Rocky Fork Lake Ohio

[Catbird]

Late Saturday evening (1-7-06) I decided to head out to Rocky Fork Lake for some night fishing. On the way there I stopped at Wally world to pick up some chiken livers but they were out. Even though I had tried before but with no luck, I purchased some sliced beef liver. I arrived at the lake around midnight. The water at the ramp I used is around 3' deep. There was about an 1/8" of ice on the surface. Air temp was 33 degrees and the surface water temp was 36 degrees. The rest of the lake was pretty clear of ice once you got out of the channel and into the main lake. This lake is 1,992 acres w/31 miles of shoreline. I had the whole lake to myself...of course. I took along a pack of frozen shad and managed to catch 1 medium sized bluegill. Not a bite all night till about 7:AM. While anchored in 32' of water fishing 4' off the bottem, I finally got my only bite on the live bluegill. I landed a 15# channel cat. My personal best on this lake.

[capt.kirk]

CAT BIRD
You are 1 tough son of a gun,fishing under those condition,if there is ice
on the lake,i belive i will stay in the house,glad to here it paid off in the end.
The reason we moved to florida from indiana was to get away from the
ice and snow,makes my old bones hurt just thinking about it.:cool:
KIRK

[Fatkat]

Great looking Channel Catbird, I'm not sure who looks colder though you or the fish! lol

[three_rivers]

Nice fish! You sure look cold up that way. I hooked up with one a few days back on the mississippi. He was only a five pounder, he was definitely worth the trip. He was white as snow with those pretty pink fins!!! I did find out from a local guide that the fish were biting so there went my excuse.........:rolleyes:

[rockinmichigan]

Nice channel you got there. Where abouts is Rocky Fork Lake, is that out near Cleveland/NE Ohio? What size cats do you average out there?

[Catbird]

Rocky Fork Lake is southwest ohio. Most larger channels I catch here is 10 or 11 pounds.

[Stump Bumper]

That's one heck of a nice Channel Cat! Man, I know you were dressed in "Snivvel Level 4" gear to be out in that cold. You proved a good point though about being able to catch Channel Cats even under the harshest conditions. Good job....Ray

[rockinmichigan]

A 10-11 pound channel is a good catch. Some of the bigger channels I catch are usually a couple pounds. I'm positive there's bigger ones where I fish, but without a boat its hard for me to get them.

[Schoe]

When you guys get a chance to meet and fish with Dale Kirby you better have your lunch and dinner packed as he fishes harder than anyone I have ever met. I have been fortunate to meet him at three different outings this year in three different states and I swear he spent more time on the water than anyone. I honestly don't know of a more dedicated fisherman and nice guy to be with so, if you ever get the chance to meet up with him, jump on it. Schoe

[rockinmichigan]

Schoe, where's your buddy from and does he hang out here on the site?

[Catbird]

rockinmichigan,

Catbird....aka...Dale Kirby...lol If you going to be in the Cincinnati area, give me a hollar for river or lake fishing.

[Schoe]

rockinmichigan, yes he does and goes by "Catbird" from Ohio. Well stupid me . I went right past his post answering your question. Sorry guys thats OFD kicking in. Schoe

[rockinmichigan]

Sounds cool Catbird, I almost moved to Cincinnati a few years ago. I really did like the city and area. Would love to do some Ohio River fishing sometime. I hear they get some nice gars, carp, catfish, etc. in the river. :D

[capt.kirk]

HEY ROCKINMICHIGAN
The question you asked SCHOE about DALE KIRBY aka CATBIRD is from,
FATETTEVILLE OHIO and does make a post sometimes,he also has a
brother that is with us MARTIN KIRBY aka FAT CAT,he is from
BLANCHESTER OHIO,both of them are from what im told real dedicated
catfishermen,they are both supposed to come to FLORIDA to fish the
tournament in FEBRUARY,but FAT CAT is having hip sugery and wont be
recovered to make the trip,hated to hear that,but health comes first,i was
looking forward to meeting him,and as far i know at this time CAT BIRD
is coming down to be SCHOES fishing partner for the tournament,thought
i would give you a little information on both of them,i really wish you could
find the time to come down and fish the tournament,if you ever decide to
come down our way,we have extra beds,and you are welcome anytime.it
is always nice to meet new people,down here you can fish,SALTWATER,
or FRESHWATER,till your arms give out,i do freshwater more than the other.
KIRK

[rockinmichigan]

Kirk, I would love to go down there for the tourney, but I'll decline this time around. Got to get this organized up here, need to get a car, etc. since I don't have one up and running. That hopefully will get squared in the next month or so, since it seems to take money to get a car. Maybe sometime in the near future we can have a get together somewhere, whether in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, or whatever.

[Catbird]

colbyjack,
sorry I missed your post till now, that is some great pictures. If you ever decide to fish this area again, give me a hollar. There is still some great fishing at the lake.

[Catbird]

Friday and Saturday night's catches. Nothing large but first pic is a total of 29# and second pic is 10.5#. All were caught on noodle jugs.

[Tee]

Looks like a nice mess of fish to me. Good job Dale.

[Stump Bumper]

Nice fish Dale, thanks for sharing the pictures. Looking forward to seeing you and Martin at the FCC....Ray

[gofish]

nice fish catbird. using live bait on em?

[Catbird]

Thanks guys for the compliments. I was using cut bluegill and shad. Fatkat and I went out last night and caught 6 more.

[Fatkat]

Those pics don't do 'em justice, the smallest one was 3#, the biggest was about 5.25#. :D

[gofish]

i worked around the house and took the kids out this weekend but got a serious trip planned for next weekend and cant wait. they bedding there yet catbird?

[Catbird]

Gofish,
no, still eating up a storm. The females bellies are really starting to sag so it will not be much longer.

[Fatkat]

Here is a pic of 6 channels I caught Wednesday night while juggin at Rocky Fork, they were all caught on cut Bluegills. The biggest was 7 lbs, the total weight was 32 lbs. if my math is correct. I caught a couple smaller ones I released and lost one 4 or 5 pounder over the side of the boat but over all it was a good night. :)

[gofish]

nice cats.they startin to feed up for winter yet ya think or just a good night? footballs killin my fishin. temps are only supposed to be in the 60s for the high this week.lookout crappie.

[Fatkat]

nice cats.they startin to feed up for winter yet ya think or just a good night? footballs killin my fishin. temps are only supposed to be in the 60s for the high this week.lookout crappie.

I'm not sure but they was definitely biting good, I wanted to go back out Friday night to see if the bite was still on but wasn't able to. It could of been all the rain we got between Monday night and Wednesday morning that had 'em stirred up. Its starting to cool off here to so I been itching to try out the Crappies but haven't yet. :)

[Stump Bumper]

Nice bunch of Channel Cats Martin. Thanks for sharing the pic with us....Ray

[gofish]

should be startin to hit soon.had to drag the boat thru some shallow spots in the river last weekend while floatin for smallies.heck of a change in water temp from the week before.drove by the lake earlier,looked like a few crappie fisherman out there,but looked muddy too.

[Fatkat]

Nice bunch of Channel Cats Martin. Thanks for sharing the pic with us....Ray

Thanks for the kind words Ray, I hope all is going well down your way. :)