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LICKING RIVER CATS ! Last week my brother and I were fishing for skipjacks at a dock on the Licking River. Two guys came in with their boats. The first guy had fished up river at Banklick creek. He said he caught 7 channel cats. They were in the 3-5 pound range. He caught them all on chicken livers. He released all of them to fight for another day. The second guy pulled in just as the first one was pulling his boat up the ramp. This ole timer had a small 10 foot a John boat and 31/2hp motor. He was ishing down river nearer to Cincinnati. He also claimed to have boated 7 channel catfish. He only used frozen Shad as bait. The fish were the same size range as the other guy’s. He was interested in what we were fishing for. We showed him the rigs we were using and how we cast the rig and retrieved it. He wanted to know where he could get the rig we were using. After my brother helped him load the boat in the back end of his pickup truck he left.

The next morning my brother and I returned to get more skipjacks, however they cleared out. I had brought my casting net just in case. I was getting about a dozen shad with each cast. Then we saw the ole timer pull up with his boat & truck. We helped him unload it. Told him I had plenty of Shad if he wanted some for bait. He was happy with our offer; he got enough for his trip. He then headed back down river to his favorite spots.

By this time my brother had given up catching anymore bait. He went off to use the fish for getting some catfish from the bank near by. I use my casting net to get more Shad for my future fishing trips. Just before I left, I checked with my brother as he was getting a good bite. He hooked a channel cat about 3 pounds. Since the Licking had been so muddy from the hard rains earlier in the week it was surprising the fish were biting so well. I called my brother that evening to find out how he did after I left. He caught 2 more cats one small one and another about 3 pound. The big news was when the ole timer came back to the dock, he told my brother he had a great day. He said he boat 26 catfish in about 5-6 hours of fishing. I have never come close to catching that many catfish on the rivers around Cincinnati. I will be checking out the Licking in the remaining weeks of this season to see if I can come close to that kind of action. Tight lines to all.

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