my ways of fishing the same spots since i know where the fish are. But I really want to find new spots and just usually struggle. Thanks for the response. Gives me some hope!


That’s the beauty to fishing in the rivers, there are so many spots and holes that you can fish. For me I like starting under bridges. In the summer those work well because of the shade and usually deeper water.Some bridges have deeper water under them so they ted to hold fish. But some of the bridges are super shallow under, all depends. Other guys are right too, look for a bunch of driftwood piled up on each other from flooding. Always deep holes under those. Those spots always hold fish. Just pitch a creature bait, swim bait, or live craw, minnow or worm with a spilt shot and give it a twitch here and there, let the current do the rest. Another lure that works really good for smallies are Hairjigs. Not sure if anyone watches Youtube but if you look up Tim Galati on there he does a lot of river fishing with hairjigs and catches some nice fish. I guarantee hairjigs will soon come back and everyone will start using them again.


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## Athens_Smallmouth

Had the day off work so I hit a flow with my brother today. Ended up with one Muskie, a saugeye and a bunch of sheepshead between us. All fish caught on Joshies and jerkbaits. Wasn’t expecting much at first today with the cool temps and chance of rain, but surprisingly there were some nice breaks in the weather and the fish would start to turn on. We missed more fish than we caught, loosing some heavy fish which was kind of a bummer but it was still a great day on the water.


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## acklac7

Hammered a shallow Lake out East tonight, all for 3 shorts  Was hoping it was going to be a repeat of Thursday night, when the girls came out to play, but no such luck. Still was an absolutely gorgeous night to be out on the lake with the clear skies and nearly full moon.

Hit two nice Females (22", 23") on Thursday in about an hour or so, a couple buddies also landed a pair of 23"s. Hit both of mine on perfectly tuned HJ-14's deadsticked with a 4 or so second pause.










View attachment 298227


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## Skippy

AJ, What was your water color like. The lake I've beemn messing with looks like coffee, heavy cream. 3 small ones last night and 1 big channel cat that had my smaller shad rap so far down I had to keep her.


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## acklac7

Skippy said:


> AJ, What was your water color like. The lake I've beemn messing with looks like coffee, heavy cream. 3 small ones last night and 1 big channel cat that had my smaller shad rap so far down I had to keep her.


Depends on where you were Fishing, a few spots had 2"+ visibility. Most of the open-lake areas had somewhat of a stain, but not bad. 10x better then my home flow right now (despite it being at a completely fishable level 
). Going to spending some $$$ on Gas this spring, that's for sure.


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## Saugeyefisher

Was on the same lake as aj last nite. From 7-9 me an a friend caught 5. A 24" a 22" an a few smaller males. Big fish came before the moon came out on 2.75 swims. Smaller fish cane a tad later on steady reeled smithwicks. 
I've been out 4 of the last 5 nites for an hour or more each nite. Averaging one female a night. And a couple to a few males. 
I'm holding out for "the one". My buddy had her hooked last nite. But not hooked good enuff,rolled at the bank an pulled free. 
I'm gonna hit it one more time this week,an prolly switch gear to crappies here soon......


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## Workingman

I'm not much of a bass fisherman, but lucked into this one at a local reservoir hooping a zman speed craw along the bottom


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## Baloogala

Had to go to WV for a memorial service, decided to hit a lake that's in the SE quadrant for Ohio on the way home. Fished for 3 hours and caught 4. I observed a couple things: first, there were some moving up into shallow flats. I've found a premium spawn area in this particular lake, the first one I caught was in this flat somewhat near deep water. Second, they are starting to tag stuff on top. Finally, they inhaled everything.








This one was on a Glow Perch Joshy pulled fairly slowly close to the bottom, but in less than 2 feet of water. 15 to 16".








This one was on a clearwater shad Joshy fished on the windward side of a point in water that was probably 4 to 5 feet deep. I'd guess this one was 10 inches or so, the 3rd was in the same area, same lure, same retrieve (slow, but not dragging bottom).
Then there was this one:








Head to the dam bank and this one inhaled a lipless crank (it's a Rapala in a shad color that says "Yachtwatch" on the side). 23" and over 5 pounds. I was trying to get a good picture and not fall in the lake. I got this one in probably 10 feet of water or more (I know it's deeper at this spot, just not sure how far down the lure was). I didn't burn the lure, but they wanted it moving.

