# Hit NC Dam Yesterday



## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

We went down to the NC Dam yesterday,,,,, after picking up fatheads at REDS.
The Pike pool was very low,,, below the 6th tie-off. (I like it above the 4th! all gaits open!)
The River above the dam was totally iced up, So they were dumping ice over the short lock gait,,,, nothing was going through the other gaits,,,, no flow at all, out on the River. 
The ice chunks that were out in the middle of the River stayed in one place for hours,,,,,,, 
I never seen that before!
We only had a small area along the shore to cast,,,, farther down, about the 600' bank marker.
I caught a 17" Pike on the 3rd cast,,, slip egg with orange floater hook & fathead. 
I Had 2 other hits & misses in the first hour.
Then Premo showed up & started throwing orange jigs with orange twister & tipped it with a fathead. 
HE caught 2 NICE walleyes (standing in 'my' spot!),,,, a 2#er on a slow drag & a 4#er on the drop! (timing had to be perfect to miss the ice chunks)
Then a barge came down river & brought tons of ice with it. 
Without a good flow out on the River, the ice just stayed along shore.
2 other fishermen showed up just before dark, but didn't stay long.
That ice flow was the end of our party. 

Maybe hit the Ohio side again next weekend,,,,,, we need more flow, higher water & NO ICE!


This what It looked like, when I got there,,,, somewhat fishable, near shore.
Note,,,,, No ice, NO FLOW out in the middle! :<(


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

I was up that way Sunday, had a funeral to go to in New Cumberland. It looked like the river had a lot of ice up that way, was really surprised. Wanted to get out and hit below Pike Island this past weekend but just ended up being too busy. With all this rain today and tomorrow, this weekend is definitely out, projected to crest Saturday just below 35 feet.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

ANYBODY,,,, get a look at the River lately?
Just wondering,,,, HOW MUCH ICE is floating down along the bank,,,, below the dam.?

I have 2 dozen fatheads that are still kicking,,,,, they need to GO FISH! ;>)


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

Doboy said:


> ANYBODY,,,, get a look at the River lately?
> Just wondering,,,, HOW MUCH ICE is floating down along the bank,,,, below the dam.?
> 
> I have 2 dozen fatheads that are still kicking,,,,, they need to GO FISH! ;>)


Yesterday it a..hole deep to a twelve foot giraffe, muddy, no ice from Steubenville south, don't know about NC but would assume the same conditions....Good luck....


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Wow,,,, thanks for the QUICK feedback!

Either I grab those fatheads, & maybe go waste a day,,,,,,
or CUT FIREWOOD!
Decisions-Decisions,,,,,,,,,,,,, ;>)


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## Phish_4_Bass (Sep 18, 2008)

We got 3" of snow last nite and it is starting to transition over to rain. Calling for an inch or more of rain tomorrow..


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Yeah, Pike Island is supposed to be back up to almost 35 feet by wednesday. This rain is killing me!


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Almost bank full around Marietta all weekend. Down several feet today. Ditto on going back up tomorrow and Wednesday......my motto "It's still up".....I can see the big Muddy from my porch and she has been pretty full most of the year.....


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## Pooka (Jan 30, 2012)

PJF said:


> Almost bank full around Marietta all weekend. Down several feet today. Ditto on going back up tomorrow and Wednesday......my motto "It's still up".....I can see the big Muddy from my porch and she has been pretty full most of the year.....


I am itching to get out and see what all this flow has done to the bottom. This last year plus has to have a significant effect. 
In particular, I have a pet theory that all the recent dredging, then dumping, at the Byrd Dam was responsible for a few years of less than exciting fishing there. With as many times as all the rollers have been up, and all the flow, that mud has likely been washed away. 

Of course the bad side of that is the lock approach may need dredging again.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

FWIW,,,, Hey Pete
I talked to friend Premo the other day,,, after he did an autopsy on his 2 fish.
The 2#er was a saugeye,,,,, full of green eggs.

