1. Michael P
    - Mosquito Lake

    A relatively small Flathead for Mosquito but My only one this year due to being unable to fish as much as I'd like this season. The key that I noticed though ...more is that when using a circle hook on a Santee Cooper style slip sinker bottom rig (at least with heavy tackle I use since I'm targeting fish over 30 lbs) is to use your bait clicker or bait feeder and/or drag setting for spinning reels in combination with a typical shore based circle hook rod position for Flathead Catfish. The reason is that the Flatheads typically are less willing to take your bait if they can feel too much tension coming from the rod tip compared to a Channel Catfish. I recommend allowing some give with the reel so the Flathead will pick up your live bait and begin to swim off with it and then tightening the drag or engaging the reel to then allow the rod tip to load to set the circle hook and then I personally follow up with a short sweep provided the weight of the fish is there to make sure the circle hook is sunk in past the barb(I have personally never had a catfish come unhooked from a circle hook using this method and feel that a partial hook set as described is needed at least with large circle hooks to insure the hook will not come out)

    19 lb. 2 oz. Flathead Catfish with a Live Bluegill

    1. Rick Vogelbacher 0
      Did a video on Mosquito Creek about a year ago. Love that fishery.
    2. malarikfishing malarikfishing 0
      Great Info, thanks for the tip
    3. Khalifa Judge 0
      Nice Flatty, Michael. I understand about not being able to get out and fish. It drives me crazy!
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  2. Michael P
    - Mosquito Lake

    Details: 14 lb. Channel Catfish with a Cut Bait

    I was unfortunately unable to attend as planned but the total weight portion of the 2018 Mr. Whiskers Catfish Tournament was won with a limit of large Channels and ...more the same technique of drifting with cut baits has been effective since. I am reporting this from a friend's account but I can give more details on other consistently productive tactics for catfish at Mosquito I personally use from either a kayak/boat or from shore in the near future. For this specific event the fishing was done offshore of the launch ramp on the south side of the causeway. largest fish was 14 lb Channel for the tournament's total weight winner.

  3. Michael P
    - Mosquito Lake

    Sorry for the late information. If anything I put is incorrect feel free to let me know. I was not there personally for health reasons so the information was provided ...more to me from a friend who fished the tournament. I will make another post for my personal tips for catching Channel Catfish from a kayak or boat and also some tips for catching Flathead Catfish from shore with productive locations and times as well as tips for rigs and baits to use based off my own personal fishing experience.

    1. Michael P 0
      This post was meant to be posted in combination with the information included in the spot I marked for August 11th.
  4. Michael P

    Does anyone have any information regarding the aquatic weeds at Mosquito Lake. I hadn't had time to fish since June until a I went to Mosquito a couple mornings ...more about a week ago. I launched a small kayak in two places on Mosquito's south end and all basically all the weed beds I had been used to dealing with for years were gone. I guess my question is for anyone else who fishes Mosquito a lot if they have noticed the weeds basically having disappeared throughout other locations on Mosquito Lake and if so if anyone knows why? From the couple places I fished and paddled around the weeds look like they have almost totally died off. I don't know if there was an intentional effort made by the Ohio DNR and/or the Army Corps. or if there is a more natural explaination. Maybe something with the water level being kept high enough all season prohibited the weeds from reaching the surface before the water temp got very high at the top of the water column etc.

  5. Michael P
    - Mosquito Lake

    Details: Area mentioned in my first post

    Shore fishing and kayak fishing while camping first week in May 2016.

  6. Michael P
    - Mosquito Lake

    Weather was a little cool much of the week and a lot of wind which meant more shore fishing than kayak fishing. Caught about everything expected with the Pike from ...more shore a bonus before the Channel Catfish started biting halfway into the week. Set out a large live bait for Flathead Catfish each night but didn't catch one. I usually am able to get one from the campground area in the 40 lb range every year from shore.

