LittleRedFisherman Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Nice man!! That river is just a catfish factory, it's unreal what you can catch on 5 trotlines with 25 hooks a piece. One night can literally stock you up for the year, and a lot of them flathead if you put them out in the right place!! I"ve never targeted the blues like that with the pole, but would love to sometime, thanks for sharing!! There's no such thing, as a bad day fishing!
Smalliebigs Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 His new rig is by far the best looking Seaark I have ever seen! A few years ago when we were involved with Gateway Cats, we always gave him crap because he couldn't hold a job due to always being out cat fishing and couldn't get to work on time LOL! He definitely put in the time to know those fish as well as he does. Were you guys anchor fishing? Drift fishing in the summer is an absolute blast down there! Yeah that Procat 240 is sweet!!!! I have the poor man's version.....SeaArk XV180 in all Mossy/Oak break up...seats and all. You are right Ryan has put in the time to know where all the ditches are but, the cool thing is they change with some big water events so we all can go catch them. I don't see how he always has skippys though....I know Steve Douglas told me he sells them frozen?? which seems kinda lazy to me.....I throw net and do okay but, sometimes I have a hard time finding slkippys. Ryan is a very professional guide IMO and best of all he's young and very ethical....he won't guide trips during the spawn because of his love of the cats and runs what I call a trophy guide service which some don't care for....if your looking for some meat...Ryan is a smart kid with a lot of passion for what he does and it shows.
Smalliebigs Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Me too I already owe you bigtime!!!! so you just tell me when and a shore lunch will be included .....You really need to go hit the Hybrid and White run on the Mississippi....that's what I want to show you. They are about to go nuts very soon but, it is a limited window and can be hampered by water flows. There is also a run in the fall as well that seems to last a little longer and usualy the water is a bit more tame. The Mississippi and MO can be a little sketchy....some don't care for it. We might be going real soon to get some Brids??? Oh and there are Walleye in the fall which I know you would like. Mr. Campbell I haven't forgot about you either...let me know.......there is also an untaped area of Blues on the lower Meramec.....we haven't caught any bigger than 40 but, I assume they are there.....from 141 bridge to Flamm City there are Blues....trust me
Seth Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Yeah that Procat 240 is sweet!!!! I have the poor man's version.....SeaArk XV180 in all Mossy/Oak break up...seats and all. You are right Ryan has put in the time to know where all the ditches are but, the cool thing is they change with some big water events so we all can go catch them. I don't see how he always has skippys though....I know Steve Douglas told me he sells them frozen?? which seems kinda lazy to me.....I throw net and do okay but, sometimes I have a hard time finding slkippys. Ryan is a very professional guide IMO and best of all he's young and very ethical....he won't guide trips during the spawn because of his love of the cats and runs what I call a trophy guide service which some don't care for....if your looking for some meat...Ryan is a smart kid with a lot of passion for what he does and it shows. We are in the same boat (pun intended) when it comes ot our rigs. They are nice setups, but definitely not the biggest and fastest out there. Most of the guys I fish tournaments against are running 1856-1960 hulls with 250hp outboard jets versus my little 1852/115hp setup. Most of the serious cat guys make special trips in the winter to Cumberland City and stockpile skipjack. I'm sure Ryan has other connections with guys in Tennessee an Kentucky where the skips can be caught year around so that he doesn't run out of bait. Catching a big cooler full of skippies on light tackle when it's cold outside is a blast. They put up a pretty good fight. Most guys will throw Sabiki rigs and haul them in several at a time when they are really running hard. All of the guys I met through Gateway Cats all shared the same mentality when it came to big catfish. If it was over 10, it got put back. They are just as passionate about those big whiskerfish as many of us are about our big smalies. Catfish in general are looked at by most as a food fish though so most of those big fish get the knife. Luckily, our beloved smallmouth get more respect by the vast majority of anglers since bass fishing is a lot more commercialized.
Smalliebigs Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 We are in the same boat (pun intended) when it comes ot our rigs. They are nice setups, but definitely not the biggest and fastest out there. Most of the guys I fish tournaments against are running 1856-1960 hulls with 250hp outboard jets versus my little 1852/115hp setup. Most of the serious cat guys make special trips in the winter to Cumberland City and stockpile skipjack. I'm sure Ryan has other connections with guys in Tennessee an Kentucky where the skips can be caught year around so that he doesn't run out of bait. Catching a big cooler full of skippies on light tackle when it's cold outside is a blast. They put up a pretty good fight. Most guys will throw Sabiki rigs and haul them in several at a time when they are really running hard. All of the guys I met through Gateway Cats all shared the same mentality when it came to big catfish. If it was over 10, it got put back. They are just as passionate about those big whiskerfish as many of us are about our big smalies. Catfish in general are looked at by most as a food fish though so most of those big fish get the knife. Luckily, our beloved smallmouth get more respect by the vast majority of anglers since bass fishing is a lot more commercialized. I love fishing for big Blues and Flatheads......you need the right tackle but, I find it to be very fun....the closest thing to saltwater fishing you will get around here is a 60 to 80 Blue burning some line
sms_alum Posted March 25, 2014 Author Posted March 25, 2014 We used cut shad he had gotten from the day before and took off out of Flamm City. I have tried fishing out of Columbia Bottoms for whites, but never found them. I need to give that another try some time.
Old plug Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 I have spent many hours on the Mississippi especially up in the Clarksville area. I has been years. But back then you could catch a mix of walleye and sauger to fill a ice chest in the winter. Lots of white bass but I really prefer the little yellow bass for table fare. Crappie.!! I have always said the Mississippi has to be one of the premier spots in all of Missouri to catch crappie and for size as well. There is also a lot of bass fishing available. There used to be be a big shallow Lilly pad field field just up from Clarksville dam. I had a friend that caught a monster there in water so shallow you could not put the motor down. I am not sure now but I think it was 9 lbs. As far as cat fish my biggest was 43 lbs. I never really targeted them. Largest I ever seen caught was 87 lbs. It is a wonderful place up there. Clarksville was number two on my retirement list. Anyone who wants to fish the Mississippi should throughly understand and respect large barges and towboats. They are like trains on dry land they cannot turn and they cannot stop worth a dam. They can even be parked and still eat you alive.
bfishn Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Awesome! Big Rivers + Big Cats = Big Fun! I can't dance like I used to.
LarrySTL Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 Also, at least in the 1990s there were ( very dependent on water level, current, etc) a lot of good largemouth and a surprizing number of 3 lb smallmouth in Clarksville pool both up and downstream from Louisiana MO http://intervenehere.com
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