BANK FISHING & RAMPS EAST OF CINCINNATI

Author: NLCATFISH

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FACT FINDING TRIP

Around eleven o'clock Sunday morning I started out on a fact finding trip. I wanted to checkout some of the boat ramps and bank fishing area around them. These ramps are east of Cincinnati all the way up to the Meldahl dam. I also wanted to finally get to the Aberdean Power Plant's creek that I heard so much about.

I took Ohio route 52 all the way to Abredean and back. Checked out how much the fees were to launch a boat. My first stop was at Sweetwine marina just east of River Downs race track. The area around the ramp is more mud than gravel, but does have a dock to tie up your boat. The fee is $5 which is cheaper than the Cincinnati park ramp fee.

The second spot is Steamboat Bend Campgrounds which is about 3 miles up river from the 1st spot. There is a very nice dock and cement ramp. The fee is $5 per day or $25 per year to launch your boat. You also have to get a Hamilton county park sticker which is $1 a day or $5 a year. The only down side is the river has to be lest than 28.5 to drive your trailer down to the ramp. It is a good spot to use your casting net to gather Shad and Skipjacks.

Next stop was the public ramp at New Richmond. Big advantage here is you can launch for FREE. There is a good area to park your trailer. No dock so it is tricky to launch a boat by yourself. There are large areas to bank fish above and below the ramp. The bank is sand and gravel.

The mouth of Big Indian Creek at the rest stop in Point Pleasant was my next stop. There is a small trail from the parking lot to the bank. Not much area to bank fish for the water is shallow and has a number to dead trees to snag your line. The Creek did seem to hold bait fish so might be a good spot to use a casting net for bait.

Moscow public ramp is also FREE. It has a wooden dock that enables you to tie up your boat as you park the trailer. There is a good around of area to bank fish around the ramp. The black top road is a little tricky to see in the dark and or fog. This is another place the Skipjacks can be caught with a casting net.

The State of Ohio built a very nice ramp at Neville last fall. The parking lot is black topped and large. There is NO Sign along route 52 about the ramp!. You have to go down MORGAN Street one way to the ramp. Then leave out on Coffee which is one way to the highway. There a re 2 new docks that allows for securing your boat. This is also A FREE launch set up and it is just below the Meldahl Dam.

The Ohio side of the Meldahl Dam is a dirt or muddy bank all along the Lock wall. You can fish it, however it is not the easiest area to walk around. There is a small parking area that has a tricky path down to the water. I did not see any skipjacks at all on that side of the dam. I got there just after a shower turned the area into a steam bath. So I did not stay there very long at all.

The Aberdean Power Plant has their hot water discharge into a small creek. In the late fall and winter this creek is where the Skipjacks thrive. There is a parking lot right at the Adams county border on route 52. Pull into the lot and then walk down a long narrow path to the bank of the Ohio River. There is also a very narrow path that goes along the creek bank. From what; I saw that path would be muddy and hard to walk with the trees that have blown down across the path. There is an Iron semi dam at the mouth of the creek with another section up stream in the creek that makes getting a boat in there risky. I have been told guys really load up their coolers with big skipjacks over the winter. I would say if you live east of the Meldahl dam then go to Aberdean. All else get all the skipjacks you can in the fall at Meldahl or anywhere else. Put them in your freezer over the winter. Save the gas money and time of driving all the way up there.

I hope this information will be of some use to get a few more cats your reels sing.

nlcatfish@fuse.net webmaster for Cincinnati Catfishing www.cincinnaticatfishing.com

SHOP WITHOUT DROPPING www.cincinnaticatfishing.com/Shop1.html LINKS 4 FISHING INFORMATION AND SUPPLIES www.cincinnaticatfishing.com/links4fishing.html

About the author: Have been catfishing around the Downtown Cincinnati area of the Ohio River for over 40 years. Gone fishing at Lockport 5 times over the past 10 years. Locport,MANITOBA, is the greastest place to catch lots of huge CHANNEL catsfish in North America!! For the past 6 years have passed catfishing information for the Cincinnati part of the Ohio river on my web site ""CINCINNATI CATFISHING"".

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