Ohio River - Cats & Strippers

[mhall]

Mark,
Is that pretty standard for it (cats) to slow down in the colder months?

I asked Chuck that very question the other day. He told me although it usually slows a little a consistent bite will hold up through the winter months with big fish still being caught. However this year it appears that the fish have moved out on us and may be due to very clear water and lack of rainfall. The graph is not showing near the fish in our holes that it has been a few weeks ago.

[R.BRUGH]

a friend and myself went to the fossil beds sat & sun caught a few cats (flatheads) a 5, 8,& a 21lbs plus a few small ones and we caught 2 sauger (still Slow) and a couple small white bass ...

[DJD]

I want to get into the fish in those warm water discharges this year.

[fishhound]

fishin for blues in the winter they stack up at mouth of creeks, warm water discharge, deep pools, ext they r cold blooded. as the water gets colder they move away from dams some what they prefer calm water an wait for food to come to them is what ive noticed ..

[Lowerider]

Most seasoned cat anglers will tell you that winter is the best time to fish. While the flatheads go into hibernation mode the blues and channels take advantage of the annual shad die-off. Winter is the time of year that large blues will congregate so it can be a feast or famine deal. Once you find where they hang out you can usually repeat success year after year. They also begin to target dieing or dead fish so this is the time to break out your frozen jacks/shad you caught last spring. Old frozen bait can actually outfish fresh bait this time of year and it beats throwing a cast net in 25 degree weather. Some likely spots to try were mentioned above and if you can find a combo (creek mouth+warmer water+deep hole) you can likely hit the jackpot. Gotta put in your time like anything else. Happy hunting...

I think we need a good hard rain to get the season kicked off right now.