You have permission to publish this article in its entirety either; electronically or in print, free of charge. As long as
bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication; or
notice of your use of my article would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You.
My Biggest Ohio River Catfish
I got my boat on the Ohio River at 06:45 before the heat got too
high. I headed for my new favorite fishing spot. Put two poles
out and waited for the action to start. I waited for 45 minutes
with NO bites. I cranked up my motor and took off for my second
place to fish.
Got my boat anchored and cast one pole in the river. I was
putting bait on my second pole when I notice a tap on the pole in
the water. I watched the line and there was a fish hitting on it.
I picked up the pole just as he moved, I set the hook into him.
The fight was on; from the pull at the other end I realized this
was a nice size fish. The Channel cat was of decent size. When
weighed it was 9 pounds and 25 inches long, not bad for this part
of the river. Had one other hard bite that ran the reel briefly
but never came back. After spending about 45 minutes there I
moved on to another hole.
I stopped a bridge pier that my fish finder showed fish were
there. I tried for 30 minutes with no action at all. At least I
was in the shade during the stay there. I then headed back up
river to the first placed I fished.
20 minutes after I had my lines in the water I heard music to my
ears, the reel clicker made a brief run. I watched the pole much
more closely, the line move out then dropped back. This action
went on for several minutes; I picked up the pole to feel the
bite via the line tension. This fish got a little more pressure
then dropped back, finally the line stayed tight, pulled back and
he was there! From the first moment I knew this was a BIG fish,
it just did not want to move off the bottom. This area is loaded
with snags and the pole this fish was on really did not have much
back bone to apply any lifting pressure on the fish. I was very
concerned he would get me hung up on a sang. It took some time to
get this fish to the boat so I could get the net on him. When I
first saw him I knew this was the biggest fish I ever caught out
of the Ohio River! It was a good size flathead cat; his head got
into the net, however his tail was hanging out. This guy was 19.2
pound and 33 inches long as I put the details in my log book. I
forgot how slimy these fish are, but found out as I had to cradle
it with my arms to get some pictures of it. Once the picture
taking was completed I slowly slipped him over the side to return
to fight another day. I am sure he will give a thrill to the next
person that has a duel with him in the future. He got hungry for
a strip of thawed skipjack on my hook which explained the stop
and start action of the bite.
All in all 3 bites and 2 nice catfish; not bad for about 4 hours
of fishing on a very hot morning. Needless to say I will be
returning to my NEW favorite fishing hole in the future. Tight
lines to all.
nlcatfish@fuse.net webmaster for Cincinnati Catfishing
www.cincinnaticatfishing.com AND SHOP WITHOUT DROPPING
www.cincinnaticatfishing.com/Shop1.html Over700Bargings4YOU
About the Author
Have been catfishing around the Downtown Cincinnati area of the Ohio River for over 40 years. Gone catfishing at Lockport 5 times over the past 10 years. It is the greastest place to catch lots of huge CHANNEL catsfish in North America!! Also have web site about catfishing called CINCINNATI CATFISHING with information on catfishing this part of the OHIO RIVER.