As a kid, summertime nights became special for two reasons: fireflies and getting to visit one of the local lakes, ponds or streams for a little night fishing.
My dad enjoyed wetting a line, but I think it had become especially fun once he had two boys old enough to tend their own poles. We’d unknowingly become his newest fishing partners, though he still had to rein us in to keep us out of the water or from skipping rocks. We soon learned that leaving a rod unattended could cause us to miss a bait-robbing bruiser.
Except for one particular trip that targeted walleye, most of our night jaunts were for catfish. While it’s true that you can catch plenty of cats in the daylight, these voracious predators tend to become very active after dark. They’ll often move into shallower water to hunt for food, which include aquatic and terrestrial insects, crayfish, about any fish they think they can swallow and the huge variety of concoctions that anglers put together to draw them to their hook. One thing about catfish, they aren’t picky eaters, but some foods are preferred over others. We’ll get back to that.
Varieties
So, how many kinds of catfish call Ohio home? As far as most line-tossers go, there are four: the small, feisty bullheads, the scary-big flatheads and blues and my personal favorite, the channel cat.
There’s actually one more that I’ll award honorable mention, the madtoms. While these minnow-sized catfish are unique, you’ll never find them gracing deep fryers or cast-iron skillets. Seldom encountered by anglers or even minnow seiners, the madtom is worthy of mentioning simply because it’s actually venomous. This sneaky little guy has the same spines on its pectoral fins as other cats but with a twist, theirs are hooked into little venom glands that can give you a waspish sting you won’t soon forget.
As for blue cats, I’ve never caught one, but these guys require some serious tackle. Found primarily in the Ohio River and up short distances of larger tributaries, this one carries some rod-snapping ability.
The state’s hook and line record is a 96-pounder caught in the Ohio River by Chris Rolph back in 2009. Can this 54½-inch-record be beaten? Sure, it can! Fifteen-year-old Jaylynn Parker proved it by setting the jug-line record with 101.11-pound blue taken on Twelve Mile Creek, which feeds into the mighty Ohio. The popularity of the fish has caused the Division of Wildlife to look at starting a stocking program, specifically at Hoover Reservoir near Columbus.
The other big boy is the flathead catfish. The state record for this one is a 53-inch bruiser weighing in at 76 pounds. It was taken in 1972 from Piedmont Lake by Dale Yoho. This long-standing record has some wondering if it will — or can — ever be beaten. As they say, “records are made to be broken.”
This relatively wide-spread species can be found in the Muskingum, Maumee and Miami Rivers and some of our reservoirs. Not targeted by casual anglers, these cats are just waiting for the right opportunity to grab your bait and run. Every fish biologist I know believes that a new record flathead is waiting for just the right moment.
The first fish that a lot of kids catch is the ever-present bluegill or one of its cousins. As for the first catfish, those same kids are likely to land one of the little energetic bullheads. Ohio has three varieties swimming around most streams, lakes and many ponds — the yellow, brown and black bullheads.
Generally reaching 12 inches, they aren’t the monster that their cousins tend to be, but they make up for it with their scrappy fight, squirming their way around the water as you bring them in. After landing, they seem to be ill-tempered about this hidden-hook trick and keep twisting and wriggling with an attitude of “never give up, never surrender,” until they’re either released or in the cooler. While a foot-long bullhead is a good catch, Ohio’s record is an impressive 18 1/2-inch, 4.25-pound example taken from a farm pond in 1986 by Hugh Lawrence Jr. That’s another record waiting to be broken.
Channel
Finally, we’ve come to my favorite — and I’m not alone. The native channel catfish is likely the most targeted catfish species in Ohio, if not the entire inshore U.S. Not as big as the blue or flathead, it’s known to have some of those same fighting genes as the bullhead while offering what some will argue is the best catfish you can invite for dinner. Ohio’s state record has been held by a 37.65-pounder landed by Gus Gronowski since 1992.
Often called a “silver-sided cat” by anglers, the channel’s creamy-white belly, silvery-gray sides and deeply forked tail are a giveaway. While these colors are typical, the channel can also show hues of blue, gray, silver or black. Younger fish will often have spotted sides. Those spots have caused anglers to also dub the channel the spotted cat, and the squealy chirping sounds they sometime make while having the hook removed has landed them the name squeaker cat.
