I was scouting out a spot to do some Ohio River fishing yesterday, Fernbank Park, site of a former wicket dam that was used from 1911-1963 to control the OH River. Now I just need to figure out how to do river catfishing. The pics I have seen of other anglers involve heavy rods and old school casting reels. It seems to me a heavy surf spinning reel and rod would work, it can't be THAT much different than Florida shore fishing.
Best part is, it's about a 5 minute drive from my condo in North Bend OH.
Looks like fun. Thing with cats is that you might hook up with a 2 lb. channel cat or a flathead 20 times (or more) that size. Safe bet is to plan for the latter. I think you are on target with your tackle plans. I've even heard of using heavy duty spincast equipment; I have done that for big carp and buffalo without any special issues, and see no reason cats would be different.
Frank
David - Good plan. My goto (which has not seen much use in the last year) is an old First Gen Shimano Baitrunner. Allow the kitties to grab the chunk of decomposing mackeral or chicken liver and begin to swim away, then engage, set the hook and game on! Good luck. - john
I'm told it's really shallow till about 50 feet out, past an old dam foundation, then it drops significantly...that's where the action is supposed to be. We shall see.
With the wind chill being about 10 degrees today with a 20mph wind.
That might be a challenge.
Hard to beleive it was 70 yesterday.
Like you say. This is not so dissimilar from a situation you sometimes encounter surf fishing. Picture is worth a thousand words. This sketch: maybe a few hundred?
The difficulty is line abrasion and tangles at the dropoff. Some have been known to fish with a heavy-ish weight and a bobber that is free to slide up and down on the line, so at least you're only dealing with abrasion and tangles when you're hooked. Loss of sensitivity is a concern. But everything is a tradeoff.
Quote from: Shark Hunter on December 29, 2025, 06:54:46 PMWith the wind chill being about 10 degrees today with a 20mph wind.
That might be a challenge.
Hard to beleive it was 70 yesterday.
Yeah I was gonna ask about wading out, then I remembered it's Ohio in late December.
I didn't check the water temp but I have to imagine it was brisk, even with the warm air. Most of my heavy reels are in FL, I'm headed down on the 10th of January, may ship some to the other house.
Quote from: Shark Hunter on December 29, 2025, 06:54:46 PMWith the wind chill being about 10 degrees today with a 20mph wind.
That might be a challenge.
Hard to beleive it was 70 yesterday.
What a difference a day makes, huh? I got the dog groomed Sunday and they gave him a really short cut, just in time for cold air.