Luckeywades PB Channel Cat

Randy got his Personal Best Channel Cat last night. Fishing was real slow with no flatheads but a great trip regardless. 11#s is a great fish for this river!

Night to remember (Muskingum 9/15)

What a great night of fishing, 6 flatheads and 4 channel cats. We never caught any monsters but was non stop action all night. The flatheads ranged from 10 to 18#s. Darrell got big fish of the night with an 18# at our last anchor spot. All our fish have been coming on soft slender baits. Hognose suckers have been the bait of choice. It was real nice having action after a slow summer.

Joeys trip

Took my friend Joey out the other night trying to get him his first flathead. Fishing is starting to warm up some after these cool nights and water temp starting to drop. We ended up with 4 fish and at the end of the night Joe finally got his flathead. A nice first at that, going 22#s.

Valerie catches her first Flathead

Got my wife on the river the other night for some catfishing. The bite was a little slow but she ended up catching her first flathead. I was really excited for her and she did real well reeling it in.

Saltfork Lake 5-3, 5-4

Fatcat and I hit the lake for 2 solid days of Catfishing. 1st day bait came easy and got setup early around 3:30, right of the bat we caught afew channels on the cut shad. At 5pm we got our first flathead run and Fatcat landed a nice 18.9# Flat on a small live gill this fish came out of 12 foot of water and was a great start to our trip. Throughout the first night we had a few more flathead runs but nothing committing. Heres pic of 18.9#

2nd Day bait was a little tougher but managed to get a few dozen Green Sunfish and The shad was still easy to get. We started the morning off drifting the lake and caught 15 or so Channelcats on a shallow flat. We got setup at around 6pm and by 7 had the first Flathead in the boat a solid 26#er I caught on a double hook rig with two live shad. 2 hours later i caught an 8# to 10# flat on a small green sunfish. From 11 to 2 it was non stop channelcats catching 1 every 15 minutes or so, all on live shad. Turned out to be a great two day trip with three Flatheads and around 30 channelcats. We have a tournament on this lake in 2 weeks hope these fish are still as active. Heres pic of 26#

Steve Carlson Memorial Raffle

I am holding a Raffle for the Family of a good friend and fellow fisherman Steve "Catace" Carlson.  My sponsors are donating some nice gear and Tackle.  Bottom Dwellers Tackle is giving 2 Alphamar 12s, Blackhorse Custom Rods is donating a Custom Catfishing Rod, Driftmaster Rod Holders is Giving a Rod Holder package, OS Nets has gave a Joy Cast Net and Catfish Freaks is giving a Abu Kalex 60 Reel and A American Spirit Rod.  The raffle is 10 dollars a chance and 100% of all money raised will go to Steves Wife and Children. Please anyone interested follow this link for more info http://catfishfreaks.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=catmem&action=display&thread=1154
  Steve was a great person, Husband and Father.  Thankyou all!

4-15-2012 Lake Report

The temp got into the mid 70s today and I knew the Channelcats would be up feeding on the shallow flats.  I found a new lake spot and got in early to clear a few spots to cast and land fish.  It wasnt long after I casted out I had action.  The first channel I caught I guessed to be over 10# pushing 11# He came of a piece of cut shad.

The second fish Came shortly after and took a Live Handsized Bluegill.  I weighed this one and she weighed 13#s  not a bad night in a new spot and im sure it will only continue to get better.

Shallow Water Shad

Its been a few weeks since ive been able to get any shad.  With the recent cold weather we have had the shad moved to deeper water.  Today got up into the low 60s so i figured id get out to try to find some.  It took one throw of the net to get more than enough for a trip or two and also gave some to some catfisherman at the lake.  Its exciting when bait comes this easy,  Hope i have a sucessful trip tonight!

Many Nights And Very Few Fish

Ive fished the last 8 days on and off with only two fish to show for.   Its a little early but ive been spending a lot of nights on the lake.  Usually this time of year the fishing is far better during the day but with my schedule the only time i can really get out is after dark.  First off the cold front we had last week almost shut the bite off completly, but i was there sitting waiting for that one lucky bite.  Two nights ago the front had moved through and I actually had some decent weather to sit out in.  The first night i had two runs and landed one channelcat.  The first fish got into a snag and got off and the second was a small channelcat.  He went around 6 pounds and came off cut shad.

Last night I got to get out again for a few hours and had two runs again.  The first run was a solid run but dropped the bait never to return.  The second run came about 10:00 and there was no stopping him, I turned the clicker off and fed him some line to be sure he had it in his mouth.  When i locked it down he about pulled the rod from my hands,  I knew he was commited so i set the hook.  After a short fight i landed this fish and weighed him at 11.3 pounds.  Ive caught many bigger fish from this lake but was kind of satisfying for the time of year.  Im taking a few days off to spend with the family but ill be back at it saturday night to try for an even bigger channelcat or a decent flathead.  Heres the pic of the 11.3# Channel

Late Winter Channelcats

Rollo and I hit the river again today for some channel cats. Water temp was 42 to 44 degrees while the air temp. was around 40, bite was real finicky again. With the rising water and the 25 to 30mph wind gusts, we had a hard time getting anchored up but made due. They werent far from where we found them last time but they def. have moved. Cut shad was bait of choice. Heres a vid of a nice channel I caught today.

