Slamming Ohio Summer Cats

During the summer, catfishing can become difficult with the spawn and the quick rising summer heat here in Ohio. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to catch them, you just have to change up your tactics this time of year. Sometimes it seems just as quickly as the pre-spawn comes in April-May, that the bite turns off just as fast. When the water temperatures finally reach between 70 to 80 degrees, the females are busy laying eggs while the males guard the nests, making it hard for anglers to get the attention of the fish. The most important thing is to use fresh bait. We generally use cut bait, but you can use live baits, shrimp, liver, etc. Don’t be afraid to change-up your locations. The more water you cover increases the chances of you getting on the fish. Catfish are bottom dwellers and hide in holes, log structures, debris, or anything else they can tuck themselves into. Moving around gives you more opportunities to succeed in locating them and with a little patience you’ll be rewarded. This time of year is a perfect time to try out some night fishing to beat the heat during the day, and the catfish start moving once the water temperature declines slightly. The night bite is an experience itself that you don’t want to miss out on. It truly gives you a mystical, eerie feeling when you pull a giant catfish from the dark depths of the water. Suspending your bait is another good technique to try out. We enjoy using glow bobbers, or glow sticks on the rod tips for a better visual and bells for a little noisy fun that even the kids can enjoy while making a neat experience for them to get them into fishing. Bank fishing is still one of our favorite things to do, especially in June. The fishing is better before the upcoming months of hotter weather which brings in algae and lily pad growth making it complicated for a lot of anglers to fish, especially in areas that don’t allow much land access. This is the kind of fishing anyone can do with the whole family, making life-lasting memories on the water. The catfish are still in shallow water on the nests and also come up to ambush prey, feeding on baitfish after sunset. If you still aren’t producing bites, try giving it a little extra time. Catfish can be lazy, and it takes time for those bigger ones to come in sometimes. If you want to improve your hookup ratio while also taking precautions not to harm the fish, use circle hooks or c-hooks. These allow the hooks to be properly placed in the side of the mouth usually with an easy, quick hook retrieval without gut hooking the fish. Generally, we use an 8 O. size hook to target the larger catfish on a basic medium-heavy rod with 4060 pound braided line. This is our personal preference which has never given us a problem in the past. Following just these few simple techniques will have you slamming catfish all summer long here in Ohio.

Article by Allison Benoit, Her and Gabbie’s fishing adventures can be seen on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/@benoitfishingoutdoors and on Facebook at Benoit Fishing Outdoors. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1171466856857523/

Let’s grow with Florida together.

Confessions of a Fishaholic, by Thatch Maguire, is a hilarious and irreverent look at one man’s quest to catch fish in spite of life’s annoying interferences. You’ll travel with this awkward adventurer as he risks home and health to pursue his passion for fishing...regardless of the consequences. Anglers of all expertise levels will immediately identify with why his addiction is incurable. This book defines the blurred line between passion and obsession.

Catch a 30-pound ve- sh sack of bass, and you’re pretty much a lock to win whatever tournament you’re shing, right?

Imagine that glorious moment when you’ve been culling 5-pounders and pull into the docks to unload your livewell. With a grin on your face, you haul that huge bag of sh up to the scales…only to nd out your 30-pound sack barely put you in the top 20! at was the reality at a May 6 Roland Martin Marine Center Bass Series event on Lake Okeechobee. e shing was so good that anglers weighed 20 ve-bass limits that were heavier than 30 pounds. It took 36.82 pounds to win. We’re not sure who keeps track of such things, but that’s more 30-pound sacks in one tournament than we’ve ever heard of.

A father-son team of Preston and 11-year-old Tavyn Heisler won the 177-team tournament and a $6,500 big check.

“It was an amazing day,” Preston told a RMMCBS reporter a er the tournament. “I’m still shaking and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Tavyn said he was the net man early in the tournament, but he caught his own 8-pounder late in the day. His favorite lure was a black and blue charterbait.

To read a full report on the event, visit: rolandmartinmarinecenterseries.com.