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ALMOST SKUNKED !
The Ohio River finally got down to a so I could put my boat in the river. It took sometime for me to get all the things loaded into the boat I needed for seeking out those catfish. The ramp at the Cincinnati Public Landing was empty so I was able to take my time getting my boat into the river.
I headed down river to check out some spots with my fish-finder. Scanned over of sites very few fish show on the screen. I fished 3 different places on the Ohio and 4 spots on the Licking River. Same story, if the fish were there they just did not bite. I pitched all kinds of different baits at them. Bluegill chunks, fried chicken skin, chunks of steak, and chicken liver. On the first day spent 5 hours with NO bites so not a fun day at all.
The next morning I was eager to get my boat in the water to check out some new places. As I launched my boat I noticed the wind was blowing up the Ohio River at a strong level. When I started down river I was taken with the fact of how much of the Ohio bank was taken up with moored barges. Just then a tow boat was passing me by and the waves it caused was being reflected off those moored barges. With the wind and those mixed up waves caused my boat to be tossed all over the place.
I finally got to my first spot of the day. Ran over the area trying to locate fish. Dropped my anchor into the 40 foot hole, then I got my 2 poles in the water. I noticed the wind was getting a little stronger then my poles got snagged as the anchor had slipped and the boat was drifting. Had to fight the snags on the poles ,one snapped at the hook so was able to retrieve all my line. The other pole I let the line go out as I tried to get the anchor up and start the motor. The line ran all the way out and snapped before I could get the motor started. I was not a happy guy at that point so just headed back up river to try to get out of the wind. Stopped at a bridge and put out both font and back anchors this time and it did the job. Fish this spot for 30 minutes, NO bites.
Fired up the motor and went upriver to a favorite spot and got on the inside of a barge to block the wind. I did spot a number of catfish so dropped my anchor. Fished about 15 minutes when I saw the rod tip take a hit. Picked up the rod and felt the line get tight, then pulled back and set the Hook. The catfish dove down heading for the protection of the barge. With my stiff pole and 30 pound test line was able to turn the fish my way. When he got to the surface saw he was a nice Channel cat. Once I got him in the boat was able to check his size. Weight was 6.5 pounds and 25 inches long. I took 2 photos of me holding him via a self-timing camera. Hopefully they will turn out O.K. for I have a jury rig set up to support the camera for taking such photos. Fish for around 20 more minutes, but no more bites.
Made up my mind to get off the Ohio River and get out of the wind, so went up the Licking River. Did spot a few fish with the fish-finder, stopped to try my luck.. These fish also were not interested in my tasteful offerings. Took my boat up river to check out Banklick Creek. The creek was a little deeper than I expected 6-7 feet. I as very disappointed by not locating ANY fish as I scoured the area. Turned the boat back into the Licking headed for the ramp to call it a day.
Two days with a total of 10 hours of fishing, tried 13 different fishing spots. I did put in a lot of effort for the one bite, which did put one nice fish in the boat as my reward. Not all fishing trips are productive, even if a person is using a boat. There will more days to wet my lines in the up coming months to hook into a big catfish. I wish each and everyone tight lines.
nlcatfish@fuse.net
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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!!