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If you have time, and would like to express your concerns to the state of KY about their Catfish regulations, you can! Please visit their Facebook page below, and let them know the importance of protecting their Catfish fisheries to insure a healthy population for generations to come. We all have to work together to make a difference, and together we have a very strong voice.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/kdfwr

First, thing the fish was caught on an awesome piece of water in the Ohio river that borders Ohio and West Virginia.

I have fished this stretch of river several times and I am impressed with the growth of these blue catfish and the average size of 20lb is common not to mention the trophy flathead population.

West Virginia is now protecting and monitoring their resource and look for this section of the Ohio River that borders the state to produce some world class trophy bluecats in the near future.

I’ve have been so impressed with this piece of water I have published a few articles on their efforts to grow, maintain and protect their blue cat population. I personally think Kentucky and Indiana or for that matter all states that border the Ohio River should follow suite with their trophy catfish laws.

Well here, take look at the video, I’ve caught a lot of big fish, but I m going to say this one was the most exciting, it’s like I just won the lottery.

Landing a fish that trumps the current record by twice the weight is an awesome feeling, The fish goes from 50-60 to 70-80 I just dint know what to think but there’s a major twist to the story.

So when I landed the huge catfish, I started calling people who might know how to get a hold of the DNR I call my good friend doc Lange which indecently his wife Lynn is the current state record holder for bluecats which, I think is 29lbs and some change. Doc called me back and said they were on their way.

I wanted to get the fish back in the water as quick as possible. So when the biologist got there I was relieved. But this is where the twist comes to play and my bubble was busted.

A nonresident cannot fish the Ohio River on an Ohio license is what was explained to me by the biologist thus making my fish null and void.

And With that being said, myself and many others who travel to compete in these tournaments have been under the assumption that either license would work for bordering waters, just like Ky and Indiana or KY and ill. You can fish the neutral waters of the Ohio River legally with either state license but you can’t fish up in the opposite state tributaries.
we have had discusses on the subject of bordering states laws many times, but the subject was still on the grey side.

But since the tournament was going out of an Ohio ramp, not wanting to get any violations for bringing fish to the Ohio ramp.

I thought the safest thing to do was get an Ohio license.

Trust me I wasn’t the only guy that had that same idea. I know of at least 10 teams that went and bought West Virginia license that night because of what happened to me.

So as a Kind of a voluntary community service thing for this misunderstanding with the west Virginia fishing regulations I thought id help promote their state and the great things they doing with the fishery and to share a lesson learned so anglers are clear on the regulations for this area and don’t mess up there chance at a state record blue catfish.

Well he’s still out there and I’m sure he’s not alone, so buy you some West Virginia fishing license and get busy.
Good luck to everyone

Rooms are locked in at $54 +tax per night. Ask for the Monstors of Logan Martin Catfish Tournament rates.

Must call to reserve rooms. Cannot do this on line.

Key West – Host Motel – 256-378-0337
Key West Inn Childersburg is where you ll always find a clean, comfortable room to accommodate vacationing families or the weary business traveler. Key West Inn is conveniently located on US 280, just seven miles from Desoto Caverns, 20 minutes from Talladega Raceway and the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Our Inn is American Owned and Operated. Come stay with us for an enjoyable and relaxing trip.
Key West website HERE

Days Inn – 256-378-6007
Welcome to Days Inn Childersburg hotel, near Talladega Superspeedway, a great home base for exploring Alabama. Located on Highway 280 and Route 76, our pet-friendly hotel in Childersburg offers easy access to area attractions. In the morning, fuel up with a free Daybreak continental breakfast, and use free Wi-Fi to look up local events and stay connected from your Childersburg hotel room. When the weather gets hot, cool off with an energizing swim in our seasonal, outdoor pool, or relax in front of your in-room 32-inch TV. Handicapped-accessible and non-smoking rooms are available and kids 17 and under stay free with an adult.Days Inn website HERE

Trolling around the fishing message boards this time of year you will find no shortage of fishing reports. Inside those reports you can pull other things that are more disturbing. Things like the large number of commercial fishing equipment popping up all over the Ohio River.

