Over the last two weekends the rains came, as did the summer flu and then the school bells rang across the region, marking the approaching end of summer fun and carefree days.
A bit miffed after losing two weekends of fishing, I am entering the last warm weather holiday weekend geared up and wishing it was only Memorial Day.
Looking at past early fall photos, I notice that my September gallery shows some nice-size catches with a variety of species. Of course my favorites are always catfish. Sometimes when it’s light sweater weather, the cats show more fervor in their fight than on a hot summer night.
If you know anything about catfishing you know the game plan is to pick a spot, create a spread and wait; whether from shore or boat, because catfish are not a visibly active fish compared to sunfish varieties.
They keep to murky, deeper waters and don’t typically break the water’s surface when hunting. But when a good-sized cat is hooked, it can put up a fight worth the wait. In fact there is nothing like the thrill of watching a line slowly move outward from its position and then suddenly take a dive and bend a pole over like a candy-cane top.
In Ohio, a variety of size and types of catfish can easily be caught throughout the state. There are bullheads in farm ponds, channel catfish and flathead catfish in many reservoirs and rivers, and lastly, the big blue catfish in the Ohio River or at Hoover Reservoir.
Current Ohio Catfish Records:
● Flathead catfish – July 22, 1989 – caught at Clendening Lake – 58 inches and weighing 76 pounds.
● Channel catfish – August 15,1992 – caught at LaDue Reservoir – 41.5 inches and weighing 37.65 pounds.
● Blue catfish – June 11, 2009 – caught on the Ohio River – 54.5 inches and weighing 96 pounds.
● Bullhead – May 20, 1986 – caught at a farm pond – measuring 18.5 inches and weighing 4.25 pounds.
Currently, Ohio River catfish are becoming active in all the pools along the Ohio shoreline. At the confluence of the Scioto and Muskingum Rivers are noted popular spots for anglers (boat and shoreline) to catch their limits of late summer flatheads and channel cats.
Throughout the month, catfish will school tightly and the big ones will begin feeding heavily in preparation for winter.
Veteran catfishermen consider fall the prime time to catch some trophy sizes. So if that appeals to you or if you are simply looking for a good fall fish harvest, read on for fall catfishing tips below.
During the next few weeks — the last leg of the dog days of summer — catfish will prefer deeper habitats during the day and shallower habitats while feeding at night.
Here in the shallows, the fish will stay, as long as the water temperatures are gradually declining. Quick changes in temperature and water clarity, though, will force them to move out deeper to find more stable water conditions.
So for the next month or two, the most productive night areas for cool catfish action will be shallow flats next to deeper holes and next to swimming beaches, particularly where the bottom is stirred up during the day.
The flats near feeder streams are perfect targets because these areas cool rapidly at night.
When autumn arrives, a lake turns over (seasonal occurrence when the cooler water on the bottom of the lake will mix with the warmer water at the top of the lake for a brief time period) and the baitfish scatter.
This change causes the catfish to move around a lot more because they now have to feed at various depths or levels of the water column. This is when fishing with a float is good for catfish because it allows you to cover more water.
You can still fish some baits on the bottom, but you will also need to float some baits under large slip bobbers.
Since the big cats love baitfish, locating them will help lead you to promising spots to set up.
Circling and diving water birds are sure indicators that bait fish are schooling near the surface. This means that game fish such as white bass and largemouth bass are most likely stirring them up.
I guarantee that with the proper bait put out and a little patience, that trophy blue and or flathead could be yours.
When the bait fish are active and being hunted, any hungry catfish in the area will lurk below, picking off any injured baitfish sinking to the bottom. You can also look for heavyweight flatheads in big logjams along sharp bends of a river.
As the temperatures drop more, catfish start straying from the shallows and can be found hanging around their first staging spot. This would be the break lines where the water drops off in the 6- to 15-foot range.
One of the most effective ways to hook a fish here is by anchoring up on the top edge of the break line and spreading your lines at various depths along the contour.
A catfish’s sense of smell and taste is excellent, thus the most effective baits include fresh cut shad, prepared blood bait, chicken livers, shrimp and nightcrawlers. Live baits never hurt either.
However, prepared baits start to work well in early fall, as do chicken liver, shrimp, crayfish or live fish. Later in the fall when the water begins to cool, the stink baits and livers tend to lose effectiveness, so switching over to cut baits will help you become more productive in late fall.
Larger live baits are the menu item choice of blue cats and flatheads, but channel cats also respond to wiggling bluegill. The best fall cut and live baits for blue cats are shad and bluegill, while flatheads prefer live bluegill, green sunfish, shiners, goldfish and crawfish. Don’t be afraid to drop big baits such as 1-pound bullheads, suckers or carp into the mix.
General rule of thumb: the larger the bait, the larger the catfish.
Now, let’s talk about hooking a cat!
Simple tackle is the right choice. When fishing on the bottom, use a fixed or slip sinker and when fishing the surface or suspended, try either a slip or fixed float. Hook sizes range from size 4 to 6/0 depending upon the size of fish you are seeking and the size of bait that you are using.
Having a strike indicator is a good idea for catching catfish, such as a bell or neon rod tips. Reason is catfish do not “hit and run” like other fish, instead, they move very slowly away with baits until they run out of line or realize they are hooked. Then it’s fish on and the rod bending begins.
Rods and reels should be matched for the sizes of catfish that you anticipate landing.
Standard tackle for channel catfish or bullheads includes medium spinning or baitcasting outfits with 10- to 12-pound line, whereas for flathead catfish or blue catfish, heavy rods and reels with 20- or 30-pound line may be required. Reels used for catfish should have a good drag system.
Other fall fish a plenty
Most avid Lake Erie perch anglers wait until late August or September when the popular food fish start to school up and are easy to locate and catch. Emerald or golden shiners fished on spreaders or multi-hook dropper rigs result in multi-fish catches, including perch that top the ten inch mark.
Fall is a great time to consider taking a charter perch trip.
Three Ohio streams stocked with brown trout annually include the Clear Fork of the Mohican River, the Mad River and Clear Creek. Like the cats, the trout are active in the fall.
So while I may be lamenting the approaching end of summer, the good thing is that as long as you don’t mind the varying temperatures, fish have to eat — and that means there is still time to stock the freezer.
Most anglers hankering for catfish do so because we love their fight, but some of us really love having them on our dinner table as well. Since catfish are a more meaty, non-flakey fish, their filets actually preserve well if left in full filets or cut into nice size chunks. They also thaw without falling apart the flakey fish tend to do.
Catfish have a mild flavor that is easy to pair with other foods, making them easy to adapt into a variety of recipes. In addition, catfish only has about 98 calories in a 100-gram portion, making it ideal for replacing other, more caloric meats such as poultry or pork in most recipes.
Like most fish, catfish is known for providing a lot of protein, which is crucial for maintaining and growing cells and tissues. According to nutritional research findings, a 100-gram serving of catfish has 13 grams of protein, representing 26% of the recommended daily quantity a person should have.
Catfish is also high in vitamin B12, a compound vital to nerve function, cell metabolism, and DNA production. A single 100-gram serving surpasses the daily recommended value of vitamin B12.
Admittedly, catfish does have a slight amount of saturated fats, but it also provides a good amount of healthy lipids in a single portion. Plus, catfish is also known to contain omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease, dementia, and cancer.
So if you haven’t packed up your poles and you still feel you could use a couple more months of fishing, gear up and go hunt those cats this fall. What do you have to lose but good fun and food!
