Ohio Summer Fishing

2024 started off well with some good fishing on the Ohio River. I was pulling in some decent numbers and having a good year. Then the heat came. It was like someone flipped a switch and suddenly I wasn’t catching anything. I learned a few things about summer fishing on the Ohio that changed that completely.

• Smaller Crank Baits – Customized with larger rear treble hooks
• Summer time the bass hang out around the mouths of the inlets to the river, specifically where there are drop offs. 

After a few outings of getting completely skunked, I called up an old friend and asked for help. Other than my grandpa, Jason was one of the first people to really turned me on to fishing. Back in the early 2000s Jason and I would fish almost every week. We spent many evenings and early morning chasing bass around the rivers and lakes in the Cincinnati area. He taught me 95% of what I know about fishing so I figured who better to call for help.

We haven’t fished together for a few years as life has gotten in the way.  He sold his fishing boat a few years ago to get a family boat to create some memories with them.  Not to mention he constructed a BEAUTIFUL pond in his backyard, stocked with fish.  That being said he was anxious to start fishing again and as usual, he was right on time at 6 AM ready to go.

We made the short trip from my place to the launch ramp and within 2 casts he brings in a decent white bass.  Keen to duplicate his results, as well as figure out what I had been doing wrong, I asked him for some summer tips. 

First off, we both love crank baits.  The problem was that I was still running the larger/deeper baits from early spring.  He suggested a simple small crank bait to match the size of the shad that were all over the river.  I stayed away from the smaller cranks because I would tend to lose fish due to the small hooks.  Jason suggested swapping the rear treble hook for one size bigger, and less vigorous reel in.  That was a game changer.    

We started recognizing that the bass were hanging out around the mouths of the inlets to the river.  Specifically in the deeper drop-offs.  With that knowledge in hand, we had a great day of fishing.  Realistically we caught roughly 20 a piece.  It has to be said he pulled in a few more than me but I will gladly take the “L” on that day.