Ohio River Meets King's Creek

Another warm summer's evening, too nice out to do anything else besides cast out a little line into some water. We decided to venture to the mouth of King's Creek where it feeds into the Ohio River. After a nice walk,

we made our way down the steep gravel hill right to the river. After fishing for nearly an hour we both had missed a nice fish using tube jigs. Both times the fish took the lure down but the hook sadly slipped out. That is how it usually happens. It's a slow night, not much action. Casting becomes a repetitive motion. They hit when your're just thinking about that next cast. "No way they are going to hit now." And that's usually when your big one hits hard and you miss him, leaving you with nothing but a quick cast of desperation in hopes he is still there. Thank goodness there's a lot more fish in the sea.

Here is a pic of my Dad wading in the water on the far side of the sandbar.

Even though we both missed one, I was able to have a little luck later in the night. I was fishing my 5th lure: a watermelon seed rubber worm. I should preface this by saying that I had only 20 yards left of my skinny 6 lb test. It was later in the night so I figured there'd be no reason to add it now. Dumb decision. After a cast that nearly brought my line to the limit, I hooked a fighter. It immediately started pulled the little line I had left out into the river. I already lost one big one tonight; no way I could let it happen again. I knew that the line was almost at it's max with the fish still pulling. I had to save the little line I had left so with one hand I held the rod and the other I secured the line with my bare hand. My Dad was right beside me, helping me in every way he could. At one point he had his own rod out ready to merge the two lines in case mine was at its end. It's always good to have fishing partners like that. So by now the line was pulling hard into my skin but it was actually working and the fish was losing its fight. I dropped the line and reeled the fish in as fast as I could. Once it was near the shore, I ran into the water and pulled it safely to land. I was completely surprised to find the fish to be a catfish and that it hit on a rubber worm. That's one of the thrills of the river. You truly never know what you're going to reel in.