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Tips on fishing Whites Mill Athens

3K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  Be Like Water 
#1 ·
I recently discovered a place in Athens that looks like it has potential for holding saugeye or smallies but couldn't get anything. I threw a rooster tail, a small crank bait and also tried a pearl twister tail jig. Am I doing something wrong or is there a special color/ technique I need to do? I know there has to be fish there I was just bummed after fishing a solid 3 hours and not getting a single bite.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!
 
#3 ·
Try a suspending jerkbait or a big Joshy's swimbait. Experiment with the retrieve on the jerkbait, from a slow steady retrieve to short, medium, and long pauses. Use a slow steady retrieve on the swimbait so it just barely ticks bottom every so often. These are two of the most productive cold water baits during this time of year.
 
#6 ·
I think it might have more to do with the time of year. I fished it for about 90 minutes Saturday afternoon and spent most of my time picking ice out of the guides of my fly rod. I bounced bottom slowly with small streamers and got nothing.

In no way am I suggesting you do this, but if you were there Friday there's almost no way you could miss it, this goes for everyone: if you pack something down over the bank, bring it back out. Beer cans, pop bottles, chicken liver containers, etc... Grow up, folks. You take a beautiful location to fish and every 4th step you are seeing or stepping on garbage other fishermen left behind. Those who do this make all of the angling community look ignorant to people who see what is left behind.
 
#7 ·
I think it might have more to do with the time of year. I fished it for about 90 minutes Saturday afternoon and spent most of my time picking ice out of the guides of my fly rod. I bounced bottom slowly with small streamers and got nothing.

In no way am I suggesting you do this, but if you were there Friday there's almost no way you could miss it, this goes for everyone: if you pack something down over the bank, bring it back out. Beer cans, pop bottles, chicken liver containers, etc... Grow up, folks. You take a beautiful location to fish and every 4th step you are seeing or stepping on garbage other fishermen left behind. Those who do this make all of the angling community look ignorant to people who see what is left behind.
As far as trash left by "fishermen" this place takes the cake. My son and I will both fill up a 13 gallon trash bag each when we fish there. Go back a few days latter and it's like it never happened. Worst part is there is a garbage can on the top of the hill. People suck.
 
#8 ·
Especially on the bank side by the parking lot, it always gets completely trashed. Disgusting.. I always bring out as much as I can. When I fish there it's usually in the warmer months and I mostly use live bait on the bottom.

Agreed that it's far more likely to catch sauger than saugeye there, but there are some bigger ones from time to time. Snowden is 10 minutes down the road, is ranked high on the ohio wildlife dept. website for saugeye, I've heard people say they caught big ones in there; but I have yet to catch my first saugeye there after hours of trolling, casting, jigging, and fishing live minnows on the bottom.
 
#11 ·
When I went to Ohio U I would only bring one tackle box with me down to White's. It contained only 1/8oz jigs w/ 3" power grubs (black, brown, white), smaller Little Cleos, small cranks and rooster tails. Think multi-species baits and you should be fine.

And I would like to reiterate that the earth doesn't owe us anything. Pick up trash (yours, theirs, whoever's) :)
 
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