Why is the channel cat my favorite? It was the first “big fish” I ever caught, and that leaves a memory of being slapped on the back by my dad, taking the fish home to have my picture taken, and the ability to carry bragging rights into any conversation.
For instance, I’m standing in the grocery isle and someone mentions that it looks like rain. “Sure, does,” I say. “Reminds me of the storm that rolled through the week I caught this big cat.” I dig the picture from a pocket.
A distracted stranger trips on a curb. “Well, things happen. Just the other day while fighting this big channel, I almost stepped on my other rod. Could’ve cost me a catch of a lifetime,” I say. Once again, I hand over the picture.
I find myself in the confessional at church, ready to talk over transgressions with the local clergy, “Father, I may have stretched the truth a bit about that huge channel I caught. I told some folks I caught it in Old Mudbottom Creek, but I didn’t,” I say as I pass the picture across … then panic when I realize the priest is a fisherman.
Well … those are just hypothetical situations.
The other reason that channels are my favorite is because they are widespread. Channel catfish are native to Ohio and are found in large streams, rivers and lakes. They’re also stocked in many farm ponds where they do well but rarely reproduce. They prefer areas with deep water, clean gravel or boulder substrates, and low-to-moderate current. However, they are tolerant of a wide range of conditions.
They are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of items including insect larvae, crayfish, mollusks, fish (dead or alive) and even some types of fruits and berries. They typically weigh 2 to 10 pounds and measure 15 to 25 inches but can get to over 40 inches.
Spawning usually begins when water temperatures reach the mid-70s with the fish nesting in secluded areas, using natural cavities, banks and burrows. While channels occur naturally in Ohio’s rivers and streams and thrive in Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay, the Division of Wildlife also regularly stocks more than 300,000 in more than 100 different reservoirs.
Bait
When considering catfish bait, it’s good to remember that all the catfish have a great sense of smell that guides them to their next meal. With that in mind, channels and bullheads will eat shrimp, chicken livers and nightcrawlers and some of the smellier bait creations some overly zealous anglers have created — concoctions aptly named “stink baits.”
Jack’s Cat Attack: sun-ripened chicken livers, hotdogs, bread, nacho-cheese, corn, tabasco and nightcrawlers mixed in a blender. I’m assuming Jack is single.
Juggs Davis Stink Bait: Blend chopped pork parts (?), garlic, wet dog food, minnows, flour to thicken then place it in a microwave with melted cheese and mix well. I’ll bet Juggs lives with Jack.
Uncle Dewey’s: Ferment some shad an then chop it up with chicken livers, bacon grease, oatmeal, yellow cornmeal, brown sugar and limburger cheese. Juggs and Jack are probably sharing recently divorced Uncle Dewey’s old tent-camper.
You know, I wonder if tricky, catfishing priests go to confession?
“A good catfish is a lot like a bad day: slippery, tough, but ultimately rewarding.”
— Mike Gentry
Old friend
One more thing about channel catfish. As a wildlife officer, I’ve probably had more people call me about those fish than any other. Whether it was to check for the current state record, to just brag a bit, or so they can hoist one on a stringer for me to see, it always made me smile.
I still get those calls today. Recently, one was from my old friend, sportsman and lifelong Findlay area resident Larry Corbin and his wife Peggy. Larry’s been working through some difficult health issues, but it hasn’t stopped him from counting his blessings or visiting his daughter’s pond.
Last week, he added another fish to his long list of Fish Ohio winners. This one was a dandy of a channel that measured a respectable 31-inches. After hamming it up for the camera, the fish was released for another day. His questions for me were, “Can you guess how old it might be and how much it might have weighed?”
I did a little head-scratching research and figured that the fish was 10 or a bit older and tipped the scale at 12 to 15 pounds. A longtime employee of Eckrich, Larry has his very own secret channel cat bait. Over the years, he’s found that Eckrich (only Eckrich) cheese hotdogs work wonders at luring a channel to the hook.
Larry’s use of less than smelly baits — and Peg’s sense of humor — have insured that his daughter still allows him to fish on their property, and that he’s not living with Jack, Juggs and Dewey.
“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”
— Rose Kennedy
