Lake Erie Catfishing 2024

[mo65]

   Just got back from Port Clinton after another great catfishing trip. We had several in the 20 pound range and so many 5-10 pounders my arms are sore. All of this from shore...we didn't take a charter this time...only fished at public access points!   

[foakes]

Thanks for the report, Mike —-

As usual, good photos and a great job!

Best,Fred

[Brewcrafter]

Those are some tankers!!!! - john

[Breadfan]

Nice catch! Do you eat those?

[Midway Tommy]

Well done, Mike! Looks like you were having a good ol' time. Nice to hear from you again!

[El Pescador]

MO-meister!!!!!

Good to hear from you, and I must say you are looking great!!!!!

Do you eat catfish???  If you do, I'd love to know how, I can't say I've ever enjoyed catfish.  The flavor profile has not hit me.

Any new guitar songs for us to enjoy??

Keep fishing,

Wayne

[happyhooker]

Looks like somebody had a good time.

Frank

[Crow]

Nice bunch of whiskers! What were you baiting with?

[mo65]

   Thanks guys! And no...we usually don't eat catfish. I'm not a fan of them on the table. They are more fun to fish for than walleye or perch, so we fish cats the whole time and then buy walleye and perch fillets at the fish market on the way out of town. There is always someone else around when fishing the public access areas, and we always end up giving the cats to them.
   The place we fished is along the channel the big ferry boats use to take folks from Port Clinton to the islands. It's all concrete and rip rap...nowhere to push in a spike or rod holder...so using a reel with a clicker is a must unless you're wanting to get rid of your rod!   I used my Surfmaster 100, a Monofil 26, and my Mag 10. The zebra mussel beds were treacherous this trip, had to replace leaders a lot. One of those big 20+ pounders gave the little Monofil 26 a real workout stripping drag on several runs. I was worried the fancy aftermarket handle might fail...but it worked flawlessly. The Mag 10 has an extra drag washer, larger drag star, and a 112H handle. the Surfmaster 100 is tricked out with a 5 stack drag, steel main gear and sleeve, aluminum bars, stand, and spool. It has a 24-12LT and larger drag star. We used shrimp for bait, it seems to be the local favorite. Next time we are going to try baits we use at home on the river...cut bluegill and shad.