Have you ever caught a catfish from the Ohio River that weighed 52 pounds? Have you ever caught five albino catfish in one year from the Ohio River, with each one weighing above the 20-pound mark? Have you ever caught 3,000 pounds of catfish from this river in one year with rod and reel? Have you ever caught a 31-pound blue from the Ohio that was so peculiar looking that the Bass Pro Shop in Clarksville, Indiana has it living in a tank for public viewing?

If you answered no to most or all of the above questions, you shouldn't feel alone or inadequate as an angler. Few fishermen could answer yes to all or any of those questions. But there is one fisherman in southern Indiana who has accomplished all of those angling achievements. His name is Morris Johnson, and he's ready to share his knowledge and tips on how and where to catch huge catfish from the Ohio River using nothing more than a good boat, proper tackle, the right kind of bait and a lot of skill.

Johnson, who is in his 60s and is retired, resides on the west side of Evansville. His home is close to the University of Southern Indiana and just a few minutes drive from the banks of the Ohio River, which is his favorite body of water to fish for trophy catfish. Of course, the Ohio flows along the southern border of our state basically from Hardinsburg to Mt. Vernon, and is nature's fluid way of separating Indiana from Kentucky.

In fact, Johnson's favorite stretch of the river to fish runs from the Twin Bridges of Evansville (which spans from Evansville to Henderson, Kentucky) all the way downstream to Mt. Vernon. However, Johnson will occasionally sacrifice more travel time and fish above and below the Newburgh Dam.

OK, I know what you are thinking. I've told you what stretch of the river Johnson favors but not specifically where he catches those monster blues and flatheads that exceed the 40-pound-plus mark. Morris Johnson is not bashful about sharing his secrets. He is so confident of his fishing skills that competition on the water from a few readers as the result of this article doesn't bother him in the least.

But before we get into specific locations, you must know that Johnson fishes from his boat with three rods (legal limit per person) fishing tight-line on the bottom. Thus, before he sets up, he looks for two important structures in the river before he drops anchor in his pursuit of trophy-class whiskerfish.

First, Johnson uses his depthfinder to find exactly where the shelf from the bank drops off into the deep water of the old bank. Yes, you have to remember that the new dams widened the river and deepened the water level of this section of the Ohio River. So one of Johnson's favorite spots to fish is on the bottom next to the bank of the old riverbed in 20 or 30 feet of water.

Johnson has found that the big whiskerfish swim and feed on the bottom parallel to the old riverbank. So he locates and anchors his boat where he can cast all three lines downstream into this feeding trough.

Second, the next location that he likes to fish is below or downstream from a considerable logjam (he emphasized that it must be a major jam). "When there is a super amount of current, I will fish real close to logjams," he said.