# another fish ohio award channel cat



## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

i fished the tusc river tonight and tried a new spot in the gnaden area. it was ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS...........first of all the river came up over 2 feet in just a couple of hours..........then i ran out of propane ............then all of my creek chubs were dead. but i decided to go anyways and use the dead chubs and a couple of shad i had cut up. fished for around 2 hours and didnt have any bites, my wife (CATWOMAN) had a nice fish run and had it on for a few seconds before it came off. just before dark i tried alittle hole that rockbass had told me about and had 2 straight casts where something ripped my chub off of the circle hook without getting hooked on the 3rd cast into that hole i hooked and landed a nice 26 1/2 inch channel cat weighing 6 lbs 14 oz. unfortunately it was dark after i released the fish so i had to leave for the night.  that gives me 6 fish ohio award channels this year already and one largemouth big enough for a fish ohio award.  pics didnt turn out sorry.


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Congrats on another Fish Ohio.


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## 03zrider (May 17, 2004)

thats great .mabee the award lenth should increase if this many are being caught


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

All of them need to be Re-Thought & Re-Calculated based upon the amount of Submissions & Electro-Shocking done by the ODNR. I'm sure it would increase the number of Fish Ohio Fish after a few years of Implamentation & More Quality fish in our waters we fish at. :B JMHO
Cat Mazter


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

thanks mrfish !!  i dont think 26 inch channels are that easy to come by, maybe on the ohio river they are but not on the tusc river. ive been on a roll this summer. i know alot of guys up here who havent caught a 26 inch channel in their lifetime.


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

I did want to say congrats on your catch too, Im at 11 Total Fish Ohio Fish & I have my Master Angler for 4 differant species. This has been a Banner year for me considering my Back Condition. 
Cat Mazter

I caught This 36 inch Channel Cat out of Lake Logan Last in the spring. Its my PB Channel Cat. :B


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

26 inch channels not easy to come by? you are goofy! your welcome again....good thing I did not reel up my rods after saying I should go there and try.....


In the Gnaden Area???? I thought we were closer to Tusky?


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

> I'm sure it would increase the number of Fish Ohio Fish after a few years of Implamentation & More Quality fish in our waters we fish at


I fail to understand how raising the limits for FO awards will make any change in the number or quality of fish.  The awards are nothing more than an acknowledgement of a nice fish.


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## FUENTEJPS (May 19, 2005)

Nice Brian


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

werent we closer to port  theres not many 26 inch channels in the tusc being caught right now......................... except by me :B


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

thanks JPS


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

Just not as many being reported on the public forum except by you  


I was just saying it is not that hard to catch any over 26 out of the Tusc...... not very uncommon.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

isnt that what a public forum is for fishing reports ????  it aint like im drawing people a map to our spots. besides there is plenty of spots on the river anyways right ??? and the hole i caught that fish out of is a COMMUNITY HOLE anyways. my god the ground is wore bear from people fishing it sooo much. i didnt mean to show anyone your spots SORRY


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

True enough some waters hold more Fish Ohio award size fish than others. It's not a big deal to get a Fish Ohio walleye on Erie vs. catching one at Ceasar's Creek or the Ohio River. Same with Hybrid stripe bass, many caught below the dams on the Ohio River are Fish Ohio Fish. When I was really fishing for them, I probably caught several a week, if not in a day. But they are not so common elsewhere in the state. Same with smallies, Erie holds big ones. I think they set the limits for a Fish Ohio award as to what constitutes a larger than average size fish in most of the state. It might be a good question for someone to email the DNR and ask them. Just how were the sizes of various fish determined and by what criteria to be called a Fish Ohio fish. I suspect they would say pretty much what I said, that it's a larger than average size fish for the entire state.


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

funny you say about COMMUNITY HOLES and do the  face.....aren't you the one that was complaining about saugeyeslayer saying that it looked like you were fishing the canoe place?



BUT I am not supposed to say anything?


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

its one thing to say a general location like...........the gnaden area and its another thing for someone else to actually name a location that you fish. im just saying that hole is fished alot but i didnt name the spot.


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

M.Magis said:


> I fail to understand how raising the limits for FO awards will make any change in the number or quality of fish.  The awards are nothing more than an acknowledgement of a nice fish.