*The 4#er was the FAT-EST hen eye I ever seen,,, it was full of yellow eggs,,,, no Blood.
AND, That 'CHUNK EYE' ALSO HAD 3, 5"-6" SAUGER in it's belly! 
one sauger was very de-composed, the other 2 were fresh kills.
(& that PIG EYE still hit a rubber jig!)
None of our 3 fish had any shad or perch in them.?

The next time I go down, I'm gonna try to find some LARGE live bait to put on my slip rigs.
;>)*


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

Jerry....I found that it may be possible, but not likely that you can throw a bait to big for those big girls. The 11-4 I got out of Tappan had 3 6-7 inch bass, partially decomposed, and 5 small bluegills and took a #9 Shad Rap! I think if it swims past em, they eat it. Have caught quite a few with 6-8 in saugeyes in their stomach. I say big chubs, go for it....


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

Hatchetman said:


> Jerry....I found that it may be possible, but not likely that you can throw a bait to big for those big girls. The 11-4 I got out of Tappan had 3 6-7 inch bass, partially decomposed, and 5 small bluegills and took a #9 Shad Rap! I think if it swims past em, they eat it. Have caught quite a few with 6-8 in saugeyes in their stomach. I say big chubs, go for it....


im glad you posted that ..


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

I went down to the dam again Yesterday. Got there 1:30 ish. Color was OK,,, elevation was TOO LOW for my liking.
Ended up sitting next to Bad Bub!
(we've been trying to 'boat' fish together for like 3-4 years!?)

Anyway,,, I had 'A' fish on after the first 45 min,,, it pulled the 1/2oz egg in about 20'. 
I cranked up the slack & felt it on there,,,, & set the hook! NOTHING!!! (story of my life!)
About 4 HOURS later, BUB gives up casting rubber, & heads up the hill.
It might'a had some to do with NO HITS & a 40 MPH WIND! DOWN RIVER white caps! 
Conditions SUCKED!

Prime time was coming,,, I had to tough it out & stay.

Soon after 'Bub' left, Wayne showed up,,, He's a regular.
The sun came back out & THE WIND somewhat STOPPED!
Then another barge came down River & it FINALLY spooked up some fish for us!
Wayne landed about 5 dinks,,, all small throwbacks.
I lost one on the way in, & missed another 5 hits,,, they just weren't hitting my floaters hard.
Then, I LANDED 2 -14" KEEPERS! & About time,,,, just before dark. One sandwich! ;>)

I talked to 2 locals after dark,,,,, Jig throwers.
They THINK the up & down temps are screwing everything up!????
'Worst start since 2016'!


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Doboy said:


> I talked to 2 locals after dark,,,,, Jig throwers.
> They THINK the up & down temps are screwing everything up!????
> 'Worst start since 2016'!


The up and down temps with the river being up and down constantly, thats a bad recipe for success. At least you landed a couple. I got out over the weekend and all I could manage were a few snagged buffalo suckers throwing jigs and a couple really light bites on minnows at Pike Island.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

One male fish had full size sacks,,,, no jizz.
The other had eggs,,,, no blood.
NOTHING in their bellies!?
I still have 3 dozen fatheads in the garage,,,,, I gotta get back down there, soon. 
It's comin'.

BFN,,,, How often do you fish NC Dam?


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Very rarely, maybe once a year. Every time I have fished it, it was from the WV side.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Lol... I had to pick kids up from school! 

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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Amazing, how that wind died down,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, soon AFTER you left!? ;>)
Seriously though,,,, 'catching' was so bad, I never thought I'd get another hit.
Dr App today,,, or I'd be there now!


BTW, Bub,,,,,,, That oldtimer local I was talking to? He throws florescent orange or red jig with 4" ORANGE twisters,,,,, 95% of the time.
Sounds familiar


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## Phish_4_Bass (Sep 18, 2008)

Caught a pile of bait yesterday, going to give it a shot tomorrow evening after work


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Phish_4_Bass said:


> *Caught a pile of bait yesterday*, going to give it a shot tomorrow evening after work



Ahhhh, you wouldn't happen to have some EXTRA chubs or shiners,,,, FOR TRADE???? ;>)


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## Phish_4_Bass (Sep 18, 2008)

Doboy said:


