Big Blue Catfish at Conowingo

Type: Tidal
Region: Central
Location: Conowingo Dam

On the morning of September 4, 2019, the current below Conowingo Dam was moving about as slow as it gets because only one small gate was open. It was prime time to catch a few invasive blue catfish. My fishing buddy Dave McCollum paddled his Grumman canoe while I followed in my Native kayak to a not-so-secret catfish hole within sight of the dam. We baited our # 2 hooks with cut bunker. The 1 ounce sinkers were enough to get our baits on the bottom. It didn't take long to get bit with Dave catching the first one, a 30+ inch blue cat. It put a deep bend in his rod. Good thing I brought a net. A few minutes later, I reeled in a 28 1/2 inch blue catfish. Soon after that I got a feisty 29 1/4 inch blue cat to the net. We planned to fish longer but the dam lights and sirens came on, and about 5 minutes later a big gate opened up with white water gushing out and rising fast. Forced to quickly paddle back to the ramp, we returned to the house, measured the fish, took a few photos and filleted our catch. We had a good time.