The People I see here That catch a Fish Ohio Fish end up taking it home with them. If we had a few inches added on some of the fish it woul make it harder to catch them & people would put them back if they were not long enough. How could it be a bad thing ?

Cat Mazter

Its Just an Idea anyway.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

> The People I see here That catch a Fish Ohio Fish end up taking it home with them.


Please show an example. I've not seen it at all, and I still doubt that it being a FO fish is the reason people take a fish home. If they want to take a fish home, they're going to. It's not some magic number that it has to be before becoming dinnner.


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

I've never kept a fish because it was a Fish Ohio either.


> The People I see here That catch a Fish Ohio Fish end up taking it home with them


 I don't think that's the case here either. I don't give up specific spots either(in public forum anyway), only generalities too.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

i'm with magis and mrfish.
not that i catch an overabundance of fishohios every year,but i release every one i catch(almost)  
on the rare occasions i get to perch fish on erie and catch a fo(i've only caught one) it most likely will adorn my dinner plate 
i did keep one crappie a few years ago.
my most targeted fish are saugeyes,crappies,channels and flatheads,of which all fo's are released.
in my younger days,it was different,but i still didn't keep them because they were fo's.
in fact i never even applied for the awards till a couple years ago.
i also don't see how raising the fo bar would affect fish pops 
there are some who keep big fish more for bragging rights,than dinner,but there are also many who release them.


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

Cat Mazter said:


> The People I see here That catch a Fish Ohio Fish end up taking it home with them.



I am willing to bet that most of the folks keeping catfish that are FO size don't know anything about the whole Fish Ohio awards concept......plus they are prob not out to only catch a fish take a pic and let it go....They want food.


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## FUENTEJPS (May 19, 2005)

i dont think we should be specific on public forums either, especially private property, generalities get the point across. specific areas shouldnt be mentioned by name but it seems to be happening in this thread, not sure why. it just ruins the spots


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

Every catfish i catch regardless of size is released..........in fact i never eat catfish. i have caught and photographed 6 fish ohio cats this year and they were all released back into the water as soon as they were measured and photographed. last night when my wife caught the 25 1/2 inch channel a (meathunter) practically mugged me to ask if he could have the fish. my wife looked him in the eye and said nope im releasing that fish so it can get bigger and maybe i can catch it again !! ive taught her well !!!  i do think maybe they should raise the size limits alittle, but hey maybe ive just been lucky.  i know in sept and oct i usually do even better.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

JPS i agree that the naming the exact spot thing is out of hand. how would people like it if you or i said on here ..............yeah fish the first spot up from the big bend in the river where the big rock is or something like that and gave exact directions to their holes??? there are plenty of great holes on the tusc but the good ones are all kinda secrets.


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## FUENTEJPS (May 19, 2005)

you dont eat cats, man channels around 2pds are fantastic. they have a real nice cleean meat. i do always throw the big ones back, especially shovelheads, they can be gamey. but i try to have a nice supply of catfish in the freezer. i even keep them out of the ohio river as long as they arent glowing, lol.


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

More Ohio residents hunt or fish each year than attend Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals games combined (*1.54 million** vs. 1.06 million). 

*One of every seven Ohio residents hunt or fish.* 

Annual spending by Ohio sportsmen exceeds the combined box office receipts for Titanic, Star Wars and E.T., the three top grossing films of all time (*$1.7 billion* vs. $1.49 billion). 

I agree that Most people that Catch a Big fish are not fishing as Most of us do, For the fun of it & for a Picture with the Fish & Braggin rights. 

Mike- I was only stating my Opinion of what *I* Thought ! I have no statistic's for this & never claimed to have. I see alot of People keeping a fish just because its a Fish Ohio no matter what the Fish is. I have saw this for many years at the Lakes I fish the Most.

Lets say there are 300 People that have kept a Fish Ohio Catfish, In a 300 acre Lake. Thats 300 Catfish that over the years would of been much bigger fish & could be being caught many more time's by People like us that just fish for the Fun & Challange of it. 300 Catfish that would of Breed many more Catfish for the future too. If the Fish Ohio Limits were changed by just a few inch's, *I* Think we would see a Greater increase of Bigger Fish being caught, More Often. 

