The Ohio River is one of the nation's greatly underappreciated fisheries. True, it's not the best black bass fishery. In fact, it's poor in that category by almost any standard -- except for smallmouths in its upper stretches. Far too much attention is paid to the river in this regard. Yes, bass are fun to catch and are one of the most popular species in our country, there's no doubt about that; however, there are many other challenging species to catch out there as well.

What about the great striper and hybrid populations? And catfish, especially flatheads and blues, are caught from the Ohio River that grow to 50 pounds or more! There are backwater crappie up to 12 inches, and saugers, saugeyes and walleyes by the boatload! Each can lay claim to being one of the better species of fish to pursue.

All of these species are scattered throughout the river. The upper stretches are home to smallmouth bass, walleyes, saugers, saugeyes, stripers, hybrid striped bass, crappie and a surprising number of big catfish. As you work your way down, the percentages of each species may change -- from smallies and saugers to stripers and hybrids and catfish -- but they're all there, nevertheless.

And, some of the best -- if not the best -- fishing in the Ohio River takes place in the tailrace waters below the dams. Let's take a close look at four of the better ones in the Mountain State.

Mountain State waters start at the 40-mile mark in the upper stretches of the river. That's where the river first crosses into West Virginia. It ends at the lower end of the river near Kenova, where shortly after is the boundary between West Virginia and Kentucky.

WILLOW ISLAND DAM
The Willow Island Dam is the place to start in the upper stretches of the river. To be fair, the Ohio River offers some great fishing above this dam. It is not, however, located below the dams in the tailrace waters.

The fast, churning waters here offer some good smallmouth fishing and some great sauger and saugeye fishing. January brings cold waters, but still, fish can be caught.

Effective lures include jigs and in-line spinners. The water can run the gamut from clear to muddy. Clear water calls for relatively heavy -- 1/2- to 3/4-ounce -- hair jigs. Some of the best are tied from craft hair and other synthetic fibers, which will move and flow in the current.

Models with flat heads or stout hook protectors are the norm. Like most tailrace waters, this one is littered with every type of snag imaginable. If you cast more than once or twice, you'll probably get hung.

And that brings us to the subject of line. Again, when the water's clear, savvy anglers spool their reel with heavy fluorocarbon. It offers two advantages -- lack of visibility and weight. Even at strengths of 15-pound-test or more, fluorocarbon is nearly invisible underwater. It just disappears when immersed. And it's heavy and sinks. This helps get your jig down in the swift current.

Most anglers will toss natural colors with their hair jigs. Browns, grays, anything that looks like a crayfish or a shad will do. Recently, bright white has become all the rage; for whatever reason, the bass seem to like that color. And that, after all, is the ultimate test on whether or not to use a lure.