Trotlines that stretch from one bank to the other, many full of trophy fish. It can be hard to pull a drift down your favorite stretch of water without losing all of your rigs to nets and trotlines. Regulations by the state of KY make this practice easily available to anyone with the money to purchase a commercial license. The bounty can be plentiful, especially since right now there is not much of a size and creel limit restriction.

I understand that this topic may be redundant. Here this guy goes again up on his pulpit telling all of us how to enjoy the sport we love. That is not the case at all; the bottom line is this message needs to continue to be spread.

It is difficult for me to get a hold on what is happening all over the country. Much like anyone else, it hits home and is easier to discuss when it occurs in your own back yard on a daily basis. Pull up the internet if you like and you can watch videos of the hundreds of thousands of pounds of trophy fish being harvested for the purpose of pay ponds. It’s right there in front of you, the proof is in the pudding. Since the Ohio River is 6 miles from my house, myself and all the other die hard river anglers see it on a regular basis. It is spreading far beyond the banks of the Ohio into the Mississippi River, TN River, Santee Cooper, the list goes on and on.

Legally and illegally, pay lake owners paying people to live on the shores of waterways states away and illegally catch and transport fish across state lines to keep the small ponds stuffed with trophy Blue and Flathead Catfish.

Sitting at home the other night I watched a show about the danger that the fish populations in the ocean are in. Decades of unregulated fishing in some parts of the world has many species near extinction. With the increase in technology, larger boats, larger nets, the list goes on and on. That program scared me to death. Ladies and Gentleman we are talking about the ocean, the ocean that covers 70% of our planet. Yet somehow, we human beings have managed to deplete the population of hundreds of species of fish due to over fishing. It is estimated that ¼ of the entire catch is by catch. Most of those fish being killed because they were caught in nets meant for other species.

Now think about this, the Ohio River consist of pools that in most cases are no longer than 90 miles or so. Pools that in many ways are their own eco systems. And the state that borders an enormous stretch of that river gives free reign to commercial and recreational anglers to take as many Catfish as they like. How in the world can a waterway of that size sustain a healthy population with lack luster regulation? The answer is it cannot.

I wanted to write this to get you to think about that for a moment…Many fish populations in the ocean that covers 70% of our planet are in danger. Shrink that down to 80-100 miles of water, and a state that is allowing it to happen. Folks, if that don’t make you take a second look at what is going on here, I don’t know what will. We can only hope that stronger regulations will be in place in the near future to make sure this does not happen to our inland waterways.

Everybody was excited to hit this event as it is our first event since they blew the lowhead dam at
13th street. I must say that fishing has changed since they opened the waterway and our tournament anglers were faced
with a whole new set of challenges. We were blessed with a beautiful day of fishing.

Outside temperatures ranged from 55-80 with plenty of sunshine and a slight breeze. Unfortunately Georgia Power did not cooperate and give us much
current to work with but the water was moving slightly and water temps ranged remained steady between 67-69 degrees!

I would like to thank the following sponsors for supporting HillJack Catfishing and our tournament trail: Renegade
Tackle company, Randall Marine, Monster Rod Holders, Georgetown Marine, Brandon’s Weights and Tackle!

BullDog Bait and Tackle continues to support our Rotary Park events and opened early so that our anglers could
get live bait, coffee, and a hot biscuit! Thanks to all the BullDog Staff for your support.

2012 continues to be an amazing year for HillJack Catfishing and we are experiencing growth at each event! We
welcomed 3 new teams on Saturday and I hope they caught tournament fishing fever!

I would like to extend a warm welcome to teams: Cat Team 6, Bottom Feeders, and Rough Necks. We are very excited to have you here in HillJack
Country!

The Killer B’s brought their “A” game to this event and locked up 1st place with 56.55 lbs of fish! They also secured Big
Fish with an awesome 23.5 lb Flathead catfish! They were fishing in 18-20 ft of water using live threadfin Shad for bait!
Congrats to the Killer B’s and congrats a great tournament! 1st Place would pay $255 and BF would pay $170!

