catfishing in vermont

Question
what time of day is best for catfishing and what type of bait should i be using?

Answer
Bryan; While I have never set foot in Vermont I am certain that with a few exceptions a catfish in Vermont will bite about the same time and bait as one in Illinois, or Georgia.

To begin most catfish except a couple of species are primarily nocternal.  That is they feed mostly at night.  Even with that fact a few can be caught during the daytime.  I have caught channel cats and bullheads during the day but that is often the poorest time to for them.

As to what kind of bait to use for them it is much like asking what to feed a hungry man.  They will both eat about anything they are presented with.  Baits vary from one part of the country to another but I doubt that a package of catfish bait purchased in California and carried back to Vermont would be turned down by Vermont catfish Just as an Iowa or Kansas steak is desired by men and women just about everywhere.  I have used everything from small slices of soap to live minnows for catfish. Crawfish, and frozen shrimp are both good bait for cats.  All except one species are like Wiley Coyote (eatus anythingus).  Worms work fine as does cut bait, frogs grasshoppers and chicken livers or slices of beef liver.  In many cases the stinkier the better.  Cheese baits are marketed everywhere I have seen baitstores.  Each formula or recipie is it's owner's secret and often is guaranteed to catch catfish.  It will too if the time is right.
The one species that is different is the big flathead catfish.  I do not know if Vermont has these or not.  These fish grow to nearly 100lbs and  eat virtually nothing but live bluegills or other small panfish.  They are dispised in many areas because their introduction into many lakes and rivers has resulted in the decimation of bluegill populations.  The flathead, even the very big ones are very good eating.  Most other catfish are not very good after they get so big.

Most catfish are bottom feeders.  The flathead the blue cat and channel cats are the exception.  Blues and channels feed at various depths.

Most catfish caught for commercial sale are caught on trot (not trout)lines. Still fishing for them with pole or rod and reel is still a great sport.  You never know what is going to eat your bait.  Something bigger than you may be at the other end of the line in some waters. I fished for cats for many years with just a cane pole.

Night fishing for catfish is great fun with a few friends.  My brother, brother-in-law and I used to go night fishing every spring.  Especially when there would be a big afternoon thundershower that put the creeks out of their bank.  We would wade across what had been a pasture but was now flooded knee deep.  We would go an hour or so before sunset to get things set up.  When we got to the creek channel we put up our rod holders which were just a pair of sticks cut and jabbed onto the ground and with "Y"s on the top to hold rods. We drove sticks in the ground and made a sort of table to hold our bait box (usually night crawlers) and our food and drinks.  We had a gasoline lantern which we hung from a branch of a tree.  We then found comfortable logs out of the water to sit on.  We ate drank and chatted waiting for the bite to start.  This usually took place just about sunset and lasted uaually until about midnight.  Most of the time by midnight the water had fallen back into the channel and the fish stopped biting.
I still look back on those nights as being great comorodorie between the three of us.
It has been many years since we have done that. We are all in our 60s and 70s now.

One thing that I did discover about night fishing for catfish.  On many occasions the fish continued to bite until the water had fallen back to channel level.  If that took all night they bit all night.  However on a night on which a full moon fell upon the water the bite stopped immediately and did not resume that night.
On occasions when we were not fishing the falling water bites would sometimes continue under a full moon but mostly full moon is, in my experience, a poor time to fish for catfish.

You do not need expensive equipment to fish for catfish unless you are going after the really big ones.  A simple casting outfit and 20lb line, some slip sinkers of various sizes to put your bait down depending on current, and hooks of appropriate size for the size fish you may expect to catch in the water you are fishing.  Circle hooks are all recommended now especially if you do not intend to keep all your fish.  These make it easier to unhook the fish.  Also if you have had to reach in and dig out a hook in the gullet of a largish catfish you will love circle hooks.

Actually the true answer to your question about what is the best time to fish for catfish or any other fish is WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO GET TO WATER.

I hope This has been of some help.  Your question is very general but generally  you can catch catfish on almost any kind of bait and at almost any time of day or night.  Have fun and take some buddies with you.

I remember one time My brother, brother-in-law and a cousin drove about 20 miles to fish a little old creek that we had fished as kids.  When we got there the creek was half mile wide but right at the channel edge was an old maple tree that was on an island.  We waded to the island and began tossing night crawler laden hooks into the channel.  We had never caught more than a few catfish from that creek at any one time before.  That night we filled up a gunny sack with over 100 bullheads around a pound each. We lost more than we caught.  I broke one off but retied a hook and sinker, put on a new night crawler and pulled out the fish I had just broken off with the line and hook still in his mouth.  I had no idea that that little creek had so many catfish in it.  We had a fish fry the next night.

I hope this is of some help.  Just go fishing anytime you can.  Even those days when you do not catch any (and I have had many of those too)it is great to be out fishing.


Thanks for calling on me to answer your question.  If I can of further help please contact me via All Experts.

Jack L. Gaither
Lake Seminole, Ga.