1. Water flows from the creek into the river. Since in can’t flow upstream the current will break towards the downstream side. If you’re looking for feeding fish keep this in mind. Almost nothing swims upstream if it can help it, especially small baitfish and the like. Fish with the current, not against it.
2. As the water breaks downstream it slows. That means it drops sediment, brush and other things that make cover under the water. This cover producing material will be deposited in a crescent shape outside the creek mouth almost directly in line with the creek channel. This makes a great ambush point for predators — bass and flatheads. You’ll lose a lot of baits and terminal tackle fishing that mess but it’s well-worth it if you’re serious about catching fish.
3. The action that’s been described above also digs out a deep hole — I know of two that are over 50 feet deep — in front of the crescent. It makes for a great resting place for bigger fish, especially giant catfish. Fishing in these deep holes is one of the secrets of trophy flathead and blue hunters. Use heavy weights to get down that deep and heavy tackle to pull big fish up from their dens. For whatever reason these holes seem to be more productive at night.

Think about all this as you motor into a creek and spend time following it back. Maybe the best fishing is over your shoulder.

First, let’s think about what fish are, and what they aren’t. They’re animals. Whatever happens in their world is normal to them. Fish living near a launch ramp are used to trucks and boats pulling into and out of the water. It means nothing to them.

Fish those areas. The fish will bite regardless of how much commotion is going on around them. It’s the occasional sound or splash that causes them to scurry away.

Second, water turbulence can be your friend. When the water churns it stirs the sediment. (Have you ever noticed how muddy the water gets along the shoreline after the rollers from a barge hit it?) This activates the feeding chain.

For bass, throw a reaction bait such as a crankbait, a metal bladebait or your favorite plastic. You’ll be surprised at the number of bites you get. If catfish are your thing go with something alive that moves around a lot or with something that has a fair amount of smell to it. Either one will help the fish find your bait in the murky water.

Use heavy boat traffic to your advantage this year. You’ll be glad you did.

For the last two or three years I have been working stripers and hybrids seriously, and here is why. They are school fish with excellent populations in the river and they fight like Mike Tyson. You see, the truth is that the river is at its best, at least in the Cincinnati area, as a center for stripers, hybrids, and catfish (especially flatheads).

Summertime brings the opportunity for main river stripers and hybrids from now through early winter. They can be caught not only in the early morning and late evening but also during peak periods of recreational boating. If the correct techniques are used they can be caught during the heat of the day with a blazing sun overhead in July and August.

Where to Fish Stripers

Begin your search, regardless of the time of day or weather, by focusing on reasonably clear water along sharp breakoffs. There are scores of these locations in the southern Ohio area. Some of the better ones are near Cabin Creek, near Eagle Creek, just down stream from White Oak (Ohio side), and the area up stream from Maysville (Ky. side). The islands at Manchester produce, as does the island at Brush Creek. When fishing the islands, begin, always, on the down current or tail, of the island.

One of the better tools for your search for summertime stripers or hybrids is a jig. Select jigs with a cone or fat head (Sliderhead type) – avoid football heads, mushroom heads and other models that do not swim well. Dressing on the jigs is more problematic but most experienced striper hunters opt for hair of some sort. Very few are fans of rubber strands or rubber trailers – they just don’t seem to catch as many fish. As for color it is hard to beat white, silver, or gray.

The new Aspirin Head jigs from Punisher Jigs are about as good as it comes, at least in my opinion, for use in the Ohio River. They have a head that is shaped, not surprisingly, much like an aspirin head. It is tied with craft hair in a variety of colors. The craft hair is very fine, does not absorb water, and moves or “floats” with almost no movement. It provokes vicious strikes. These come in sizes ranging from 1/8oz. to 1/4oz. These baits may be somewhat small for southern striper waters, but they are perfect for the River. Most of the quality stripers I catch range from 24 to 28 inches and these sizes are just right.

