There’s a catfish just for you
I have talked about numerous species of fish so far in this column with a few, but most of those have been fish that peak during the spring or early summer. The fish that I will be discussing in this article comes into its prime during the heat of the summer.
It is Mr. Whiskers, the catfish.
We have several species in the state, including Black, Brown and Yellow Bullhead, Blue, White, Channel and Flathead. They all come in different sizes and are found in different types of water.
This fish sometimes gets a bad rap as being nothing but a garbage truck on the bottom of lake. However, in actuality they are a predatory fish that hunt for their food.
The catfish thrives in warm weather. Channels and blues wait for the sun to heat up the water to 70 to 84 degrees before they start to spawn, while flatheads will spawn in lower temperatures at around 70 degrees.
This is what makes this fish a summertime favorite for some. As the waters warm, the catfish start to go on the prowl for a meal and a mate. Since they wait so long for the water to warm before they will spawn, this means it will be well into the summer before they reach the peak of their activity, usually around late July and into August.
Of the several varieties of catfish, the bullheads (all three types) are the smallest, ranging between 1-3 pounds on average. White catfish are close behind. A big white would tip the scales at five pounds. These fish can be caught in nearly every waterway in Ohio, but bullheads like the backwaters of streams and deep coves of reservoirs.
Most of the time when people go out to specifically target catfish they are hunting for the main three, Blue, Channel and Flathead Catfish.
Channel cats are the smallest, weighing on average around five pounds, but they can grow into the teens. The last two are the big daddy’s of Ohio.
The Blue Catfish is the biggest fish species in the state. The current record for a blue is 96 pounds, however, the flathead is close behind with the state record at 76 pounds. This fish are bruisers at this size.
So the obvious question is always, how do I catch them? This really depends on what you want to target. Do you want big fish or big numbers of fish? Large catfish predominantly stick to eating fish, either alive or in the form of cut bait. Smaller fish are less picky about their meal and can be caught on a variety of baits.
If you want to catch a trophy fish, then the first thing you are going to have to look for is the right kind of water.
In Ohio we are lucky enough to have a major catfishing water system in the Ohio River. This big muddy stream is a catfish’s dream home. The waters are deep, plentiful and full of all kinds of other species to feed on. Another great location is the Maumee River. The Maumee flows into Lake Erie, which means the river has the support of the other great fishery (Lake Erie) in Ohio. There are good numbers of large flatheads that roam the river near the confluence on the Maumee and Lake Erie.
A good method to try and catch these trophies is to use live bluegill. You should hook on through the back, bellow the dorsal fin, set it on the bottom and wait to see if you can get lucky.
If you are going for a meal, the smaller-sized fish normally are the choice of anglers. The channel cat is a good choice for that meal. This fish stays relatively small and can be caught in good numbers.
One of my favorite techniques is to use night crawlers and bait bags filled with blood scent and then cast out an array of rods at different distances from the bank. You can catch a lot of fish in a hurry if the cats are on the move. Once you cast out, it becomes a waiting game.
There are numerous ways that one can catch catfish. One of the great things about it is that it requires minimal gear and a good amount of patience. If you have that then you have what it takes to catch some whiskers.
For those that would like to see a topic covered or have questions, feel free to email me at sam@marysvillejt.com.