Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

The Ohio River is one of the most underrated crappie fisheries in the Midwest. Its countless creeks, inflows and small slews offer anglers everywhere in the Commonwealth a place to fish within an easy drive of their homes.

But river fishing isn't reservoir fishing. It's much more dependent upon the weather. A dry spell can drain water from prime areas, and a heavy rain can wash them out and make boating treacherous. Still, the river's a great place to spend the day fishing for a mess of slab crappies!

Even better, you don't need a lot of expensive tackle to do it. A simple entry-level rod-and-reel combo, some line, a bobber and a hook, along with a couple of split shots, are all you really need. Include a pail of small minnows along with a handful of jigs, and you're good to go.

With all that said, let's take a closer look at five of the better spots to fill your stringer along the Ohio River.

We'll start at the upper end and work our way down. The spots are identified by mile markers that correspond to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer charts. They begin at a point in Pittsburgh -- mile 0.0 -- and get larger as you go downstream toward Paducah.

CABIN CREEK(MAYSVILLE)
About five miles upstream from Maysville, you'll find Cabin Creek (mile 403). The entrance is alongside the Dravo Corporation facility.

This creek winds its way back into the hills of northern Kentucky for several miles, depending upon river water levels. Cabin Creek generally runs south, so both banks tend to get a lot of sun early and late in the day. Because of this, the water will warm more quickly in the spring.

Depending upon the weather, crappie fishing usually begins around the end of February or the first part of March. On a good year, the action will last into May.

The first spot in the creek -- and arguably the best for high numbers of 8- and 9-inch papermouths -- is at the hard left-hand turn it makes about three-eighths of a mile from its mouth. On the right side of this turn, there's a deep washout that almost always attracts a lot of brush and drift. It also attracts a lot of crappie.

During low-water conditions, there'll only be 1 or 2 feet of water here. When the water's up, there may be 4 or 5 feet under your boat.

Either way, a good stringer of crappie can be had if you fish patiently and thoroughly. The crappie hold tight under the cover and won't move very far from it to feed.

To reach these fish, most anglers will dunk minnows on a tightline rig -- no bobber -- and let the minnows swim at will under the canopy of the debris. Usually, if the crappie are in a cooperative mood, they'll bite within a few minutes. Sometimes a small, flashy bead just above the hook will get their attention faster.