2012 fishing thread

[XChris1632X]

Like to know what's working, where people are going, and would like to see what people are catching so far.

 

I love to fish, I have thousands in tackle and equipment, and I have a nice fishing boat. The problem is I suck at fishing. Atleast by suck I mean that I barely catch anything worth talking about. I have caught big fish throughout my past but they are usually about 5 years apart. I really would like to hear any good tips or knowledge to better my results this year. My grandfather loves to fish with me but he gets easily discouraged as well. I'm itching to go out next week and I am hoping for me and him to catch something so that he will want to go more this year. He isn't getting any younger.

[TimTaylor751647545500]

I'm going tomorrow to get my license for this year and can't wait to get out there.

 

I didn't make any off season purchases because I really want to utilize the stuff I already have better. I really want to focus on learning patterns more this year, so I am also open to tips and suggestions. I do really well with pan fish, but would really like to develop bass techniques.

[LJ]

I'm going tomorrow to get my license

 

?????

 

https://www1.oh.wildlifelicense.com/start.php

 

Stores do nothing else other than use this website. Licenses are 100% web based through this system. It even prints on normal paper now.

[verse]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/p480x480/419825_2748390596261_1452464254_31921914_1118564128_n.jpg

 

We went Wednesday, my son brought in the first one of the year. The crappie were biting well. We probably caught about 20 in 2 hours, mostly in the 9-11in. range, nothing big enough to keep yet.

[AWW$HEEET]

Fishin small ponds for bass. Setup: uglystick microlite w rubber worm wacky rigged or carolina rig. Also fond of rubber frogs comin through reed or dense veg like lilly pads in ponds. Lookin for a few several pounders this yr.

 

Id like to take up musky/northern pike fishing but I don't have the skills/time/knowhow to land em.

[LJ]

Fishin small ponds for bass. Setup: uglystick microlite w rubber worm wacky rigged or carolina rig. Also fond of rubber frogs comin through reed or dense veg like lilly pads in ponds. Lookin for a few several pounders this yr.

 

Id like to take up musky/northern pike fishing but I don't have the skills/time/knowhow to land em.

 

The fish of 10,000 casts

[XChris1632X]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/p480x480/419825_2748390596261_1452464254_31921914_1118564128_n.jpg

 

We went Wednesday, my son brought in the first one of the year. The crappie were biting well. We probably caught about 20 in 2 hours, mostly in the 9-11in. range, nothing big enough to keep yet.

 

Where did you go? I love catching crappie.

 

Fishin small ponds for bass. Setup: uglystick microlite w rubber worm wacky rigged or carolina rig. Also fond of rubber frogs comin through reed or dense veg like lilly pads in ponds. Lookin for a few several pounders this yr.

 

Id like to take up musky/northern pike fishing but I don't have the skills/time/knowhow to land em.

 

Seems the past couple years the rubber baits are coming back around. If you want pike head to canada. I brought shit up that I refused to bring in the canoe. Up there, I literally got tired of fishing after 125 fish in 3 days. Crystal clear water + top water lure + pike = a great vacation. Up there you can toss a lure out and let it sit and still catch them.

 

The fish of 10,000 casts

 

Especially in Ohio. They are a lot more plentiful in ky and Tenn. Still not easy to catch by any means. I have never caught one but many people in my family has. Mostly by accident. My dad caught one at Alum trolling.

[acklac7]

Me and Derek: CR fishing gods :fuckyeah:

 

Especially in Ohio.

 

Alot of the guys that fish Alum on the regular will tell you they are becoming a nuisance, hell last spring they shocked up over a 100+ in the pool below the spillway and transported them back to the main lake. Just go up there fishing for Saugeye and you will catch them, or at least hook into one.

 

What do you guys want to fish for? Where abouts do you live? Used to work for the EPA fisheries division shocking/sampling fish and whatnot so I have sort of insider information as to where the hot bite is at. Right now Buckeye has been phenomenal for saugeye but can be sort of a drive if your not from the eastside. Griggs/Oshay/Scioto will heat up for crappie soon but it's going to be awhile before the water comes down (I think will go for just about all systems in central ohio ).

 

Here's a nice Ski I picked up a few years back at Alum, and A big ol' shovelhead I got below Griggs a couple of summers ago, both on artificials (jigs/cranks).

 

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/photopost/watermark.php?file=49151&size=1

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/photopost/watermark.php?file=51037&size=1

[acklac7]

also check OGF (http://www.ohiogamefishing.com) for reports and stuff, alot of guys on here that are on there already, but if your new try and keep it "pc" / rated G over there or mods get pissed.

[XChris1632X]

Thanks. I am in plain city so I fish at Alum, shaugnasty, Delaware, deer creek, and anything else on this side of town. I got to ky a couple times a year to cumberland and cave run lake. These are all the places I'm trying to learn better. I have a depth finder but I have yet to figure out how it helps me really fish better other than identifying the depth and bottom a little better.

[acklac7]

Id like to take up musky/northern pike fishing but I don't have the skills/time/knowhow to land em.

 

Go up to alum and throw stickbaits on braid, there's zillions of them up there. Investing some $$ in a good setup will give you a 10x better chance of hitting one. Like get a decent St.Croix rod ($125) and a decent reel ($75) and some power-pro and have at.

