Fishing Articles : Catfish Forever

When you think about the evolution of fish some are obviously still around and kicking because they die with great difficulty. Of course the first example that comes to mind is the shark. It's been around since the beginning of things because you can pound on it, shoot it, gaff it and when you think it's all over it will still jump up and bite your leg if you are careless. Yes, there are a few species of fish that have made it through the eons too. But, I swear the fish that will be around for the Armageddon is the super eating, prolific, first class crook, the feisty catfish. There are volumes of sport stories from fishermen about cats coming back to life after a long stint out of water. How many times have you heard the story related to the catfish "coming too" and begin to swim around in the sink prior to cleaning. No doubt about it they'll be around forever.

Reels:
Daiwa Millionaire MS-250
Shimano Corsair 200A
Abu-Garcia Ambassadeur 4600C3
Daiwa Ultralight Spinmatic SM-Z500T

Rods:
Calstar Graphiter GFDH 800Xl 8'
G Loomis Steelhead STR1024C GL2 8"6"
George Van Zant Ultralight Signature 8'

Line:
P-Line

Hooks:
Gamakatsu Octopus

When it comes to catching them, cats can be very finicky. Fishermen use a variety of baits like chicken livers, guts from various animals, and various home concoctions. You can buy commercial bait that is so foul smelling it will singe your nose hairs. Here in Southern California cut mackerel seems to be the most popular but sometimes no matter what you deploy they will not bite. All true catfishermen know the pain of the long day time wait for the evening bite. That箂 why the most successful anglers fish at night and why many of the private lakes in the region open up for night time catfishing through the summer.

There is a small community pond which we call the Duck Pond for obvious reasons. Once you could fish the pond but for the last 10 years fishing has been a legal no-no. Typically the lake visitors are duck feeders and can be found throwing chunks of bread to the hundreds of ducks scrambling across the water. If you look closely at the waters edge, in among the feet of the ducks, you can see hundreds of 2 ? inch catfish also frenzying on the bread crumbs that get by the ducks. Just imagine out there in a little deeper water the size of some of the leftover cats from the old days. One can only imagine what happens to all those baby ducks that disappear in the spring time.

The largest growing catfish in the world is listed by the IGFA as growing to 440 lbs. It is called a wels catfish and lives in central and eastern Europe and thankfully not in our duck pond. Within the borders of the USA the largest catfish is the blue cat which is on record for hook and line at 109 lbs, but non-sporting trot liners have caught blue cat to 120 lbs. Channel cats are the most common in the restaurants and stocking programs. Prized as a sportfish for its fight and food fish for its taste, it is very popular. The channel cat record is 58 pounds. The other catfish in the USA are the black, brown, and yellow bullheads, the east coast white catfish and the flathead cat that is eating the Georgia rivers bream to the point of extinction. Catfish frequent almost every body of water in the USA and are just as hard to catch no matter where they may swim.

This whole story came about from an incident that I solved while loading a boat on the trailer at the launching ramp of a local private lake. The ramp had a short floating pier for the boat launchers to load and unload gear. I noticed a fisherman sitting in his boat, tied to the dock, sporting a fishing rod with his line in the water. He looked at me with a look resembling the traditional cat hiding a canary in its mouth. I looked away and quickly looked back to see him yank a 5 pound catfish into the boat. He tried to hide it from me but when he failed he discussed the incident because since he was caught red- handed he really wanted to talk about it anyway. Earlier in the day he tied the boat off while his buddy went for the car and the trailer. For kicks he dropped a flylined chunk of mackerel in the bushes next to the dock and immediately got bit. The water was only 3 feet deep and the area crammed full of bushes. The water in the area was muddy and swirling from the boats that were constantly being launched and loaded. These guys had been on the lake for 6 hours and caught nothing. I witnessed them catch 10 catfish in as many baits presented in an hours time. The catfish were "thick" in those bushes.

I love success stories like this but most catfishing adventures are not happy endings. I learned very early that cats do not like to feel the resistance of sinker so you usually fit a sliding sinker onto your line and supposedly the cat will run off and swallow the bait because he feels no resistance. Sometimes yes, other times no! I like to fish with very light running line, 6 lb test at least. I use a small no.#4 octopus style Gamakatsu hook with no sinker at all if it's from a boat or casting isn't important. If a long cast is needed I add a egg sinker of appropriate size for the cast. Spinning reels will handle light applications the best but conventional reels handle the long cast so I am prepared for both.

The conventional outfit is a Daiwa Millionaire MS-250 reel with 200 yards of 10lb P-Line (or a Shimano Corsair 200A with 200 yards of 10 pound test P-Line or a Abu-Garcia Ambassadeur 4600C3 with 130 yards of 10lb test P-Line) These reels are perfect for the long casting. The rods also have to be at least 8 feet to provide the leverage to propel a sinker into orbit. I use a Calstar Graphiter GFD4 800XL, 8 feet long (or a G Loomis Steelhead STR1024C GL2 8"6" long).

Of course I am always ready to hit-em with the ultralight. So, I have my ultralight 8 foot signature rod ready at all times with my Daiwa Ultralight reel, a Spinmatic SM-Z500T also prepared. As you know ultra light always gets the hook-ups. But not in the bushes, which presents some interesting techniques. The best information I can give you is to fish directly in the shoreline bushes and treetops. Don't use any sinkers and when the cats grab the bait, don't wait, set the hook and start winding. It's interesting that line size doesn't matter in the bushes, so use heavy stuff to pull them out. 20 pound test works great but it may be too light. Many of the private lake sport cats to 40 pounds plus.

From this experience the first place I would fish for catfish in a lake would be around and in the bushes, then around the boat docks where the outboard propellers are stirring up the water. Finally, I never fail to float a slice of prime mackerel filet, on 2 pound test, down a drop-off or a rise in the bottom contour of a lake. I don't always get 璭m but I really have a good time trying.