August 2008, Lake St. Clair, Michigan—It was a hot summer day, calm waters reflecting the vibrant blue skies aloft. We were trolling Wiley Baits (5½-inch jointed trolling plugs) on planer boards for muskies. Cruising along at a brisk 3 to 6 mph over 10- to 12-foot flats, 4 miles from the mouth of the Detroit River, we hit a flurry of fish. One board trips, bending the 8½-foot trolling rod deep and heavy. My boatmate pulls the rod from the holder and begins the battle. Just seconds pass and another board jolts to life. This one’s mine, and while my shoulders absorb powerful head thumps, we’re thinking muskie double-header.

Then we spot the slate-grey head of an 8- to 10-pound channel cat, and my partner and I exchange amazed looks. My fish—another big catfish—slides into view. A big trolling plug stuck in the craw of a hefty catfish is a sight to behold. Not only do the cats pull and thump, we come away realizing that they overpowered several of the 42-inch muskies we caught that day. At the end of the day, the tally comes to 7 muskies and 11 channel cats.

June 2007, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron—We towed spinner rigs with nightcrawlers behind bottom bouncers on shallow flats just outside the mouth of the Saginaw River. Having fished here in February, I know all about the Bay’s channel cats. While jigging through the ice for walleyes then, we caught several dozen respectable catfish, as they move through in waves. In June, the same thing happened at almost the exact location near the mouth of the Saginaw River. We stuck a couple walleyes on the spinner-crawler combo before running into numerous 5- to 8-pound channels, often two fish at a time.

I like catching walleyes, but as a catman, I’m quietly delighted. My walleye-pro partner can only shake his head. Realizing several hours into the day that I’m trying to Jedi-mind-trick his boat back toward cat water, he gives in. We return to trolling runs where catfish hit and catch a dozen more fish.

September 2002, Western Lake Erie—This is my first trip to Lake Erie. Casting jigs and weight-forward spinners for walleyes outside Sandusky Bay, three of us connect with least a dozen decent channel cats, hitting our baits with the power of M-80s. More recently, In-Fisherman contributor Joe Balog tells of catching dozens of 5-pound-plus channel catfish here—casting weight-forward spinners tipped with nightcrawlers.

May 2009, Central Lake Erie—When 2- to 4-foot waves create a chocolaty mudline along certain shallow beaches, channel cats arrive in droves. Anglers casting jigs and crankbaits or trolling plugs or spinner rigs on planer boards catch big numbers of cats up to and occasionally exceeding 10-pounds.

Most of these catfish populations center around large incoming rivers, backwater marshes, and the shallower bays associated with the river. In most Great Lakes locales, the fishing peaks during prespawn to spawn, a timeframe that depending on latitude can range from late May through July. During this movement cycle, catfish pinch through major rivermouths, harbors, and eventually into shallower feeder rivers and marshes. Some cats also spawn on shallow sand beaches near the lakeshore. In places with the densest catfish populations, such as Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron and the Western Basin of Lake Erie, spawntime cats can reside anywhere within several miles of the rivermouth.

Larger rivers retain viable catfish populations through most of the year. Yet prior to spawning, as well as after spawning in summer and then through fall and into winter, numbers of sizeable catfish flush back into relatively shallow (usually 30 feet and less) waters inside bays or interior basin areas within the big lakes.

We don’t know how far catfish wander from spawning sites, or how far they may range into lake basins. In shallow sections, such as Erie’s western and central basin, where vast 10- to 20-feet deep flats abound, catfish probably swim the entire lake. Countless small rivers enter the lakes along the shore—many of which host “runs” of catfish. It’s possible that subgroups of catfish remain near their natal rivers, ranging only as far into the adjacent lake as food dictates.

When cats pack into smaller spawning rivers, traditional set-rigging and other stationary presentations apply. Yet most of the rivers, harbors, and other off-lake areas feature large shallow to mid-depth flats. As abundant as catfish can be, huge swaths of these flats are usually barren of fish life. Trolling, or even controlled-drifting with baited spinner rigs, is the most efficient presentation. Walleye anglers know the spinner game well, and in places like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay, and Big Bay de Noc, cats sometimes dominate their catches.

Anatomy of a Trolling Rig

What makes a great walleye spinner rig isn’t necessarily what makes it for catfish. Still, you can do far worse than something like a pre-tied Northland Rainbow Spinner rigged with a crawler. In clear offshore waters, spinner blades aren’t always required. But channel cats, like other sportfish, feed by sight, sound, and vibration, as well as scent and taste. In open water over spacious flats, flickering scales signal pods of shad, smelt, shiners, and perch—catfish food.

The thumping tails of fast swimming bait schools resonate like miniature gongs. It’s the vibration sense used by aquatic predators. Some would say that the catfish’s sense of hearing and ability to detect vibration are even superior to other fish. While most fish perceive low-frequency vibrations only up to about 1,000 cycles per second (Hz), channel cats hear up to 13,000 Hz. Catfish can apparently even sense electrical impulses from the muscular movements of other fish.

When catfish roam broad flats, whether cruising along near bottom or suspended in the water column, adding the attracting elements of flash and vibration works in your favor in almost all cases. Only when you’ve pinpointed a large school should you consider scaling back the attractor components or your rig. Even then, however, the inclusion of a spinner blade or other attractor is the percentage move. But for many catmen, using artificial implements like these is tough to swallow. We’ve simply been led too far to believe that only scent and taste matter, and that blades or other attractors can only detract from a rig’s appeal.