> Ahhhh, you wouldn't happen to have some EXTRA chubs or shiners,,,, FOR TRADE???? ;>)


Check PMs


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

5 guys there Yesterday,,, Thursday. * 
(water was too low, NO barge traffic, & 30 mph winds up River! :<(*
I got there about 1,,,,,, & 3 of us hung in there till after dark. 5 guys Net= 5 fish. 
I Had good hits on the first 3 casts, close to shore above the rocks. Then finally landed a fat 17" eye. Then NOT ONE HIT in the NEXT 5 HOURS!!!????????? 
Tony showed up & threw rubber till his arms got sore,,,,, he caught NOTHING.
Then Wayne & his friend showed up. Each had one 'Tight-line' pole w fatheads, the other pole for tossing rubber.
Wayne gave up kinda early & left with 2 fish,,, I think. & he Threw back a 'lizard' & a small cat.
His Liverpool friend caught ONE 15" eye,,,, That's it! He kindly gave it to me! ;>) THANKS.
Now I had 2 to clean.

After 6pm,,,, I started to get more 'hits', in close to the shore rocks, but only landed 1- 5" sauger.
The little &^%$#! completely swallowed down my floater hook & medium size fathead!????
Not enough room left in his mouth to get needle nose pliers in! How they do that!!!?
Bleeding like a stuck pig,,,, I pert-near had to RIP HIS HEAD OFF,,, to GET IT BACK!
Hurt me more than him!
BUZZARD BAIT.

STILL, no perch.


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## Phish_4_Bass (Sep 18, 2008)

Went yesterday, musta hit a pocket of little ones. Got a few 6" to 8" . 
Lots of hits and getting cleaned. 
Fished about 2 hrs. 
Windy and snowy.

Time to hope for warmer weather and re-stock the bait supply.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Phish_4_Bass said:


> Went yesterday, musta hit a pocket of little ones. Got a few 6" to 8" .
> Lots of hits and getting cleaned.
> Fished about 2 hrs.
> Windy and snowy.
> ...


Mid 50'5-60's this coming weekend and sunny. Gotta feeling its gonna be thick as thieves out there with people fishing. I need to get some bait also, gonna run some traps mid-week. Looks like little to no rain this week also if you can believe that.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Well... it looked packed this past weekend. Anybody do any good? I'm going to give it a go after work today for a couple hours. They've gotta be starting to do their thing by now you'd think. 

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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

I wish you LUCK Bub,,,,,,,, & i can't wait for your report.
Thanks
FWIW
I caught a slew of big chubs last week,,,, they're in my creek, waiting to hit the river rocks.
(we've been perch'n those backwaters again. 
When this 'well' dries up,,,, we'll be heading down! ;>)


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Got 1 17" walleye below Pike island yesterday morning on a 3" white grub. Caught it on my 3rd cast and didn't have another bite. Water at Pike Island is still reading in the upper 30's according to CoE site.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

One decent keeper on a jerkbait.... but he was hooked in the side, so take that for what it's worth. And one big drum that came off at my feet. Threw various swimbaits and grubs and 3 different jerkbaits. All for 2 fish. Both came right across from the end of the longest wall. Walleye was released.
















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## Pooka (Jan 30, 2012)

Bad Bub said:


> One decent keeper on a jerkbait.... but he was hooked in the side, so take that for what it's worth. And one big drum that came off at my feet. Threw various swimbaits and grubs and 3 different jerkbaits. All for 2 fish. Both came right across from the end of the longest wall. Walleye was released.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



At least you know they are in there.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Thanks. 
Pooka,,,, I wonder if it still had eggs!???? Looks skinny,,, Oh well.
You guys see the rain comin'? This week end should be THE BOMB!

Cut wood today,,,,, FISH tomorrow. (warmer) ;>)


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Doboy said:


> Thanks.
> Pooka,,,, I wonder if it still had eggs!???? Looks skinny,,, Oh well.
> You guys see the rain comin'? This week end should be THE BOMB!
> 
> Cut wood today,,,,, FISH tomorrow. (warmer) ;>)


Thick shoulders. Summertime looking gut. I figured just a real solid male. No signs of spawning on that fish whatsoever. 

