Maumee River Report- June 2, 2019

Big cats , white bass and perch are in and biting. The rain that hit the area last night has the river up a foot . Between last year and this season we should all be experts by now at fishing the high water.

Here is what you need to get into these big cats-=-First I tell people to get in the proper mindset of what your going after “Think Shark”. Big -heavy gear. 8-10 ft heavy catfish or surf rods. Large heavy duty reels that can hold 125  yards of heavy line.  Between 40 to 80 lb line. Some big baits-live blugill being the smallest you would use. Big chunks of shad,carp  or anything dead and stinky.  Heavy weight 3 oz to 6 oz . Then go find a nice area with some slack water just off the main current toss in the line and hang on. These big cats prowl up and down the river there doesn’t necessarily have to be that secret spot in some back woods area., some big ones prowl right here in the Toledo metro parks area.

Catfish Are “Bottom Dwellers”: They’re not strictly “bottom dwellers”. Sure, they do spend time on the bottom but they’re a complex fish that feed through the entire water column including on the top or surface of the water, the bottom and everything in between. If you’re focusing solely on the bottom your not getting in front of all the fish.

Catfishing Is Better At Night? You have to fish at night, right? Wrong! Cats are not totally nocturnal fish and fishing at night is not required. You can catch just as many fish in daylight as you can at night.  In fact, many savvy anglers prefer fishing in the day over fishing at night.

Do Catfish Sting? They Don’t Sting. Their whiskers do not sting and their fins don’t either. Smaller fish do however have very sharp fins that will penetrate the skin if not handled with caution. The fins will cause a burning sensation if they puncture the skin but it’s not a “sting”.

Catfish Change Colors :The pigment in the skin will change colors and it’s possible for two fish of the same species to look very different. This is especially true of the local channels. When some cats are in clear shallow water and exposed to sunlight they’ll be dark. If they’re in deeper muddy water they’ll be lighter colored. In cold stained or muddy water they’ll be almost white at times. And everything in between.

Stop in check out our catfish section and we can completely outfit you with what you need at an affordable price.

Have fun be safe and good luck fishing.