I've been saying catfishing is easy. Just sort of as a joke. While it's not nearly as difficult as chasing eyes & getting the proper depths, speeds, lures, etc. Only needing some hooks & other basic terminal tackle. It can in fact be challenging. Also catfishing can be done in rough weather athough it's generally a warm weather sport by most catters. When fishing the big river from a boat , you have constant changing water conditions. There's alot of hard core catmen on the river year round. Anyway when it rains in OH & the surrounding states if affects the current & color, you have barges & well.....nutcases on the water too. Correctly locating structure & anchoring with wind & current is difficult to say the least. Then of course when you actually catch a fish, they can run into snags, yes, there's snags, rebar, trees, etc in the big Ohio. Not to mention your anchor line in 60' of water. Also there's just some plain big brutes who just aren't going to be horsed in. It's not as hard as walleye fishing, but it does in fact require alot of perseverance. The guys you see consistantly catching nice fish have done their homework. Sure, anyone can luck into a nice one from time to time, but the ones you see consistantly holding the pictures of nice fish....it's no accident.
It's certainly not rocket science (thanks Tom), but getting bait, reading the water and all the other factors involved do require a degree of skill. Preparation is the key. One must have the right equiptment, line, hooks, etc to handle the brutes as well as the patience to properly handle the fish so it won't pull the hooks loose. Fish up to about 25# aren't that common either, but they can be handled easier as the don't have the sheer strength & bulk to put you & your tackle to the test. Over 30# and up is a whole new ball game and if you don't want to talk about the "one that got away" then do your homework.
Okay......happy dip ?? See you Sunday !!
It's certainly not rocket science (thanks Tom), but getting bait, reading the water and all the other factors involved do require a degree of skill. Preparation is the key. One must have the right equiptment, line, hooks, etc to handle the brutes as well as the patience to properly handle the fish so it won't pull the hooks loose. Fish up to about 25# aren't that common either, but they can be handled easier as the don't have the sheer strength & bulk to put you & your tackle to the test. Over 30# and up is a whole new ball game and if you don't want to talk about the "one that got away" then do your homework.
Okay......happy dip ?? See you Sunday !!
