# Marietta Fishing



## hickfish (May 17, 2008)

Hello,
New member here, and just seeing if anyone had any advice on places to fish in Marietta other than the river. Would like to catch some nice bass or crappies. Thanks for any help.

HickFish


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## thedon255 (May 4, 2008)

Other than the river can be a little tough to find good fishing, outside of a private fish pond. You could try Veto Lake. It's less than half an hour from Marietta, out 550 to Barlow, then south on 339. Good bass, bluegill, catfish, and saugeye (supposedly, I haven't caught any). But no crappie, I'm pretty sure.
There's also a pay lake with big catfish along Route 7 on the way to Belpre. Never tried it personally but I know it's stalked with large flatheads, channels, and blues. But no bass or crappie there. I might be forgetting something else but a private pond is going to be your best chance, outside of the river.


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## thedon255 (May 4, 2008)

I take it back. It seems there are crappie in Veto Lake. So that's probably your best option. I've even managed to catch a few bass there.

VETO LAKE (Washington County), 160 acres, 10 h.p. motor limit
Bluegill, Redear - Bluegill are heavily populated, but provide catches of 5-7". Redear sunfish are limited in abundance, with individuals ranging in size from 5-9". OUTLOOK - FAIR
Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass - The largemouth bass population is moderate. Individuals up to 6 lbs. were sampled during electrofishing surveys in 2000. Good numbers of spotted bass are present with the majority concentrated on the shoreline from the dam to Constitution Road.
OUTLOOK - GOOD
Channel Catfish - Sampling efforts have indicated several year classes (11-25") of channel catfish. Night fishing has produced many 8-12 lb. fish. OUTLOOK - EXCELLENT
COMMENTS - Flathead catfish are available at Veto Lake with individuals up to 40 lbs. being reported. The boat ramp parking lot was paved in 1997 and a courtesy dock for watercraft users was added. The report of some quality catches of white crappie occurred in 2003.


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## hickfish (May 17, 2008)

Well in that case, where are the good spots along the river that I could catch a good amount of fish. I know of devols dam, but any others anyone may know of?


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## gf319804 (Mar 6, 2007)

hickfish said:


> Well in that case, where are the good spots along the river that I could catch a good amount of fish. I know of devols dam, but any others anyone may know of?


Willow Island Dam, North of Marietta outside of Reno has excellent fishing. I would also suggest doing a search for the AEP Recreation Lands, which are within' 1/2 an hour from Marietta, and has excellent bass fishing. Veto Lake is a tough lake to fish, but there are some really nice cats in there, and some decent size crappie


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## thedon255 (May 4, 2008)

Any dam tailwater is going to be productive. There's Lowell Dam, which is just upstream from Devols Dam. Both are great but Devols is the more consistent of the two. There's also the dam at Willow Island, just up Route 7. It's supposed to be very good but I haven't fished there myself yet. Also, try the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio. Behind the Lafayette Hotel, there's parking and a path down to the shore. Great catfishing there. Every summer, I hear about some 40 or 50 lb flatheads being pulled out of there. Just not by me. What's really nice about that spot is that there are a couple of floodlights, so you can do some night time catfishing and still see your hooks. 
But those are all shore fishing options. If you have a boat, you'll have almost limitless options. For starters, just look for any confluence (i.e. Little Muskingum or Duck Creek with the Ohio) and give it a go.
If you want any help on a specific spot, let me know. You're talking to a born and raised Mariettaian (if that's even a word).


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