Misfit said something good too_-in my younger days,it was different-_ That shows you that younger people & people who dont fish like we do have no idea how long it takes a Catfish to get that big. So if there was very Strict Size Limits & or a few more inch's added to the Fish Ohio Fish, I do beleive it would make a differance.

Its only My Opinion only, Not a Pi$$ing contest.  

Cat Mazter


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

i like the sandbar in philly,behind denny s. ive caught 10 to 12 lbers there many times. now they have it blocked off because of the drinking there,gave you one of my fav spots no big deal.


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

Here are several reasons why I see it this way. Only my Opinion, Not Facts.

First of all, removing the largest fish (the usual scenario) effectively removes valuable genes (i.e. the genes for larger size) from a population. Secondly, the larger fish are usually the mature, gravid adults, if they are put back in the waters they were caught will grow bigger & will give us all a greater chance of Catching a Bigger fish.

My Example-If we set a size limit for Flatheads in our Lake & Rivers to something like 10-15lbs & over *MUST* be Released ! We would see a Differance in the fish we catch everywhere.

However, the main argument for restricting the catch of the smaller size classes is to conserve for the future. The smaller size classes will grow to the adult stage & begin reproducing.

The Effect's of the commercial fishing climate is way worse on us than People keeping Fish that they will not eat or mount. If we could only curb them from over fishing our River's & set Smaller Catch Limits on them we would see an increase in the Size of Catfish we Catch in our Lakes & River's.

Unfortunately, Us anglers are often forced to bear the burdens of regulations & restrictions that arise from commercial overfishing and bad fisheries & Fishing management.

Cat Mazter


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Moved to http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?p=172435#post172435


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## FUENTEJPS (May 19, 2005)

husky hooker said:


> i like the sandbar in philly,behind denny s. ive caught 10 to 12 lbers there many times. now they have it blocked off because of the drinking there,gave you one of my fav spots no big deal.


seems like the idiot drunks ruin spots. 

me personally, i like fishing where there arent others up my ass, its not a social event, thats why i catfish


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## Cat Mazter (May 20, 2005)

mrfishohio said:


> There's no limits on catfish in Ohio except some new regs in the smaller lakes. I'm glad they are starting to see the light. When the state finally realizes that catfish are the #2 targeted fish behind largemouth bass maybe something will be done. I've been pushing for a 6 catfish creel limit with only one 34" or larger may be kept. That's the same regulation TN has so that will keep it simple to remember. This would apply to all legal methods used. So if one opted for trot lines, limb lines, jugs, rods or reels, they would still be limited to their 6 fish. That way if someone ran some trot lines & caught several big flatheads & decided to run them to a paylake (illegal anyway) they would have to think twice. Why you ask ? Because simply the possession of over one 34" fish would be a crime. Today you may possess all you can carry....legally so long as you don't sell them.
> 
> The Fish Ohio size has nothing to do with conversation or limiting the harvest of fish or anything. It's simply a size where you win an award because the state has decided a fish that size or over is deemed noteworthy. Has ziltch to do with regulations.
> We all need to ban together and call on our fine state to enact a creel and size limit to protect our valuable resources. *Let's Git 'er Done !!!*



Yes, it is getting off topic, & I want everyone to know I Agree with what mrfishohio has just said. I could'nt of said it better myself. We do have the Limit imposed here & I have worked so hard to help get this implemented here with the restrictions it has on our small lake. Im so thankful it took place this year before they totally destroyed our lake by keeping to many Catfish & other fish.

Mike or anyone else, I will be more than glad to disscus this with you in another New Post  . MrFishOhio is right on one thing *We all need to ban together and call on our fine state to enact a creel and size limit to protect our valuable resources.We all need to ban together and call on our fine state to enact a creel and size limit to protect our valuable resources.*

I have wrote alot of people & made phone calls, I do have some resources too. Im not afraid to organize, help, or lead anything to help us Fisherman & Hunters out in everyway I can. I have been this way for many years & As a group alot more gets done & more notice gets taken to the issue at hand.

Im sorry for getting off topic in this Post 
Cat Mazter


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Okay then....moved to here.
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?p=172435#post172435


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