How to Fish Stripers

Begin your search with a long cast. Retrieve your jig horizontally. Keep your rod tip low to the surface and crank in a slow, steady fashion; like a crankbait retrieve.

Start your hunt with the lure approximately 2 feet below the surface and continue dropping in depth, with each cast, at two feet increments until you find fish. At this time of the year you should be fishing water that is at least 25 or 30 feet deep. Always try different locations and different angles; stripers can be very finicky.

These fish will be found shallower on cloudy or windy days. On still days, with bright sun, begin your search much deeper.

Current always helps. Generally, you will catch more fish with the current than against it. Fish position facing into the current, not with their backs to it.

As the summer wears on we are going to try fishing these jigs under bobbers while floating with the current—sort of a “float and fly” technique with much heavier tackle. I will let you know how it goes.

Stripers/hybrids are not especially hardy fish so turn them loose immediately so as to preserve our fishery for the future.

1. A small, quarter-ounce popper

This is the first choice of nearly every angler. You can work it slow and easy, or fast and furious. Most anglers start slow and then work their way up until they’re splashing water everywhere trying to imitate a fleeing shad.

Throw it on monofilament or braided line. Avoid fluorocarbon. It’ll pull the nose of your popper down and ruin its action.

Color is largely a matter of personal preference. The most common choices are natural shad hues and solid black.

2. A standard size Zara Spook

No lure on the planet has caught more big bass than a spook. Walk it back to the boat. Change speeds and stop it occasionally only if a slow and steady retrieve isn’t working.

Color doesn’t matter so long as the belly is white with a touch of blue. It’s a rare situation in the Ohio River when a bass can see the back of the lure.

Don’t expect a lot of bites on a spook. It’s not a quantity fish bait. It’s a quality fish bait. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to spool-up with braid.

3. A buzzbait

There are squeakers and there are clackers. Some anglers swear by one and curse the other. Maybe it matters; maybe it doesn’t. Make your own choice.

The important thing here is to fish your buzzbait back in the heaviest, thickest stuff you can find. Always use braid, nothing else will handle the abuse.

This is a reaction bait. Color is not a very important consideration. That said, nearly every successful buzzbait anglers throws white, white and chartreuse or black. Most go with a single blade.

Fish any of these lures around creek mouths, cuts, backwater areas and anywhere you can find an inflow into the main river. And never think the water’s too shallow to hold a bass. It isn’t.

The McAlpine Locks and Dam is at mile 606.8. That’s right in the heart of Louisville and right in the heart of some really good crappie fishing. The best fishing extends from a short mile upstream to a long mile downstream from the main dam. Catches of 100 fish a day, or more in some cases, are common from late March through the first part of May.

There really aren’t one or two good spots to highlight here. It’s a patchwork of swirling water around scores of rock piles, humps, old dam structures, drift piles and manmade structure in the area. Launch your boat at one of the public or private ramps in the area and look for a fishy spot. Then go to work.

Traditional fishing methods produce best if you want to catch high numbers of fillet size fish. A small minnow, hung under a bobber and held down with a tiny split shot is about all it takes. Toss it out and let it drift with the current around the area you have chosen to fish.

If you’re willing to settle for a handful of bigger crappies try small jigs, twister tails or tiny in-line spinners. They all catch the bigger fish. Bright, shad imitating colors seem to work best. The area is snag infested so take along several and fish with heavy line if you plan to fish all day.

Regardless of what you’re looking for, however, keep in mind that these are river fish. They behave differently than their reservoir brethren. Forget that important fact and you’ll likely go home empty handed.

First, and perhaps most importantly, they don’t school by size. In fact, they really don’t school at all. They’ll bunch up in certain places at certain times but it’s misnomer to call that grouping a school. They’re more accurately described as individual fish holding in a favorable place under favorable conditions.

As such, it’s likely that you’ll catch a couple of good ones from a spot and then the size will go to heck or the bite will drop off completely. When that happens move to another spot and come back later. The bite is likely to be better if you let the spot rest for a few minutes.

