Ohio river cats

[katchaser]

Just a note that I fished the river because the water temp has dropped for flathead fishing.

Took my wife and she caught some blues and channels Saturday.

A little over 80 pounds of cats. They are starting to group up loosely and we picked up 1 or 2 active fish from each spot we anchored. Most were blue cats but one was a dandy channel cat.

Hoping for some decent weather and a few more good catfishing days.

[MJCatfish]

Here I thought I was finally getting over the catfish fever for the season, and you go and do this! Looks like a great day on the water. Nice pictures. How late are you able go into the fall/winter for these cats? Thanks for posting the great pictures and Happy Thanksgiving.

MJ

[katchaser]

MJ

Cats can be caught year round in the river. The colder it gets the less they feed. But the colder it gets the more they concentrate in deep holes.

It basically comes down to days when you can fish comfortably. If you find a day with lots of active fish you can make great catches even though it is very cold.

The average size of blue cats seem to increase as the water temp goes down.

[MJCatfish]

Can you access the river anytime or do you get shore ice, or freeze over. My buddy and I have talked about making a trip to Santee Cooper or somewhere in the Mid Atlantic Region. Ohio is a lot closer! Sounds appealing.

MJ

[catfish1]

katchaser; You and the wife did real good. Just know you had lots of fun getting them. Great looking fish and great job...

Catfish1

[DARK30]

Hey Robby, Looks like fun! How were you fooling um? I'm kinda in hibernation mode now. Most guys around here are waiting for ice. I may get out a few times but I'm waiting for April !

[Ed Carlson]

Nice batch of kitty's Robby!

I am kinda with Dark30 on April cannot come soon enough for me too.

[katchaser]

Kevin

When the water cools down the flathead shut down. The blues and channels congregate in deeper water behind current breaks and will feed occasionally.

We pick days without a lot of wind and cold. Baitfish are deep and difficult to net but fresh cut shad or skipjack are much preferred over frozen.

Cats in deeper water are easy to locate on depthfinders. You can look behind current breaks and decide if enough cats are present to be worth trying. Anchor down upriver and present cut bait. If you get no bites in 30 minutes find more fish and try them.

The same system works in several large rivers and is effective on big cats where you find them in a feeding mood.

Blues and channels in cold water do not feed as much and good catches often involve a lot of set ups and a day when cats are active.