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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Matt & I got the boat out of mothballs yesterday & made it to a favorite feeder River about 2pm.
We had about 2 dozen chubs & a bunch of rubber to toss & drift.
The Big O was 45*, muddy & lots of drifting junk to run through,,,, the feeder was very clear, slow running & 53*.

First thing,,,, We met 2 bank fishermen that were nice enough to trade info,,,,, we were WAY up, as far as the boat could go. (first rapids) They started fishing at 11am & were packing up to leave. They had 4 nice size eyes on their stringer,,,,, definitely over 18"ers. They also caught some smallies, some LMB's & drum,,,, everything on heavy jigs with small chubs.

Then we met another local that fished THE RIVER his whole life,,,, we dropped anchor out in front of him! ;>)
He was tossing small jigs & rubber out across the sand bar on the inside of a bend, & systematically caught BASS & huge drum, on 4# line! Very slow retrieve,,, 'pop n stop'. He said that he hasn't SEEN a walleye or sauger yet this year!!!?

WHAM! Matt lands a dandy 18-1/2" eye. Then we land some SMB's & LMB's, & DRUM.
Then I toss a large chub up onto the sand bar & slow drag it down into the fast water & rocks,,,
WHAM! I land a nice, chunky, full-of-fat 18-1/2" eye,,,, a cookie-cutter twin.
We think we found the 'trick', & where they were?

Nope,,,, no more eyes,,,, no more bait. Time to go. 
On the way out I stopped to talk to 2 guys fishing off of a big rock. They caught multiple bass, drum, & 1 keeper eye on a plug. 
NO SAUGER, again.? 

Total that we seen,,,,,,,
quite a few bass, some huge drum, & 7 keeper eyes,,, all over 18", nothing under.
Everybody that we talked to said that 'IT'S JUST STARTING'. (feeding eyes)


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Boat trip after work yesterday... launched out of Steubenville. Ran gravel bars all evening with a mix of swimbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits and a tube. Smallmouth were the target, but I had my 2 keeper walleye (20") on my first stop in about 20 minutes with another dropped at the boat. 2 on swimbait, one on a jerkbait. Ran several bars without a bite until I finally caught a pretty nice hybrid on the jerkbait. Went back to my first stop and caught 5 keeper smallmouths that totaled right around 10 lbs with a fat 3-10 anchor. First trip out with the boat this year, so I mainly just wanted to run it a bit... wasn't disappointed with the fish with the short time I had.























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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

I hit a gravel bar from shore after work yesterday 3:30-5:30, more to scout for getting the boat out next week. Fishing was kinda slow, 3 white bass and 1 chunky 14" smallmouth. Had a ton of gar hits though. I was throwing grubs and paddletails. Saw a lot of bait which is a good thing. I will be out Saturday morning hitting a few river and creek spots.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

BuckeyeFishinNut said:


> *Saw a lot of bait which is a good thing*. I will be out Saturday morning hitting a few river and creek spots.



'We didn't see one baitfish in the whole feeder creek',,,,,,, 
Anyway That's our excuse this time.

AND, the Water pump impeller went on my '80 40hp Merc,,,,,,,,,, B A D Timing,,, Bummer.
Hope we don't miss anything, down there..

Thanks


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Doboy said:


> 'We didn't see one baitfish in the whole feeder creek',,,,,,,


A lot of small shiners, would scatter when the bait would hit the water. They were held up in slack water.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Had another decent morning yesterday. Caught about a dozen white bass, 1 20" walleye, and an 18.5" smallmouth bass. All caught on 1/16 or 1/8 oz diner shiner jighead and white 2" paddle tail. Saw a lot bait, mainly shiners on shallow mud flats. White bass were scattered, couple here and there. The smallmouth was hunting in about 2 feet of water in laydowns, absolutely crushed the paddle tail as soon as I brought it over a log. Was fishing the slack downstream side of a gravel bar.












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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

Looks like fishing might be on hold for a little while. River cresting at 25 feet at Pike tomorrow and more rain coming Friday and Saturday. Just when things were heating up too.


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