None of the strikes were very hard; in fact, even on the big one, I thought I had snagged weeds at first until my line started moving to the left. Yet, they were swallowing the lures. This has motivated me to get to the creek tomorrow (and perhaps a local pond); I have found a spawning area that's near deep water in BWC, I suspect the smallmouth may be stacking up there.


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## Baloogala

I will add that I was casting against the wind, 45 degrees from the bank, retrieving largely with the "topwater current."


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## Baloogala

Here was a surprise today. I was targeting an eddy near a spawn ground. My lure--a lucky craft squarebill--came to a dead stop and then took off. Got this guy. I am not sure what it is, I just know it's some sort of sucker--no barbels, so I don't think it is a carp.


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## Saugeyefisher

Bite was tuff for us yesterday. Had a thought to hit the day bite hoping that brite sun would get some big fish eating. Lol I was wrong,worst trip of the week with only one eyeball,a catfish,and a bass all on swims. It was a fun run last week but back to being a weekend warrior again for now..... go gettem guys if this weather stays semi stable like this even the big deeper lakes will start taking off.


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## allbraid

Went out for a couple of hours this evening as this front pushed in. Throwing a pink 3.25 joshy on 1/8oz jig head, steady retrieve. Hooked 8 hybrids, landed 6. Pic of the biggest....im always amazed at the power of these fish!


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## Brahmabull71

Saugeyefisher said:


> Was on the same lake as aj last nite. From 7-9 me an a friend caught 5. A 24" a 22" an a few smaller males. Big fish came before the moon came out on 2.75 swims. Smaller fish cane a tad later on steady reeled smithwicks.
> I've been out 4 of the last 5 nites for an hour or more each nite. Averaging one female a night. And a couple to a few males.
> I'm holding out for "the one". My buddy had her hooked last nite. But not hooked good enuff,rolled at the bank an pulled free.
> I'm gonna hit it one more time this week,an prolly switch gear to crappies here soon......


Nice job Bobby!


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## Brahmabull71

acklac7 said:


> Hammered a shallow Lake out East tonight, all for 3 shorts  Was hoping it was going to be a repeat of Thursday night, when the girls came out to play, but no such luck. Still was an absolutely gorgeous night to be out on the lake with the clear skies and nearly full moon.
> 
> Hit two nice Females (22", 23") on Thursday in about an hour or so, a couple buddies also landed a pair of 23"s. Hit both of mine on perfectly tuned HJ-14's deadsticked with a 4 or so second pause.
> 
> 
> View attachment 298223
> 
> View attachment 298227


Nice work AJ! Thanks for the great report.


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## edlovereze

allbraid said:


> Went out for a couple of hours this evening as this front pushed in. Throwing a pink 3.25 joshy on 1/8oz jig head, steady retrieve. Hooked 8 hybrids, landed 6. Pic of the biggest....im always amazed at the power of these fish!
> View attachment 298513


Wow that sounds like an awesome day! Thanks for the report. others looked to have some success this weekend too. Good job all. The Wiper is one fish i have not caught yet and would love to catch. Gonna have to get out and try for them. Obviously now was a good time for you, but do they have a best time of year to catch them or are they like any bass and you can get them anytime? Thanks again!


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## acklac7

edlovereze said:


> Wow that sounds like an awesome day! Thanks for the report. others looked to have some success this weekend too. Good job all. The Wiper is one fish i have not caught yet and would love to catch. Gonna have to get out and try for them. Obviously now was a good time for you, but do they have a best time of year to catch them or are they like any bass and you can get them anytime? Thanks again!


Mid-May is about the best time to catch one, so long as we're not in the midst of a brutal cold front.


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## Govbarney

allbraid said:


> Went out for a couple of hours this evening as this front pushed in. Throwing a pink 3.25 joshy on 1/8oz jig head, steady retrieve. Hooked 8 hybrids, landed 6. Pic of the biggest....im always amazed at the power of these fish!
> View attachment 298513


Dude '8' Hybrids?! Your arms must be sore this morning. If I ever had a day where I got into 8 of those beasts you would never get the smile off my face.