Giant James River Bluecat Video 69# 48in long

James River Trip (New Personal Best Bluecat)

Fished the James River for three days with my good friend Catfishrollo and my dad.  This has to be the best trip to date.  We caught 25 fish with only three being under 20 pounds, we caught a bunch of fish in the 20s,30s and 40 pound range.  Rollo caught a solid 45 pound fish, Dad caught a big 50 pounder and I got a new personal best 69 pound Giant.  The amount of good fish we caught on this trip was unreal.  A big thank you goes out to Capt. Hugh Self for the great fish he put us on.  Me, Rollo and Dad had a great time and had lots of laughs, looking forward to the next trip with these guys. These pics are of the biggest of the trip.  My 69#,  Rollos 45# and Dads 50#

James River Here We Come

Its that time of year again to head to the James river.  Catfishrollo, My Dad and I are headed down early Monday morning for a three and a half day trip.  Like the last three years we will be fishing with Capt. Hugh Self.  We always have great sucess with Hugh and have a great time.  Last year we caught some good fish with Dad catching a 52.4# fish and Rollo Crushed his PB on last years trip catching a 70+ pound Giant.  Capt Hugh has been on the big ones this year so far and had a client catch one over a 100#s a month or two ago with numerous 70 pound fish being caught.  Cant wait to get on the water and try for my own James River Giant!  I will give a report, pics and vids when I return!

If you too would like to get a shot of a monster catfish make sure you give Capt Hugh a call and He will do his best to get you on some good ones!

www.hughscatfishing.com

Catfish Freaks Forum

Me and Rollo have a catfishing forum for the novice to the advanced catfisherman, we have free giveaways every month and tons of knowledgable catmen.  Feel free to join up and share your tips, tricks and experiences with all of us.  This fourm is a catch and release and or selective harvest forum and dont support any alternative methods.  If you love to catch big catfish and enjoy sharing your methods feel free to join up with us......smooth

www.catfishfreaks.proboards.com

Braid for the Cold water Channelcat bite

I wrote an article on catching channelcats in the winter a month or so ago and i suggested using light mono for catching them.  This is the way ive always done it in the past.  I have to say after this weeks fishing trip with Catfishrollo i am sold on using braid when the water is real cold and the bite is real light.  We only caught two fish but the sensitivity of the braid was unreal compared to the 14# monofilament i was using.  The bite was so extremely light i could barely feel it in the mono and at times you couldnt even visually see it in the rod tip.  Ive came to the conclusion that i will be switching to the 50# power pro braid for this type of fishing.  I appreciate being able to get out and fish with other avid catfisherman and feel greatful for the little tip i learned this last trip. I honestly believe you learn something every trip regardless if you are successful or not........smooth

Muskingum River 2-18-2012 (first trip of 2012)

Rollo and I hit the river today for some cold water channel cattin, the bite was real light.  Water temps were 37 degrees.  Rollo managed to hook up on two and i blanked.  Had a lot of bites but nothing wanted to commit.  Still nice getting on the river for the first trip of the year.

Abu Garcia Kalex 60 reels from Bottom Dwellers Tackle

Picked up 4 Kalex reels from Dave at Bottom Dwellers, also got power handles and a 1# spool of Hi-Seas 25# mono. I picked these reels up for Valerie and I for channel cattin. I was impressed with the quality for the price. The Kalex reels have a recessed reelseat for easier handling on the rod, Thumb bar spool release and a clicking drag indicator which is handy. I like the drag which seemed smooth and strong. I'm confided these reels will handle anything I throw at them. Great price, service and fast shipping as always from Bottom Dwellers. Can't wait to test them out.

Basic Differences Between Small Channelcats And Bluecats

  With the recent release of bluecats in a few Ohio lakes the past two years i thought it would be a good idea to post some information on distinguishing between the two species.  They do have many similarites but are easy to tell the difference.
  First the young channel catfish will have spots down the side of its body while a small blue catfish will not.

 Baby Channelcat (above)

Baby Bluecat (above)

Another way to tell to be 100% sure is by the anal Fin.

  The anal fin of a channelcat will have 25 to 29 Rays.(above)

The anal fin of a Bluecat will have 30 to 35 rays.(above)

(Please all) release the bluecats so they can grow and reach trophy potential.  With everyones efforts we could possibly see 20# Bluecats in a short 5 years, for these fish  feed all year long and grow to extreme sizes.  I hope to see in my lifetime a trophy fishery come from the release of these great sport fish......smooth