Why they do this, remains a mystery known only to the fish. Maybe they turn off or maybe they move in and out, plenty of anglers will argue either side. Whatever the reason, a short rest is often an effective stringer filling strategy.

Second, they won’t often be found in deep water. They hold shallow — many times in water less than 6 inches deep — and generally don’t move regardless of changes in the weather. When the bite gets tough it’s not because they have moved, it’s because they aren’t biting.

A word of caution is in order here. This is a place of swift and unforgiving currents. They change direction and intensity on a moments notice. They can be deadly. Don’t fish in this area if you are an inexperienced river boater, remain vigilant at all times and never — not for any reason — remove your life jacket.

The mouth of the Kentucky River is at mile 545.8. This relatively small tributary, immediately below Carrollton, is a great, early spring crappie fishery. The traditional late March and early April rains wash trees and bushes into its waters. Much of it collects along the bank.

The trees and brush attract bugs and insects as they decay. They, in turn, attract small minnows and baitfish. The crappies aren’t far behind. And so, if you want to catch Kentucky River crappies, fish the trees and the brush along the bank. Fishing this stuff isn’t difficult but it does take some experience and the right attitude.

First, not all trees and bushes are created equal. The newer ones, with a little greenery on them, are by far the best. The theory is that the decaying greenery attracts bugs and insects which in turn attract small baitfish. The small baitfish then attract the larger predator fish such as crappies. Whether that’s right or wrong is arguable. What isn’t arguable is that crappies hide under them.

At times the crappies seem to prefer the outside bends where the water is deeper. But on other days the shallow, inside bends produce best. There’s no rhyme or reason to this so fish both until you find where they’re hiding the day you can go fishing.

Regardless of where it’s located, however, the best way to fish the greenery is with minnows — the smaller the better. Most anglers fish them under a small, quill style float. They toss the rig into the treetop’s thickest parts and let the minnow swim around. Others like to tight-line their offerings. Either way, the strategy is the same; get your bait into the thickest part of the tree you can and keep it there for as long as you can.

But getting them to bite is only half the battle. After that, you’ve got to figure a way to get them out of that tangled mess and into your boat. Heavy line will help some. The water’s dark and dingy most of the time so heavy line won’t affect your bite. This is also a good place for some of the newer fluorocarbons.

Light, thin-wire hooks are another option. If the fish does get hung you can often pull the hook out with moderate sized line. True you’ll loose the fish but at least you’ll still have your rig.

No matter how you fish or with what take along a bag of hooks, a half-ton of split shots and plenty of line and bobbers. You’ll need them before the day is over.

Over the next week and a half we’ll post information on three of the better spots along our area of the river. Give them a try. You just might be glad you did.

FYI: These areas also produce nice catches of largemouth bass.

Cabin Creek (Maysville)

About 5 miles upstream from Maysville, you’ll find Cabin Creek (mile 403). The entrance is alongside the Dravo Corporation facility. This creek winds its way back, into the hills of northern Kentucky for several miles, depending upon water levels.

Cabin Creek generally runs south and so both banks tend to get a lot of sun early and late in the day. Because of this the water will warm quickly in the spring. Depending upon the weather crappie fishing usually begins around the end of February or the first part of March. On a good year the action will last into May.

The first spot, and arguably the best for high numbers of 8 and 9 inchers, in the creek is at the hard, left-hand turn it makes about 3/8 of a mile from the mouth. There’s a deep wash-out on the right side of this turn that almost always attracts a lot of brush and drift. It also attracts a lot of crappies.

In low water conditions there’ll only be a foot or two of water here. When the water’s up there may be four or five feet under your boat. Either way, a good stringer of crappies can be had if you fish patiently and thoroughly. The crappies hold tight under the cover and won’t move very far to feed.

