Wabash River - 7/30/2010

Last night, myself, Cappoli, and JetDoc all decided to go visit an old friend that we havent seen in a long time...the Wabash river. We havent fished there in forever because it is always so flooded, but finally got the chance. Water temp at takeoff was 83 degrees and there were fish rolling everywhere. We got checked by a DNR officer right at the ramp and since we were all good and legal, we took off.
I started off the night with a 8lb flathead catfish (caught it literally within 30 seconds of getting set up) and then I caught about a 5lb channel cat. Good...but not exactly the trophy we were looking for. Went to the next hole - nothing. Set up on the 3rd hole and decided to give it some time...and it paid off for Mr. Cappoli. He caught a beautiful 32lb blue cat. His first "wild caught" blue and his biggest "wild caught" fish..I think he likes that river..haha. Caught a handful of fish after that, but other than a 10lb blue by Roy, they were mostly smaller. I think all 3 of us had a big fish that came unbuttoned before we got them in. Happens sometimes when fishing so close to trees and rocks. Here are the specifics:
Where: Wabash River - North of Terre Haute
Baits: Skipjack, live bluegill, and cut bluegill
Water temp: 83 degrees
Water Level: 7.83ft
Locations fished: Outsides of bends concentrating on dropoffs near structure
Weather: Mostly cloudy, temps in the lower 70's most of the night

Cannelton - May 29,2010

Me and Roy decided to go down and visit some old friends of ours that live down near Derby for Memorial Day weekend. Had a great time, but the fishing was tough. The river dropped over 5 feet during the weekend and was muddy. We couldnt even launch at Mano Point in Derby because it was so low. We used fresh shad and skipjack and only managed about 4 fish all day. The biggest was caught by Renee and it was a blue cat at 18lbs and I caught a 13 and Mike caught a 12. Roy caught a small flathead around 4lbs. On friday night Roy and I fished the creek from the bank and he lost a monster fish that wrapped up on a log and I caught a small channel. On Saturday night, Renee's brother in law came in from the creek and had 4 asian carp jump in his boat. The picture is bad but the biggest one was around 30lbs....and it landed in his wife's lap. Man I hate those things. Here are the particulars and some pics:
Where: Ohio River near cannelton
Water Temps: 68-70 degree
Water Quality: Muddy with some debris
Baits: Fresh skipjack and shad