King Kat Win on Sandusky Bay Goes to Graham Maxwell and Aj Castelluccio
by Ron Presley,
Photos courtesy of King Kat
Big Fish honors also went to Team Maxwell and Castelluccio with a 24.11-pound personal best channel cat for Maxwell.
Sandusky Ohio and Lake Erie provided the destination for the recent King Kat catfish tournament. The Sandusky Bay event was one stop on the way to the Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s King Kat Classic on Santee Cooper at Eutawville, SC on November 8, 2024.
The event attracted 48 teams representing 105 anglers from 14 states. The well-known channel cat destination did not disappoint the anglers or the organizers. The Sandusky Bay event allowed anglers to weigh in 3 fish. Only 2 of those fish could measure over 28 inches. Finding a heavy fish under that requirement can be a challenging part of the competition. The team weighing the largest total weight is declared the champion.
When all the weights were recorded 22 of the 48 teams weighed more than 40 pounds. Less than 3 pounds separated the top 2 teams. It required more than 50 pounds in 3 channel cats to take the win.
First Place and Big Fish 
Pennsylvania anglers Graham Maxwell and Aj Castelluccio teamed up to take the King Kat win on Sandusky Bay. They brought in a 3 fish limit of 51.91 pounds to claim the top spot. Their bag included a 24.11-pound channel to earn them Big Fish honors adding the Big Fish pot of $1,000 to boost their total earnings to $7,700. The big channel cat was Maxwell’s new personal best.
They got off to a challenging start with a flat tire and a dead battery in the boat. The loss of the battery forced them to sacrifice the use of the trolling motor so they could power the livewell. With little sleep but plenty of determination they forged forward and brought home the Sandusky Bay Championship. This tournament was the first time they fished for channel catfish in Lake Erie.
“On tournament day we put in at the Shelby Street Ramp and made the run into the inner bay,” revealed Maxwell. “The wind was pushing some decent chop so we decided to go under the bridge to get out of the waves for the morning fishing. The wind was the only weather issue and that lake can get bad very quickly.”
When they got to their destination the main battery on the boat died. A decision was made to move the trolling motor battery to the main battery position and forego earlier plans to drag baits.
“That decision to move the battery made our plans to drag vanish,” explained Maxwell. “So we picked a spot on a channel edge and set up. When the legal fishing time came, we got to work putting baits in the water.”
During the day Maxwell and Castelluccio anchored in 12 to 20 feet of water. They had skipjack, suckers, and a “secret” bait to use for the day. They were using what Maxwell referred to as high-low rigs.
“We had some pretty fresh skipjack from our last trip and decided to try it out,” noted Maxwell. “It did way better than expected. We only had 3 small ones but it was working well. Our rigs included 2 hooks about 2 feet apart with the lead below. Either the current or a float is used to suspend and present the baits at different depths.”
“We had action pretty quick and we kept upgrading fish,” continued Maxwell. “I was fortunate to hook up with the big fish and knew it was a really solid fish. I made sure to take my time and not pull the hook or make a mistake and lose that fish. Once near the boat Aj flawlessly netted a solid fish.”
A quick check with their portable scales verified their expectations. The big channel weighed 24 pounds and change and gave the team an earned level of confidence that they would be in the running at the weigh-in.
“We caught around 40 fish on the day,” confirmed a happy Maxwell. “We were fortunate enough to get a solid 27.5” under-fish and another good fish to go with it. Our action died off around 1:00 am but we just stayed put feeling ok with what we had in the box with no real backup plan not being able to drag.”
“We want to thank Anvil Rods and Reactive Fishing Line,” concluded Maxwell. “They made easy work of these big channel cats.”
Second Place 
The runner-up spot went to Mike Snyder and Patrick Boudreau. They weighed a 3-fish limit that pulled the scales to 48.92 pounds and earned them a check for $3,000! They were less than 3 pounds behind the leaders.
Third Place 
Third place went to a three-person team. Michael Wahl, Tommy Long, and Jenny Wahl pooled their efforts to bring 48.78 pounds to the scales and earn the 3rd place check for $1,500. Notice, the difference between 2nd and 3rd place was less than a pound.
Fourth Place and Second Big Fish 
Bill and Cindy White follow the King Kat Trail from their home in Alabama. They placed 4th on Sandusky Bay with a total weight of 47.45 pounds, less than 2 pounds behind the 3rd place team. They earned a check for $1,000. They also had 2nd Big Fish of the day to add $500 to their payday.
Fifth Place 
The 5th-place team was Eli and Daniel Yoder. They teamed up to bring a total weight of 46.27 pounds to the scales and earn the 5th-place check for $700.
Note: To view more photos and see more winners from the event visit the King Kat Facebook page and their website.
Final Thoughts
“The weather conditions were beautiful all weekend,” said King Kat staffer Olivia Osteen. “The wind stayed pretty comfortable in the Bay and the temperatures were in the mid to low 70s all weekend.”
June can be a tough month for catfishing but the numbers of fish caught in the Bay were very good. The hot weather also gave reason to pay particular attention to the health of the fish.
“The fish are in the middle of the spawn,” informed King Kat Tournament Director, Scott Peavy. “It challenged some of the anglers. But every angler made sure the health of the fish was in great shape even if that meant weighing them in early.”
“I talked to a bunch of anglers about how their day of fishing was Saturday,” continued Peavy. “Almost all of them said they were catching fish all day long. Some reported catching more than 50 fish on tournament day.”
“We would especially like to thank Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s, Shores and Islands Ohio, the anglers and their families, and all our sponsors and supporters,” added Osteen.
Osteen also invited anglers and spectators to the next King Kat tournament that will be held in Gallipolis, Ohio on the Ohio River. Anglers can register for the 3-fish event on the King Kat website.
For more information on King Kat visit their website or follow them on Facebook.