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## allbraid

Fished a shallow central Ohio lake last night 8-11. Throwing 3.25 joshys, pink grapefruit, slush and pink slush on a 3/0 1/8oz jig. Steady retrieve. Landed 27 Saugeye! LOL! Nothing over 16 inches, but it sure was fun. 
Also witnessed what I believe we're eyes spawning along the shore.


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## acklac7

Finally was able to hit my home flow last night, it had cleared up just enough to make it worthwhile. Got one eater and this 23” female. Water was still heavily stained, but fishable. About 5” of visibility. Both fish came on parrot xr-6’s with a slow roll/stop and go retrieve.


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## NKRIM47

Hit a creek west of Columbus just before dusk. Only managed one smallie, but a good one 18+ inches. Caught on a 1/8 oz roadrunner with dark green twister. Slow rolled near the bottom in a deep pool near moving water. Great fight on ultra light setup. First solid creek fish for me this year. Felt good to get the stink off!


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## Wildturkey

First time out this year and had the opportunity to fish a small farm pond thirty minutes southwest of Columbus. Figured I would just enjoy sitting on the bank and enjoying the fresh air. WOW. I had one of the best days fishing for quite a while. My personal best large mouth, six pounds, one 4.5 pounds, and three more around three pounds, 12 large bluegill, and with the last cast of the day I caught a 7 and a half pound catfish! All in about three hours. All bluegills were caught with nightcrawlers and catfish and bass on bass minnows. What a great day.


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## allbraid

Got out early this morning for that predawn bite at a shallow central Ohio lake. I caught this one on a pink slush 3.25 joshy and 1 other that was smaller. My buddy caught another big girl the same exact size and 2 others that were smaller. A good morning!


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## Saugeyefisher

allbraid said:


> Got out early this morning for that predawn bite at a shallow central Ohio lake. I caught this one on a pink slush 3.25 joshy and 1 other that was smaller. My buddy caught another big girl the same exact size and 2 others that were smaller. A good morning!
> View attachment 299271


Good job Mike! A few of us was there a few hours earlier. Only one of us had a hot hand tho. Lol he put on a clinic!he ended with one good female an 6 males. Nice seeing the females holding onto eggs. This cool down should keep them fairly active thru next week!


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## allbraid

Saugeyefisher said:


> Good job Mike! A few of us was there a few hours earlier. Only one of us had a hot hand tho. Lol he put on a clinic!he ended with one good female an 6 males. Nice seeing the females holding onto eggs. This cool down should keep them fairly active thru next week!


Thanks Bobby! It's been a good couple of days. She was my best fish of the season.


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## NKRIM47

Hit the same stretch as my post from Friday. Water was up about a foot, stained with less than 6" visibility and moving swiftly but still fishable. Only spent about an hour and picked up one 16" Smallie. Caught in a deep pool with current on a storm twitch stick, hot blue shad (jerkbait). Smashed it right at my feet as I was about to pull bait out of the water!


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## Baloogala

Went out for 3 hours today, hit 3 different places on BWC with no luck. One spot typically has males in the area...two years ago, it was definitely a place for beds. The only thing I can report was that in one of the areas, there were minnows darting from the bottom to the top and back down again (and some lures would make them go skipping). They were roughly the bass candy color, for those who want to match.


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## Baloogala

Went back out for a bit to a local pond. Caught a small largemouth on my third or fourth cast, had a couple others take the swimbait (green gizzard Joshy), but didn't keep. Had one get off at shore when I was dragging a Texas-rigged straight tail...I literally forgot to set the hook.


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## Baloogala

Oh--and at this pond, they were snapping at things on the surface.


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## homepiece

Went and hit three different ponds at AEP yesterdayby kayak. Fished first two ponds without much luck, just a couple of bites. Third pond, i caught 11 largemouth, within five feet of the shore. Biggest one was 19.5" and weighed a little over 3lbs.


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## Baloogala

Went back to the same pond today. Caught 2 largemouth on a green glow Joshy ticking the bottom and another on a ned rig hopped along a breakline. Nothing huge, but they're somewhat aggressive.