The Catfish Junkies would lock down 2nd Place with 26.25 lbs of catfish. They caught their fish anchored in 25 ft of
water using cut SkipJack Herring for bait. 2nd Place would pay $155.

Team Onion Sack would secure 3rd Place with 25.25 lbs of Catfish. Their bag included a nice 12.35 lb Flathead Catfish as
well. 3rd Place would pay $100.

The winner of the War Rod donated by Renegade Tackle Company was Joe Barrett of Team JoeCFuss! Congrats to Joe
on winning this great prize!

OTHER TEAMS IN ORDER OF FINISH:
BACKLASH 17.40lbs
BAIT BANDIT 15.10lbs
NO PLAY 9.90lbs
HILLJACK 9.80lbs
T & A 9.05lbs
JOECFUSS 6.70lbs
ROUGH NECKS 6.70lbs
BOTTOM FEEDERS 4.40lbs
CAT TEAM 6 3.75lbs
CAT BUSTERS DNW
RONALD DNW
STRICTLY FISHIGN DNW

The girls will also be joining us with a booth at the American ProCatters National Catfish Challenge on June 15th and 16th of 2012 on Logan Martin Lake in Childersburg , Alabama. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

Danielle Worthen and Ashley Jay Sewell. Hosts of the outdoor TV production of Southern Girls Got Game

Southern Girls Got Game is a high energy, action packed, thrill seeking adventure at every turn around. Not only does it possess the integrity and morals that should be taught to our youth and fellow hunters and anglers, it captures the true essence of what the great outdoors should really be all about. While enjoying priceless moments with family and friends, these two young ladies will leave you wondering with what will happen next. Southern Girls got Game brings a new aspect to hunting and fishing by not only sharing Ashley and Danielle’s knowledge of the great outdoors but joining in the hunt to experience new techniques and learning along the way. These two beautiful young ladies are gonna have you laughing, loving, and sharing life while we all grow together understanding proper safety protocol, good hunting practices and appreciating the wildlife. So join this crazy cast for an adventure of a lifetime in God’s country while we get you drawn to the woods like a moth to an open flame.

Danielle has been hunting since she was 4 years old so she’s no stranger to the woods , and not just the back woods of her native South Carolina. Danielle has hunted in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia to name a few. An accomplished archer she won 1st in Saluda river archery competition and Won 1st at Keowee Bowman Archery Competition. She bagged her first turkey when she was only 5, that same year she won her first Turkey calling competition. Her largest deer was an 185 pound 8 pointer, so far! As spokesperson for “Hunting for Hope” taking kids off the street and into the woods, Danielle knows the value of youth, mentoring; she also participates in “Kids Hunting for a Cure”. She has appeared on numerous hunting shows hunting alongside Kerry Terrell with knight and hale, David neck with cabelas, chasin beard’s and bones Mr. Kenny Edwards, Magen Prather, the fowl life, bone obsession with Benny Gaddy, Fired up outdoors with Brian Magee and Chris Walls, Little man Big dreams with Zac Cooper. She was the 1st female to compete in Jr. Bass masters in South Carolina

Born and raised in Miami, Florida Ashley grew up living in the everglades. At the age of 14 Ashley caught her first Gator and has successfully caught 8 Gators since. In 2010 Ashley moved to South Carolina where she spent all of her first deer season practicing climbing and learning how to hunt by just watching. In January 2011 Ashley learned how to shoot her bow. Her first day ever of shooting she shot in an competition and shot 20 points over a perfect score while robin hooding her first arrow the very next day. Ashley has since won first, second twice, and third place in competitions all while she was pregnant. In Ashley’s sixth month of pregnancy she harvested her first hog with her bow. Ashley also loves to ride her horses. She has been riding since she was six and barrel racing since she was 13 years old. Since moving to the Carolinas, Ashley has taken in two horses and is now continuing on in her barrel racing while chasing her dreams of living in the outdoors.

