Great Lakes Boating

JULY 2022 | GREAT LAKES BOATING 53 www.GreatLakesBoating.com By Dan Armitage Captain Spotlight Captain Scott Heston of Captain Scott's Catfish Charter Fishing Guide Scott Heston runs a vintage pontoon when taking clients out for a day of catfishing on his home waters of Lake Erie's Sandusky Bay. Heston's 1986 SUNTRACKER measures 24 feet in length and is powered by a 2017 Mercury Pro XS 115 four-stroke outboard. "I bought an older boat because I want- ed to change all the seats anyway to set it up for fishing," Hes- ton explains about his 36-year-old vessel. "The pontoon gives six people plus myself room to fish comfort- ably and still has room to move around. It is easy to get on and off of for people with mobility problems. I've taken a number of people out that were unable to get on and off other boats." • following a scent and finding the bait, many successful Great Lakes open water catfishers take their presentations to the fish. Using a boat to drift or slow-troll with worm harnesses or cut bait held near the bottom with three-way rigs, Carolina rigs or bottom bouncers is a popular tactic. Most anglers agree that gobs of nightcrawlers or beefy chunks of flesh from local preyfish such as shad or skipjack is the way to go when using cut bait. In Monroe, Mich., Lake Erie catfish anglers do well at the power plant dis- charge at Bolles Harbor. In Lake Michi- gan, Big Bay de Noc, Green Bay and the lower stretches of the Fox River are good bets for channel cat catches, as experi- enced by anglers targeting more popular species in those world-famous walleye waters. In Ohio waters of Lake Erie, channel catfish move near shore for spawning on flats where anglers intercept them. Sandusky Bay and Metzger's Marsh are popular places to catch channel cats in the spring and summer, as are the Mau- mee River and the Bayshore access at the power plant in Maumee Bay near Toledo. The Huron River from Huron upstream to Milan is another popular place to catch Lake Erie channel cats, with the opportu- nity to hook up with some big flatheads, which are stocked in both waterways. Lake Superior is hardly known as a premier catfish destination, but area anglers know that the St. Louis River Estuary at Duluth is not a place to be overlooked by cat-fanciers, from the bay upstream to the Fond du Lac Dam. Saginaw Bay is a Lake Huron magnet for open-water channel catfishers who often find their prey suspended and willing to gobble up crankbaits and other offerings where fish have been marked up off the bottom, and according to area fishing reports, the Au Gres River produces numbers of channel cats throughout the season. Catfish may not be your primary tar- get species to hook up with when plying the fish-rich waters of our Great Lakes this summer, but it may pay off to know where and how to tangle with a catfish when the opportunity presents itself. Ask around your local bait and tackle shop and on-line for local info, and you may be surprised at the catfishing interest and information you net.

• Cover