# 8-6 on the O- Nite of Interest



## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

Well, it started oddly and ended up weird too so here it goes. I left the house @ 5:45 p.m. and hit ZERO traffic from Tri-County all the way to the river. On a Friday afternoon in Cincinnati that is UNHEARD of. I knew the night was going to be different.
Launched and headed upriver. No shad popping in the LMR so I didn't waste time looking. As I passed under the 275 bridge I noticed the water was reallt riled up- like and inlet in Florida during a tide change. I guess Rascal Flats was playing there at Riverbend? Must have been 50 boats there- water was seriously messed up. That worried me about my spot. 
Got there and knew that I was going to be SOL. The waves from the boat traffic made it impossible to get in position. I anchored instead and after an hour I got disgusted by the idiot boaters who think it's fun to go screaming by me as close as possible without actually getting into 3oz sinker distance. 
Left there and headed downstream instead. Finally arrived well after dark (grrrrrrrr) and anchored up. Even now the waves from passing boats were bad and the west wind that blew all day really screwed up the water. It was just aggravating. 
But, I got baits out and got to it. 15 minutes after I set up I notice my inside rod moving sideways, not "going down" as the term usually is. I pick up the rod to clear what I figured was a stick or other debris off the line and find that the "stick" has gone under the boat. I wrestle what I now know is a fish and after getting him out of the outboard I manage to land fish #1. Ugly, beat up and looked like he had a skin condition. 11.2 lbs though and back he went. 
20 minutes later outisde rod goes down HARD and the fish is taking line. I bring fish #2 to the boat. 12.8 lbs and the picture of beauty for a catfish. Fat, green, smooth and healthy. Nice fish. 
15 minutes later I pick up fish #3,4 and 5- all channels between 5-7 lbs. and not so picture worthy. They are hitting the baits like they haven't eaten in 6 months- so hard that I had a tough time getting the rods out of the holders. 
#6 fish hits and I figure it's a wiper. The fish is going side to side and moving fast! I have to go under two other rods to bring the fish to the boat because he is all over the place. I finally get him to the top and it's a blue! Thrashing like I've never seen a cat thrash before- I swear he almost jumped at boatside. Got him on the gripper and in the boat. Berkley scale said 10.4 but this fish looked bigger than the channel- seriously beefy. My hands were goopy so I did not take a picture. Sorry about that. 
Fish #7 was the trophy of the night- hit like a freight train, fought like a warrior and never gave up. I think he may have weighed a pound if you put 8 oz of lead in his belly. LOL. I rarely catch flatheads and when I do they ALWAYS seem to be like this little fella. Cute little guy actually. 
The twist happened like this. I get back to Schmidt to retrieve and there is a traffic jam at the ramp. Concert was done I guess and everyone was trying to get the boats out. The trouble was most everyone there was wasted from what I could tell and nobody wanted to take turns. They want to drop off a buddy and then sit at the dock, blocking the ramp. That P.O'd the other people who wanted to do the same thing. There were 20 boats in the mess and 5 or 6 were having serious issues. I parked off to the side where there is no ramp and went to get the truck so I could get in line. As I walk up the dock to get my truck two guys start jawing and sure enough fists fly. Seems Mr. Baja got in Mr. Fountains' way and that just wasn't going to fly. I watch for a second to see if a call to The Man will be required but the beer couldn't sustain the bout and they broke it up. I get my boat on the trailer and as I'm cleaning up and stowing gear I hear the guys in the lot going back and forth again. THEN the women get into it and start screaming back and forth. By the time I'm pulling out of the lot, there are 6 drunks getting ready to rumble again in the lot. Too much beer and too much Rascal Flats I guess. I can understand the last reason- listening to that makes me want to kill somebody as well. LOL

UFM82


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## lonewolf (Mar 4, 2010)

Goood thing the fishing was OK. I'm always amazed by how people can turn something simple into a huge deal!!!


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## GhostX (May 24, 2010)

That's awesome. What baits were you using to catch these?


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## Ken G (Apr 9, 2004)

The heck with the fish pictures, where are the pictures of the drunk fightin' women?

Also, I'll give you some 8 ounce sinkers, they cast farther than 3's.


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

As I lack the patience to hunt for shad and I don't try to keep live bait, I go easy. I buy Kroger Raw White shrimp in the 31-40 size and that will do two trips. Keep it frozen- it stays on the hook well that way. Run the hook through the fat section first, turn 180 degrees and come through the hard shell around the tail. Works great and the fish chow them hard. I don't get any tap, tap, tap bites- more like BAM!!! LOL

I do like using shad though when they are available. Cut/dead bait like this is small fish bait IMHO. For the big guys you need big fresh baits.


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## hunterm (Apr 22, 2004)

Hey Craig,

Sounds like you got into them pretty well in spite of the heavy traffic. Congrats!

I'm heading out tonight, fishing out of Schmidt see if I can put some big ones in the boat.


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

Mmmmm.....Shrimp...... I am trying to get around to comming down for some catfishing. I have heard a few say chicken breast with Garlic. Any thoughts?


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

I've caught cats on (but not limited to):
Shad
Skipjacks
Minnows
Nightcrawlers
Worms
Catalpa worms
Shrimp
Squid
Crawfish
Cicadas
Bacon
Hamburger
Liver
Ivory soap
Stink baits (packaged and homemade)
Crankbaits
Tubes
Rubber worms

And the list can go on for a long time- cats will eat almost anything IMHO!

UFM82

Oops, forgot one- McDonalds french fries.


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## fishmonster13 (May 4, 2009)

yeah they will hit all kinds of bait, sometimes they will hit anything and sometimes it will be one specific thing, i try to bring a smorgasbord of bait with me every time out..


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