Be sure to stop by and visit their Face Book page and say hi. Southern Girls Got Game

This past Saturday April 14th the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail hit the waters of Kerr Reservoir at Clarksville, Virginia. In the event the top anglers from 6 different states were competing not only for cash and prizes, but the opportunity to qualify for the 2012 Cabela’s King Kat Classic. This year’s Cabela’s King Kat Classic will be held on the Mississippi River at Selma, Alabama September 27/28/29, 2012.

“We would like to thank the Clarksville EDA for sponsoring the event in conjunction with the first annual Lake Country Sportsman’s Show which had over 1,000 people in attendance. Many of these visitors were there to see what teams would bring to the scales at the Cabela’s King Kat event”, said tournament director Tanner Tabor. “Teams struggled today as the unusually warm temps over the last month, which had raised water temps in the low 70′s had dropped 10 degrees with the much cooler weather over the last week causing fish to scatter and difficult to pattern”, said Tabor. For more information on the area call: (434) 374-5033 or visit their website at: www.cedaevents.org.

Results For The Top 5

Taking first place was the team of Tony Milam of South Boston, Virginia and his partner Wallace Lee Jones of Crystal Hill, Virginia with a total weight of 87.75 pounds and earning $2,800.00. Tony and Wallace were fishing the Dan River using white perch in 8 feet of water to catch a total of 12 fish for the day. Each team is allowed to weigh in their top 5 fish for the day of fishing in the event.

In second place was Barry Wayne Witt of Bassett, Virginia and Ronnie Hughes of Madison, North Carolina with 79.85 pounds and earning $1,400.00. Barry and Ronnie also captured big fish of the event with a 33.1 pound blue cat, which netted the team an additional $700.00. Barry and Ronnie were fishing the upper lake area using cut bait in 2-10 feet of water to catch 15 fish for the day.

Third place went to Shane Farrar of Bullock, North Carolina and Van Hughes of Stem, North Carolina with a weight of 70.8 pounds and earning $800.00. Shane and Van were fishing the Stanton River using shad in 10-20 feet of water and catching over 30 fish for the day.

Daniel Jones of South Boston, Virginia and David Bowes of Semora, North Carolina took fourth place with a weight of 61.15 pounds earning $500.00. Daniel and David were fishing the Dan River using white perch in 2-12 feet of water to catch 4 fish for the day.

Fifth place went to Chad Conner and Frankie McKinney of Halifax, Virginia with a weight of 60.35 pounds and earning $300.00. Chad and Frankie were fishing a small creek feeding Kerr Reservoir in 6 inches to 4 feet of water using cut shad to catch 7 fish for the day.

6th – Johnny Jones/Dannie Pruitt 53.65lbs $200
7th – Kevin and Olnia Davis/Susan Hanks 50.00lbs
8th – James Reaves/Craig Barker 44.35lbs
9th – William P. Bowers/ William B. Bowers 42.45lbs
10th – John Athey/Jamie Belcher 40.9lbs

Fifth place went to Chad Conner and Frankie McKinney of Halifax, Virginia with a weight of 60.35 pounds and earning $300.00. Chad and Frankie were fishing a small creek feeding Kerr Reservoir in 6 inches to 4 feet of water using cut shad to catch 7 fish for the day.

SeaArk Boats will welcome anglers, who are SeaArk Boat owners, to their second annual Owner’s Invitational scheduled for June 2nd on the waters of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in West Alton, MO.

Anglers from across Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Tenneesse, Mississippi and as far away as
Pennsylvania will compete for prize money and a chance to win a SeaArk Boats ProCat 200 fully rigged with
a Mercury 115 and a Haulrite trailer by B&M Trailer Company.

“After the overwhelming reposonse to last year’s tournament we decided to make it an annual event. We
are excited about seeing how the second year of the tournament plays out as we have all levels of anglers
entered from amatuers to seasoned fishermen.

