JOHN T. MEYERS POOL
This pool is the mecca for huge blue catfish, according to Henley. It by far produces the best catches of blues in the river. It also has some tremendous flathead fishing and yielded the highest catch rate for channel cats in the five-state river survey.

Tim Lange (www.hookedoncatfish.com) is a catfish fanatic and loves the Ohio River above all other locations. He lives more than 100 miles from the river, yet he makes the long trek to the river almost every other weekend to tangle with monster catfish. He also hits the river to compete in DuraCats Tournaments (www.duracats.com), which are held numerous times throughout the year. Lange's wife holds the current record for biggest catfish caught in a tournament. Her big blue cat weighed 88 pounds!

Lange said the Meyers Pool has "some pretty awesome habitat." He said the area around Mt. Vernon is especially good. Diamond Island, which is a four-mile-long island just up from Mt. Vernon, is a great catfishing location.

The river breaks to the left around the island and that is where the barge channel is located. On the right side of the island, the river breaks behind the island and pushes up against the Indiana bank. During flood conditions, trees and woody debris gather all along the Indiana side of the river. Catfish congregate in this collection of wood and anglers can score big time by fishing right in among it.

Another location in this pool is the big horseshoe area near Evansville. On the inside of the dikes there, anglers can do very well, according to Lange, especially when the water is high.

Lange likes to target the outside bends of the river with deep water nearby. He also likes to work the edges of the barge channel-lines. Lange said, "Cats use those barge channel-lines as highways."

Most of these fish are caught in depths ranging from 30 to 35 feet. Ledges are another good choice. Lange considers a ledge to be where the water depth drops significantly from around 22 feet to around 48 feet.

Lange looks for structure such as rocky banks or woody debris on the bottom. This structure deflects the river current and provides a "resting" spot so the catfish don't constantly have to battle a strong current. He added that some folks have success fishing around bridge supports although he has not had much luck there himself.

Boat anglers can access the J.T. Meyers Pool from public ramps located at Mt. Vernon, Evansville, Angel Mounds and Hovey Lake.

NEWBURG POOL
Henley has done most of his river work in the Newburgh Pool. He said the pool probably mirrors the other pools in the lower end of the river. Henley has seen flatheads in the Newburg Pool up to 48 pounds and blues up to 54 pounds. The Midkiff record blue came from this pool and Stefanavage said at least two to three fish come out of the pool each year that weigh close to 100 pounds.

There are about four different grain facilities located on the river along the Newburgh Pool. This keeps the fish well fed and in great shape. Henley said he has seen numerous small cats in the pool that "looked like little footballs."

Lange described the Newburgh Pool as "kind of a flat featureless pool." He said boat anglers have to really be careful in this pool because there are some extremely shallow areas up toward the dam. The river has a tendency to silt up also.

He said three of the best spots in the pool are around Ellis Island, French Island and French Island No. 2. He also likes Little Hurricane Island and works the points and where the water splits around the island. Also, at the tail of the island, there is a hole that's been created by the action of the current.

Woody debris tends to pile up along the shoreline. These locations can be very hot. Other hotspots include ledges with submerged wood on them. Lange said there will usually be big fish lurking there.

Fishing these woody areas can be tricky, though. Lange said to be prepared to lose plenty of hardware in the structure. However, he said the losses are minor compared with the potential to pull out a 60- to 70-pound fish.

Access into the Newburgh Pool is available on the Indiana side of the river at Grandview, Troy and Cannelton, although the latter is not well suited for really large boats. Anglers can also access the pool on the Kentucky side at Hawesville.

CANNELTON POOL
The Cannelton Pool is "probably one of the most awesome pools in Indiana," according to Lange. He's partial to this pool for good reason. It is the location where his wife caught her giant blue cat.

A tournament at the pool this past winter yielded 26 catfish, which had a total weight of 517.4 pounds. That's an average of nearly 20 pounds per fish! One team caught individual fish weighing 73 pounds, 60 pounds, 50 pounds, and two in the 40-pound range.

Lange said this pool has many big blue catfish. Of the 26 fish caught in the January tournament, 22 of them were blue cats. Great habitat in the pool makes it terrific for not only blues, but also channel and flathead cats as well.

There are more bends and turns in this pool than at any of the other four Indiana pools, according to Lange. With his preference for bends, Lange loves fishing this pool for big cats.

The area near Cloverport, Kentucky, is a great area to target big fish. Another terrific area is found below the Brandenburg Bridge on the Indiana side of the river. Superb habitat makes this a catfish angler's paradise.