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## PapaMike

Visited my local pond around noon. Two 1 lb LMB on a Warpig crankbait, (Gilly) yoyo retrieve. Tried several other bait options to no avail. Maybe tomorrow.


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## Dillon.R.Nott

Visited a farm pond today. Bass and Wipers busting everywhere. 
Something interesting, I noticed lots of Bluegill fry along the banks. No bigger than 3/4 of a inch. No way they have spawned yet, maybe they’re from last year’s spawn, maybe late spawns? These dry were tiny. Most around as long as your fingernail. 
Also, Yellow Perch eggs everywhere. Gonna try and raise some myself.


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## edlovereze

Hit a local flow yesterday. Was a bit higher than I expected for wading and murky. Still was able to land a couple decent small mouth which were my first of the year so it was worth it! 

Also, question for you all. My local pond has been chocolate milk ever since ice out. What needs to happen for it to clear up? Even when it doesn't rain for a week it's staying super muddy and cloudy. Just curious! Good luck all!


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## allbraid

edlovereze said:


> Hit a local flow yesterday. Was a bit higher than I expected for wading and murky. Still was able to land a couple decent small mouth which were my first of the year so it was worth it!
> 
> Also, question for you all. My local pond has been chocolate milk ever since ice out. What needs to happen for it to clear up? Even when it doesn't rain for a week it's staying super muddy and cloudy. Just curious! Good luck all!


Well done!


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## PapaMike

Yesterday at noon. Pond was muddy water and windy but still able to pull in two 2 lb LMB with a black/blue/silver finesse jig and a black/pink Yum worm. Both bites came from a small section of the pond that was in direct sunlight, filtered by the muddy water.


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## PapaMike

Getting bigger! 6 PM yesterday. Warpig crankbait.


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## NKRIM47

Earlier this week while bass fishing in a neighborhood pond I caught a crappie on a white rooster tail. Didn't know this pond had crappie, so today I went back to target them and see if there was a decent population. Middle of the afternoon, mostly cloudy with strong south breeze. Fished the wind blown side of the pond using Big Bite Baits 1.5 inch panfish minnow pearl/chartruese on a small jig tipped with chartruese Powerbait Crappie Nibble 18 inches under a tiny cork. Landed 15 crappie and 3 bass. 4 crappie over 12 inches. Only action was on the windblown side of the pond and they only wanted the bait when it was tipped with the crappie nibble. Bite died when the sun came out and the wind picked up. Fun while it lasted. Excited to have a new crappie hole close to home!


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## CrappieTacos

Fished a creek yesterday. 5 smallies, largest 18”, two gigantic rock bass and a small, aggressive male white bass. Would have caught more white bass if I tried, they were busting up. 

Water temps? I don’t wear waders because I’m a man. Waded for over 3 hours. Regained feeling in my toes before I got back to the truck. It’s time for you ladies to jump in the creeks


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## Jonathan_R

went to Deer creek spillway last night from 7 to almost 10 pm. cold and windy but water was real warm and pretty clear. barely any bites but managed to get 2 good size saugeyes around 9, one got off as well.. as soon as it got dark, a lot of action started happening on top water but out of casting distances. at first sounded like something smacking bait fish at the surface but then fish started jumping out the water so my guess it was probably carp. tried everything from Orange jigs to white flukes to rooster tails but jig with light purple/white grub seemed to do the trick. Tight Lines!!!


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## Vin

Fished a central Ohio river on Saturday for about 6 hours and ended up with 2 smallmouth, 2 spotted bass, and 2 musky, lost a 3rd musky. All fish caught on a suspending jerkbait. The past couple weeks of warm weather have helped out with water temps.


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## acklac7

Vin said:


> Fished a central Ohio river on Saturday for about 6 hours and ended up with 2 smallmouth, 2 spotted bass, and 2 musky, lost a 3rd musky. All fish caught on a suspending jerkbait. The past couple weeks of warm weather have helped out with water temps.


Awesome job! Any size to the Musky? Pics?


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## Vin

acklac7 said:


> Awesome job! Any size to the Musky? Pics?


Not too huge but not tiny either. Both musky were low 30s, the musky I lost was bigger, very comfortably over 40.


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## acklac7

Good fish!


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