It should make for an exciting day,” says SeaArk’s Vice
President of Sales, Steve Henderson. “One of the highlights of the tournament is that you do not have to
catch the biggest fish in order to win the boat package.

If a participant catches a legal fish and weighs-in,
his name is entered for the random drawing. The smallest fish to weigh in last year was .2 pounds, but it
put a name in the drawing. Everyone has a chance to walk away a winner,” stated Henderson.

Activities begin with check-in and late registration at the Captain’s Dinner held at Julia’s Banquet Center in
East Alton, IL on Friday night at 6pm.

SeaArk Boat owners interested in signing up for the tournament who
have not already done so may register at the Captain’s Dinner for $240 per team with a current copy of
their boat registration.

Fishing will begin at 7:00am with the final weigh-in at 4pm followed by the awards ceremony. The public is
invited to attend the final weigh-in and award ceremony. There will be boats on display, food vendors and
plenty of camaraderie and fun.

SeaArk Boats will also again be featuring their own “Fat Cat Chute.” This
one-of-a-kind chute was developed by members of the SeaArk team in order to return the fish to the water
as soon as they are weighed-in. The kids will love it as it resembles a gigantic water slide for the fish.

For further tournament information, contact SeaArk Boats Marketing Coordinator, Wendy Tassin at (870)
460-3262.

2012 ENTRY FORM

IT WAS A 92 POUND GOOD FRIDAY
Not having to work on Good Friday, my son, Brady, and I decided to spend the day fishing “for fun”. By “for fun”, I mean not in a tournament.

Although we love fishing tournaments, it can be a refreshing break to just spend the day fishing with no pressure. It was a crisp morning as Brady and I headed to the Ohio with temps in the upper 30′s and a North wind around 10-15 mph. We got to river, caught bait, and began drifting.

Current was between 1-2 mph depending on the stretch of river. We use the trolling motor to slow the drift speed to between .5 and 1.0. We caught several fish in excess of twenty pounds and were having an all-out enjoyable day.

After baiting up with large chunks of skipjack, we started another drift. It wasn’t long into the drift when Brady hooked up with what seemed to be a nice fish. His drag was screaming and he wasn’t making any ground on the fish. I got the rest of the rods in the boat and turned the trolling off so he could fight the fish without fighting the current as we were then free floating down the river. The fish was continuing to peel drag and at one point swam up stream towards the front of the boat.

The fish came back to beside the boat but Brady couldn’t budge him off the bottom. It seemed as though the fish and Brady were at a stalemate. At that time, I decided to get the net. The stalemate felt like it went on for 30 minutes, but I am sure it lasted no more than 2-3.

Finally, Brady was able to gain some ground on him. Although we did not have the pressure of being in a tournament, adrenaline was flowing because we both wanted the chance to see the beast on the business end Brady’s line. I asked him how close the fish was to the surface. He looked at the line counter and replied “10 feet”.

I’m standing at the edge of the boat with net in hand waiting to net the fish. After what seemed like another lifetime, I asked him the depth again, “4 feet”. A few more seconds and the monster surfaced. Wow “what a behemoth”. “Oh my goodness” Brady exclaimed.

I reached down with the oversized net praying he would fit. Amazingly, I managed to get the fish netted on the first attempt. At that time, we knew we had a large fish, exactly how large remained unknown. I wanted to leave the fish in the water as long as possible so as not to harm him.

I had Brady get the 100-pound scale ready so we could weigh him in the net safely and quickly. I tried to lift the fish over the side of the boat to no avail. Brady had to help me hoist it over the gunnel rail. Once the fish was in the floor of the boat, his enormity was obvious.

We hooked the scale to the net and lifted–the scale maxed out. At that time, we thought we might have a fish that topped the century mark. We weighed him again and the same thing happened. However, I noticed that the net was caught on something in the floor of the boat.

We then were able to get a final accurate weight on the monster at 92 pounds. We filled the livewell and headed to the ramp where we met grandmas and grandpas took pictures. It was truly a blessed Good Friday and we can proudly say that we took great care of the fish.

He swam away to grow larger and fight again.