Catfishing Sandusky Bay?

I have been visiting the lake to walleye fish for most of my 30 years on this earth and I have never heard of this until I saw a magazine article last weekend, but apparently Sandusky Bay is a world class channel cat fishery. I'm not sure how that managed to escape my attention for so long, but my question is, has anyone ever fished the bay for cats and what areas of the bay should we target if we decide you fish it? I've found no shortage of bait suggestions, but I can't seem to figure out an actual location or depth to target.

Thanks for any information!

We used to fish for catfish in Sandusky Bay when I was about 55 years younger. There was a farmer who had a lane through his field to the bay. On a fence post was a can where you put in 50 cents or a dollar per car. There was never anyone back there when we were there. There was a nasty beach and a rock pier. We waded out till the water was just above our knees and cast out bobbers and night crawlers about 18"under water. That area was some where southwest of the airport to the islands on the north shore of the bay. I always wore blue jeans as I kept a stringer attached to my belt because I didn't want to get stung. We fished during the day usually during June and July and the best fishing was when the wind blew and there was action on the bobber. I would think there are catfish anywhere along the shoreline where there are some rocks nearby. We never caught any over five lbs doing that but it was fun. My dad had a boat on Lake Erie in a marina, and we went to the bay on occasion when it was too rough to go out on the lake. We were not expert catfishermen but it was not unusual to catch a dozen or more.

I'm not exactly sure where my buddies fish in Sandusky Bay but they tell me you can't keep a line in the water and they literally fill the boat with catfish! I always tell them I wouldn't waste my time on catfish when I can eat walley and perch!
They tell me it's a good time with tons of action!

I saw a brochure for a Sandusky Bay catfishing guide in Big Boppers. It may be well worth your money to do a trip with him to figure it out. I'm thinking it said you normally catch 50-60 a day. Just a thought. I could get you the info this weekend, if you're interested, as I'll probably eat breakfast there Saturday morning.

Mud creek the portage and little portage and tusaint river are all excellent catfishing spots especially during the spawn

Think u could roll up though Sandusky bay pulling 12 lines at .9 mph towing livers n cut herring on unset TT40s...:p

Finally a subject I know a little about. I have a place on the bay between Rt 2 bridge and Marblehead. People in our park catch catfish off the marina break wall all summer long. A few years ago a buddy of mine who likes to bass fish took me just west of the Rt 2 Bridge (mostly to get out of the wind) to fish for catfish. We caught lots of catfish and sheephead. Also lost a lot due to the fact we were using our bass fishing rigs.

I've been fishing for channel cats on Sandusky bay ever since I got my boat (2012). I put in at Whites landing Way west of the route 2 bridge. The best area I have found so far is the rock wall that is on the west end of Sandusky bay (just before you head into Muddy Creek Bay. It's usually a bit better bite if you go to the South side from the channel that connects the two bays. You'll want to float near the wall. If the wind is out of the East, start fishing once you get to about 4 feet of water. Let the wind blow you toward the wall. It seems that they like the water in the area of 3- 3 1/2 feet best. If the wind is out of the West, sneak in as close as you are comfortable with getting to the wall and let the wind blow you away from the wall till you get out to about 4 foot depth. If it is out of the North or South, set up in the 3 to 3 1/2 foot depth and let the wind run you. *BE VERY CAREFUL" You want to stay along the wall where it is straight. and closer to the channel running between the 2 bays. If you get out from in front of the straight wall, the water gets VERY shallow, very quick. I'm running in a fairly small (16.25') Lund, with a 50hp Merc, so I can get in fairly shallow. But, there are areas to the north and south of the area that I fish that is shallow enough to scare me. You can see what I mean about the straight section of wall if you get close. The wall bends on both the North (gets pretty shallow in there) and to the South (Gets very shallow, very quickly) just about right out from where the wall curves. It is not uncommon to see birds standing in the water 40 feet or more out into the bay. We usually use a bobber set to keep the bait fairly near the bottom (about 2 1/2 to 3 feet deep). Enough weight to keep the bobber standing up, and either a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook. So far as bait goes, I like crawlers and shrimp. But, that being said, I have not seen anything yet that we've put on a hook that they haven't taken. There are some monster cats back there (My best so far is 37 inches), and they tend to grab and run without warning, so do not leave your pole just sitting because it will go over.

Thanks to all for the info! I might bring the small boat up one weekend to give it a shot. That's a long way to run from wild wings.

In my younger years my dad and I use to put in at Mud Creek Tavern and fish Mud Creek Bay along the rock walls. What a blast. He had a 16 foot Lyman with a 35 horse Evinrude pull start. Hint,, don't flood it,,! In between the mouth of Mud Creek and the walls there use to be a pole stuck in the water with a Rt 2 road sign on it. Good spot to fish . There was a rock pile there. Fished with a bobber right along the walls. Worms, shrimp, or chicken livers. It was a blast. Sitting here thinking about fishing with Dad. He has been gone now about 8 years now. Always said when the wheat heads and the cotton wood blows the cats are spawning on the rocks.

We used to go out Green Creek in the early 50's, my dad would rent a boat at the bridge at Rt 6 and Green Creek head down the Creek to the bay with a 5hp Evenrude. If you think the lake gets bad the bay really turns up, so much so that you can hit the bottom between the swells. Talk about pucker power. Lots of those old Sturgeon traps(Rock Walls) still out there, that is what the rock walls were put in there for. There were and maybe still are pictures of horse drawn farm wagons loaded stacked full with sturgeon at a couple of the Restaurants in Fremont. The old 818 club comes to mind as one that used to have those pics on the wall, who knows if they have survived over the years or if the the old restaurant is even still there. I would imagine Squaw Island is probably washed away by now also.

Nothing better than to hear that old bait caster's clicker sing as a cat hit the bait on the fly, nary a warning just that clicker sounding off for all it was worth. Bait caster reels back then did not have the spool locking lever they do today, the clicker was the only way to get a tight line and lock the spool if you could call it that.

A few years ago In-Fisherman magazine ranked Sandusky Bay #10 in it's list of 10 best catfishing spot in the country.

The Northern Ohio Catfish Tournament Trail has an event on Sandusky Bay - http://www.northernohiocatfishtournamenttrail.com/ .

The few remaining Lake Erie commercial fishing operations catch a lot of catfish. I don't know if they still fish Sandusky Bay.

The Maumee River also has good catfishing. There are several videos on YouTube showing guys catching big cats in the river.

If I remember correctly catfish in Lake Erie have slower growth rates than river or bay fish. But I've seen a few "monsters" (30-36 inches +) scuba diving in Lake Erie.

Last year fishing from the old bay bridge areaAttachment 4060