    1. Michael P 0
      Well I was camped for a week at the state campground and was fishing at least from shore basically 24/7 first week of May. The area I marked off shore of the campsite ...more though is the general area where the limits of big perch were caught. The one day two of my friends were out there on kayaks and started catching them and anchored and they were getting so many big 12 and 13 inchers I paddled out to bring them more stringers. I don't know exactly when they first went out there but the perch were biting all day that day and were everywhere, not just right at my marker but all over the area. Then they were still around the rest of the week but bit best in the morning, as far as I know anyways, by 11 am the wind usually picked up enough to make us want to stay on shore.
    2. Greg Geist 0
      What time of day were you out
    3. Michael P 0
      My first post, messed up, made the post but had to mark the spot separate. Also the main post was to mention the tons of jumbo Yellow Perch caught in that area most ...more days that week from kayaks mostly in 5 - 6 ft of water. Many were 13 inches and numbers seemed unlimited.
    4. Michael P 0
      Lat: 41° 18.848' Lon: 80° 45.738
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About

I have been obsessed with fishing for about 20 years now. I fish for any species but do have a few favorites. I probably spend the most time ...more fishing for Largemouth Bass from my old kayak preferably when they are taking top water lures. I have been fishing Mosquito Lake since before I was truly an avid fisherman since my father would take me, my older brother, and mother there occasionally. My father is an amazing fly fisherman who has fly fished all over the US and taught me to fly fish which I still do even at Mosquito for Bluegills mostly while in chest waders. I have done a decent amount of fly fishing for primarily Brown Trout and Brook Trout when I have been located close enough to a trout stream (almost non-existent in Ohio unfortunately) and fly fishing for trout is in my top 3 favorite types of fishing. My top 3 are Largemouth Bass preferably on light tackle, fly fishing for stream trout, and night fishing for very large Flathead Catfish. Those 3 species and the ways in which I fish for them to me seem to represent 3 forms of fishing that are as different from each other as possible and have there own very unique yet totally different draws to them each. However I will fish for everything in between and use any technique that uses a rod and reel. I very rarely keep any fish and consider myself a pure sport fisherman. I prefer to release my catches back without causing them any harm as much as possible. I also have found that I am an excellent teacher of fishing. I have taught my older brother to fish for anything that swims including teaching him to fly cast better and have turned him into a very enthusiastic fisherman which is the opposite of how he once was. I have also taught friends with no previous fishing skills to learn to enjoy fishing by teaching them using personal "secret method". I have even made my father who could still out fly cast and fly fish me to this day a better and more skilled bass fisherman by teaching him from kayaks out on Mosquito Lake. I love fishing, it is in many ways my entire life and what I live for, and over the years I have realized that my ability to teach others to fish or fish better is just as(sometimes more) important to me as my own fishing success. I am also always in a mental state of amazing peace and comfort when fishing and being on/by the water despite a fairly severe anxiety disorder that I have struggled with my entire life. The anxiety and other coexisting issues I have though seem to melt almost completely away when I am at the water fishing whether alone or with friends/family. Fishing I think is what my purpose is in some way and perhaps that's why it works better for my mental state than any medication.

Fishing Favorites

  • Species My top 3 are Largemouth Bass preferably on light tackle, fly fishing for stream trout, and night fishing for very large Flathead Catfish. Those 3 species and the ways in which I fish for them to me seem to represent 3 forms of fishing that are as different from each other as possible and have there own very unique yet totally different draws to them each. However I will fish for everything in between and use any technique that uses a rod and reel.
  • Waterway Mosquito Lake, trout streams when I can afford to spend some time in PA or wherever else decent trout streams exist.
  • Lure Favorite lures are whatever is the best option. At Mosquito Lake I enjoy throwing small spinner baits with light colors/white and a single Colorado style blade and I often add a white twister tail grub mostly to slow the sink rate which helps keep the lure free of weeds and allows it to more easily be worked right under the surface or skipped over small weed clumps etc. For trout it is whatever fly they are taking best though I like to use terrestrials as much as possible especially beetle imitations which the trout often hit harder than other flies. For Flathead Catfish I use a large live bait such as a Bullhead or Bluegill on a slip sinker rig and either a circle hook with the rod in a heavy duty holder or a kahle style hook and my rod laid down with the reel disengaged and the bait clicker on, hook and sinker size depend on bait size.

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