To reach them most anglers dunk minnows on a tight line rig — no bobber — and allow them to swim under the canopy of the debris at will. Usually, if the crappies are in a cooperative mood, they’ll bite within a few minutes. Sometimes a small, flashy bead just above the hook will get their attention.

Another great technique here is to float a jig under a bobber with the current. Allow this rig to drift past the edge of any debris you can find. Let the bobber bump against the wood as it drifts along. This’ll impart a subtle and lifelike, early season action to your lure.

Just a couple of hundred yards further upstream, on the left, is a long row of stumps and overhanging brush. It’s also a good place to fish. Again, tight-lined minnows and small jigs are the ticket.

Adventurous anglers may want to travel several miles to the very back of this creek, however. At the end there’s a small cut that’ll allow you to enter an equally small slough. This area is well-known for low numbers of big fish.

Most local anglers fish this slough with tiny in-line spinners or small twister tails on leadheads. Casting accuracy is a necessity here. The cover is thick and the trees hang nearly to the water’s surface.

I’ll give you two additional hot spots in the coming week, check back for those!

Still, there are a few baits around that I hear about time and time again when I interview winning anglers. Each of them has been copied 100 times. Nevertheless, the originals seem to have something the others lack. For reasons known only to the fish they work when others fail.

If you think I’ve got it wrong let me know.

Zoom

Trick Worms

Flukes

Brush Hog (both sizes)

Old Monster (big worm)

Yamamoto

Senko

Reaction Innovations

Sweet Beaver

Very few anglers have access to anything that isn’t sold to the general public. A few of the top professionals, men like the Elite Series pros with B.A.S.S., might have a prototype lure in the boat or maybe a couple of custom colors at their disposal. For the most part, though, they fish with the same tackle and lures that we do. They just do it better.

The reason is that they start at the beginning. They find the fish and then try to make them bite. Far too many of us work it from the other direction. We tie a “magic” lure on our line — usually one that we paid a lot of money for after reading about it in a magazine or Internet article — and then expect the fish to chase it.

One of the best bass anglers I ever met was once asked what he thought the biggest and most common mistake recreational anglers make. “They don’t think enough about the season of the year,” he replied. “I see guys fishing deep ledges in the spring and shallow shoreline cover in the heat of the summer. They worry too much about what lure to use instead of where to fish. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s backwards.”

If you want to catch fish this spring find the 10 percent of the water that 90 percent of the fish are in. Then worry about what lure or bait to use.

The river and her tributaries are beyond bad. There’s no way to even think about fishing them. What little progress was made in a few places earlier this week was wiped out by last night’s rains. And yet, it could be a heck of a lot worse.

If you doubt that — and you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you can’t go fishing in the river — look to the South, specifically Alabama and Mississippi. Much of that state has been destroyed by the tornadoes that swept through earlier this week. They were real tornadoes, too, the kind that leave little or nothing behind.

There are a whole lot of guys down there who aren’t worried because they can’t go fishing this weekend. They’re looking for their houses and, in some cases, for their families.

***

I was in a local Kroger store the other day and noticed they’re carrying crayfish from the Gulf Region — at very reasonable prices. I also noticed they had a pretty good selection of sauces from around the county ranging from mild to extra hot. For those of you who are fans of the little critters that’s about as good as it gets.

Impress your friends. Serve boiled crayfish this weekend with a unique sauce of some sort.

Note: Cajun sauce isn’t the same as hot sauce. Cajun is spicy; hot is hot.

***

Don’t forget about the farm ponds. They’re on fire. Several guys have reported nonstop action in the shallows. They’re catching bass, channel cats and bluegill. Don’t let the bad weather get you down. Talk nice to your local farmer. Most likely he’ll let you fish.

Throw topwater plugs or plastics for the bass, stinkbaits for the channel cats and worms for the bluegill. Saturday looks like the best day. Pack a sandwich or two, a bag of chips and a couple of sodas. And don’t forget to take the kids.