Fishing Report

[24KGold]

Well it was an incredible weekend on the Buffalo. We floated from Maumee North to the Highway 14 bridge on an overnight trip. Smallmouth fishing was incredible with lots caught in the 14 inch size. Nothing bigger than 15 inches except for a 20 inch Catfish. My wife was the winner, once again, for the biggest fish. Everything was caught on tubes and flukes. The water was moving faster than I liked so we just pitched behind the canoe and trolled our baits. The fish were everywhere in the river; shallow to deep, riffles to calm water. So many of the larger Smallies we caught were really fat; I assume with eggs. It was a perfect weekend! One of the best fishing weekends we've had.

By the way, we always fish barbless and if you are practicing catch and release, it really does save the fish that get your lure down deep in them, also great for getting your hook out of clothing and bags which can really be a hassle with a barb. You really don't lose many fish at all and it's a great way to help out with the fishery on the Buffalo. Just my feelings but if you try it I think you'll like it.

Terry

[hoglaw]

I'm surprised to hear about the 20" cat. Did it have a tag in it?

[24KGold]

I'm surprised to hear about the 20" cat. Did it have a tag in it?

No tag and we were surprised to catch a catfish in the middle of the day on the Buffalo. My wife caught it about a mile up river from Spring creek. That's about halfway between Maumee and the Highway 14 bridge. As you can see it was a really nice looking catfish. It was released. We also caught three rainbow trout in that stretch of water on tube jigs. They were all 14 to 15 inches long. We've caught trout in the Buffalo before but not that far up.

Terry

[hoglaw]

No tag and we were surprised to catch a catfish in the middle of the day on the Buffalo. My wife caught it about a mile up river from Spring creek. That's about halfway between Maumee and the Highway 14 bridge. As you can see it was a really nice looking catfish. It was released. We also caught three rainbow trout in that stretch of water on tube jigs. They were all 14 to 15 inches long. We've caught trout in the Buffalo before but not that far up.

Terry

mmmmm, he looks tasty. Neat to catch smallmouth, trout, and catfish from the same water on the same day. I always bring a catfish set-up on my overnight trips but typically don't on the buffalo. Guess I've heard all the no-catfish speculation too many times. How long does a catfish have to be in the river before it hits 20"? Two years after being stocked at 12"?