[acklac7]

Thanks. I am in plain city so I fish at Alum, shaugnasty, Delaware, deer creek, and anything else on this side of town. I got to ky a couple times a year to cumberland and cave run lake. These are all the places I'm trying to learn better. I have a depth finder but I have yet to figure out how it helps me really fish better other than identifying the depth and bottom a little better.

 

I was just up there as the front rolled through, out in the middle of a downpour fishing like a b0SS :fuckyeah:. Oshay is probably one of the best Crappie lakes in Central Ohio, maybe even better then Delaware. MONSTER slabs up there are common, right through summer, I think there was just a post on OGF about someone getting into them real good a few days ago.

 

And I hate boat-fishing for the exact reasons you describe, finding where the fish are at can take all day, and even then once you find them you have to identify a presentation that they will hit. I know for a fact alot of guys will troll right out infront of the dam for them, thats where I got mine. Like just to the east of the dam there is a nice flat, then it drops off to deeper water, they like to hang on/around that dropoff and ambush baitfish.

 

Alot of guys will hit the points this time of year up on alum, that or identify shallow flats adjacent to deep water (with your depthfinder), from what i've heard S-eye/Musky will hang in the deeper water during the day and then come up on the shallow flats to feed later on in the evening.

[XChris1632X]

I'm just trying to catch some crappie and bass. What kind of bait has worked for you lately?

[Big A]

 

We went Wednesday, my son brought in the first one of the year. The crappie were biting well. We probably caught about 20 in 2 hours, mostly in the 9-11in. range, nothing big enough to keep yet.

 

How deep were you catching them? and an 11in crappie isnt big enough to keep?

[acklac7]

All I usually target this time of year is Saugeye, got one today, and a couple yesterday. All of them have came on bright colored jigs (hot pink, orange, chartruese) with chartruese jigheads. Just give them something they can see, works real good with crappie too. Also when griggs/oshay get flooded (like they will be tomorrow) I find Crappie holding real tight way up in the brush piles, I'll catch them in chocolate milk/flood stage conditions, just lightly jigging brush piles, although it is a tad early for them to be super shallow.

[acklac7]

And if you want to get giant slabs try cast netting some live bait below Oshay/Griggs (im talking like 3-4" shiners/chubs) and drift them under a float right around the edges of brush piles. Got one that went 15" last year on a 4" striped shiner. I've seen a number of them in the 15"-17" range caught in years past using similar size baits...Hog crappie in there. Edited March 19, 2012 by acklac7

[verse]

Where did you go? I love catching crappie.

 

Down in Harrisburg. It's called Pleasant Valley.

 

How deep were you catching them? and an 11in crappie isnt big enough to keep?

 

Not very deep. Just some minnows on a bobber, about 2 feet off the top of the water. They have to be 13 inches to keep.

[acklac7]

Down in Harrisburg. It's called Pleasant Valley.

 

They have to be 13 inches to keep.

 

13" is a Fish Ohio http://com.outdoorhub.static.s3.amazonaws.com/static.images/ogf/images/smilies/bigfish.gif.

 

A number of reservoirs have a 9" minimum, never heard of anything above that but I suppose it's possible.

[Big A]

Down in Harrisburg. It's called Pleasant Valley.

 

 

 

Not very deep. Just some minnows on a bobber, about 2 feet off the top of the water. They have to be 13 inches to keep.

 

Damn, 13" to keep is pretty big. At hoover and other places in the area it is only 9". I try for them all to be around 11+ before keeping. Might be time to get out the waders, but it is super early still.

[TimTaylor751647545500]

In Ohio, crappie must be 9" to keep. I don't keep any that are less than 10"

[verse]

13" is a Fish Ohio http://com.outdoorhub.static.s3.amazonaws.com/static.images/ogf/images/smilies/bigfish.gif.

 

A number of reservoirs have a 9" minimum, never heard of anything above that but I suppose it's possible.

 

I'm almost positive the place I'm at says 13 inches, but I may have just told myself that for so long without actually checking. I'll look next time.

[Drewhop]

Senko + water = bass

 

The boat is ready to go.

[Browning]

if you guys want crappie head out to rushcreek lake. You can catch them left and right all day there by the little bridge before you get to the loading area.

[TurboRust]

hi! i traded off the rx7 for a boat last year and dont regret a thing. last year in the boat we focused mainly on bass, hybird stripers, and crappies. once i winterized the boat i started trying to learn the art of saugeyes. I tooks some good lessons from aj aklak7 and another friend and after 3-4 frustrating trips got into them hot and heavy.. the wife regulated me to 2 times a week but from halloween to new years day i had 106 saugeye, since the new year i've added another 68, 98% of them were caught at buckeye lake from the bank with no boat. stay near the rocks and throw bright twisters varying your speed trying to stay in contact with the bottom. thats the best sentence i can use to pattern saugeye year round. briging the boat home tomorrow to add the new seats, depth finders, and trolling motor on it i aquired over the winter and it will be game on again from the boat.

 

heres a couple big eyes from this fall/winter

my pb 7.21 lbs and 25"

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/Turborust/IMAG0830.jpg

a 23" 6.2lb

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/Turborust/money.jpg

a 23" 6.6lb

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/Turborust/P1020032.jpg

and a 22.5 that went 5.7lbs

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/Turborust/IMAG0649.jpg

[Drewhop]

You eating it all fresh. Or do you freeze it for later?