JACK WOLLITZ October bass went out with a bang

October went out with a bang, at least in terms of the bass fishing on the Ohio River.
Last Saturday, after several days of cold rain and gray sky, I visited the river's New Cumberland Pool with Dr. Mark McMurray of North Lima. The fish, almost as though they had read all of the articles written about fall feeding binges, were more than willing to oblige.
We launched in Chester, W.Va., and fished between East Liverpool and the dam at Stratton, hooking up with a dozen smallmouth bass ranging up to 31/2 pounds.
Largemouths were a bit smaller, but equally as numerous. We added a number of spotted bass -- the largest going about 14 inches -- and rounded out our 6-hour trip with a quartet of hybrid striped bass in the 2-pound class.
Most of the action came on crankbaits. Two keeper-size smallies hit a willowleaf spinnerbait and a 4-inch finesse worm picked up a 12-inch largemouth and a subkeeper spotted bass.
Heartening sign
Last Saturday's catch was a heartening sign after a year of ups and downs on the Ohio River, which has become a favorite spot for the region's bass anglers due to the variety and quantity of water. They find it a welcome change from fishing the overcrowded reservoirs in northeastern Ohio.
But the fishing tends to be unpredictable. In 2000, the smallmouth action on the Ohio was outstanding. Then, in 2001, it went into a tailspin and anglers considered themselves fortunate if they caught a couple of keepers.
The 2002 season combined all the cyclicality into a few months. Early in the year, the fishing was OK, then it slipped a bit once summer rolled around. The bite started to improve again after Labor Day and it appears to have peaked last weekend.
McMurray and I caught 22 keeper bass and about the same number of non-keepers. The biggest fish came off two spots that featured edges where the lunker smallies could hang in wait for some of the Ohio's abundant shad to wander into range.
Good lure
Fortunately for us, the predator bronzebacks mistook our crankbaits for real food. I caught nearly all of my fish on a Norman Middle N, white and blue, while McMurray tossed a No. 5 Shad Rap in crawfish pattern.
While two places yielded the bigger fish, we found largemouths, smallmouths and spotted bass at each of the variety of stops we made that morning. Success was just a matter of making casts that brought the bait down with the current into places where a bass was likely to be lurking. We covered a lot of water and found clusters of fish. When we hooked one, we were certain to connect with another in the same area.
The bass fishing should continue to be productive on the Ohio until the weather really starts to turn sour -- although a case can be made that the current weather is less than peachy. Water temperatures were in the low 50s and the fishing should remain decent until the temps dip to the mid-40s.
The Ohio tends to remain fishable deeper into the year than the reservoirs around Youngstown, so those who want to try another trip or two are likely to find at least a few good bass still willing to bite.
That's one big fish
Bass anglers ripping along in their 60 mph boats might be well advised to pay heed to a report reader Donna "Tink" Holmes of Austintown saw on TV recently.
She said the telecast told about giant carp frolicking in the Mighty Mississippi. Seems the oversized fish like to jump out of the water and tend to increase their tail-dancing when they hear outboard motors.
Several unfortunate anglers have been injured when the carp -- some as big as "teen-agers" -- leapt in front of their speeding boats and landed on the decks and passengers.
Thanks for the warning, Tink. Beware, anglers, of flying teen-agers on your favorite waters.
jwwollitz@aol.com