JOHN T. MEYERS POOL
This pool is the mecca for huge blue catfish, according to Henley. It by far produces the best catches of blues in the river. It also has some tremendous flathead fishing and yielded the highest catch rate for channel cats in the five-state river survey.

Tim Lange (www.hookedoncatfish.com) is a catfish fanatic and loves the Ohio River above all other locations. He lives more than 100 miles from the river, yet he makes the long trek to the river almost every other weekend to tangle with monster catfish. He also hits the river to compete in DuraCats Tournaments (www.duracats.com), which are held numerous times throughout the year. Lange's wife holds the current record for biggest catfish caught in a tournament. Her big blue cat weighed 88 pounds!

Lange said the Meyers Pool has "some pretty awesome habitat." He said the area around Mt. Vernon is especially good. Diamond Island, which is a four-mile-long island just up from Mt. Vernon, is a great catfishing location.

The river breaks to the left around the island and that is where the barge channel is located. On the right side of the island, the river breaks behind the island and pushes up against the Indiana bank. During flood conditions, trees and woody debris gather all along the Indiana side of the river. Catfish congregate in this collection of wood and anglers can score big time by fishing right in among it.

Another location in this pool is the big horseshoe area near Evansville. On the inside of the dikes there, anglers can do very well, according to Lange, especially when the water is high.

Lange likes to target the outside bends of the river with deep water nearby. He also likes to work the edges of the barge channel-lines. Lange said, "Cats use those barge channel-lines as highways."

Most of these fish are caught in depths ranging from 30 to 35 feet. Ledges are another good choice. Lange considers a ledge to be where the water depth drops significantly from around 22 feet to around 48 feet.

Lange looks for structure such as rocky banks or woody debris on the bottom. This structure deflects the river current and provides a "resting" spot so the catfish don't constantly have to battle a strong current. He added that some folks have success fishing around bridge supports although he has not had much luck there himself.

Boat anglers can access the J.T. Meyers Pool from public ramps located at Mt. Vernon, Evansville, Angel Mounds and Hovey Lake.

NEWBURG POOL
Henley has done most of his river work in the Newburgh Pool. He said the pool probably mirrors the other pools in the lower end of the river. Henley has seen flatheads in the Newburg Pool up to 48 pounds and blues up to 54 pounds. The Midkiff record blue came from this pool and Stefanavage said at least two to three fish come out of the pool each year that weigh close to 100 pounds.

There are about four different grain facilities located on the river along the Newburgh Pool. This keeps the fish well fed and in great shape. Henley said he has seen numerous small cats in the pool that "looked like little footballs."

Lange described the Newburgh Pool as "kind of a flat featureless pool." He said boat anglers have to really be careful in this pool because there are some extremely shallow areas up toward the dam. The river has a tendency to silt up also.

He said three of the best spots in the pool are around Ellis Island, French Island and French Island No. 2. He also likes Little Hurricane Island and works the points and where the water splits around the island. Also, at the tail of the island, there is a hole that's been created by the action of the current.

Woody debris tends to pile up along the shoreline. These locations can be very hot. Other hotspots include ledges with submerged wood on them. Lange said there will usually be big fish lurking there.

Fishing these woody areas can be tricky, though. Lange said to be prepared to lose plenty of hardware in the structure. However, he said the losses are minor compared with the potential to pull out a 60- to 70-pound fish.

Access into the Newburgh Pool is available on the Indiana side of the river at Grandview, Troy and Cannelton, although the latter is not well suited for really large boats. Anglers can also access the pool on the Kentucky side at Hawesville.

CANNELTON POOL
The Cannelton Pool is "probably one of the most awesome pools in Indiana," according to Lange. He's partial to this pool for good reason. It is the location where his wife caught her giant blue cat.

A tournament at the pool this past winter yielded 26 catfish, which had a total weight of 517.4 pounds. That's an average of nearly 20 pounds per fish! One team caught individual fish weighing 73 pounds, 60 pounds, 50 pounds, and two in the 40-pound range.

Lange said this pool has many big blue catfish. Of the 26 fish caught in the January tournament, 22 of them were blue cats. Great habitat in the pool makes it terrific for not only blues, but also channel and flathead cats as well.

There are more bends and turns in this pool than at any of the other four Indiana pools, according to Lange. With his preference for bends, Lange loves fishing this pool for big cats.

The area near Cloverport, Kentucky, is a great area to target big fish. Another terrific area is found below the Brandenburg Bridge on the Indiana side of the river. Superb habitat makes this a catfish angler's paradise.