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I don't have a fish finder yet, I'll be getting one as soon as I decide what to get. I do have a depth finder though. I read a lot about needing to fish for catfish in catfish holes. What do these holes look like? How deep are they in general? How deep are they in relation to the rest of the bottom? How wide are they? How many cats tend to sit in them?
The two lakes I frequent in the middle of Kansas have Channel, Blue and Flathead catfish. One reservoir is pretty much all silt and very shallow with the only deep spot near the dam. The other is deeper and much more varied with silt, rocks or logs and has a LOT of dead trees sticking up out of it.
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Welcome to the site cecho. You'll find some avid cat-hunters. We don't have the Blue and Flatheads over in Utah, but we do have some quality Channel cats (especially in the North!!![:p]). Sure would enjoy chasing some of those monster cats!
I know this time of year our channels are moving shallower to stage for spawning. For the next couple months I expect to find them in shallow arms, inlets - in as little as 2-3 ft of water. Later they will move back out to deeper pools and eddies.
They do like structure. So if you can find logjams, wood piles - try fishing in, around, under. Can be a challenge to pull 'em out, but that's part of the game.
At ice off they are likely to be scrounging up loads of winterkill of minnows, shad, anything else that might have died under ice.
I have read how flathead are likely to go on nightly excursions. Maybe holding up on bottom in deeper holes during the day, then travelling their feeding paths. So if you can intercept - you're in for some fun tugs!
We've got a [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/Utah_Fishing_Forum_C55/gforum.cgi?forum=100"]Catfishing contest[/url] just starting up on the Utah Board. You might find it entertaining.
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Thanks!
What kind of bait do you think I should go with this time of year? I believe the water temp is currently 48 - 52 degrees. There's also usually a lot of wind this time of year. It was gusting the 30 the last time I was out there which means I either need to anchor or drift at about 3 - 4 mph
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Like previously mentioned, cats like structure. Blues actually like current where as log jams and such are a great place to find big flatheads.
rather or not you drift or anchor is up to you. Both can be effective under the right conditions. Depending on the lake and how the bottom is will impact that. Typically here, in the Santee Cooper lakes, many people drift the stumps and structure with live and fresh cut bait. You need super heavy gear and drift weights, or you'll spend most of your time tieing up rigs.
cats typically hang around holes with structure during the day, and work their way into the shallows at night to feed. Don't be fooled though. Cats are opportunistic feeders, and i've caught more during the day than at night. With that said, every body of water is different. Their spawning cycle is different, etc... Ask around your local tackle stores, take a charter and make mental notes of depth and such while you fish. The rest will be trial and error. Create a fishing log and record information from each trip. You'll notice a pattern and become more successful.
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I tend to fish the shallows after dark, on the bottom.
find an area that has a ressession "small hallowed out area"
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I haven't figured out the catfish yet, but I've been catching plenty of drum, white bass and walleye on live minnows on drop offs and humps between 6 and 15 feet deep. I'd like to keep a second pole always in the water with heavy duty line, a large circle hook and a large chunk of bait while I'm drifting the humps and drop offs with minnows. Any ideas on what size tackle and what kind of bait I should use for this second "shark" pole?
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Use 65 pound braid, with an equivalent mono or fluorocarbon leader. 9/0 circle hooks are good, and good on you for identifying that type of hook for this application. Circle hooks are perfect for drift lines, because it sets the hook for you. Just remember, DON"T set the hook. Crank it down until the rod doubles over, and you're good. I use Shakespeare tiger stik rods and all steel spinning reels. A buddy of mine still uses conventional reels, and prefers the Penn 320 GTI's. They are the level wind models, and easy to use, and relatively inexpensive.
Fresh cut bait or live bait is prefered. If you can get live eels locally, that is candy to a big blue or flathead. Shad or herring are also great baits. Keep the bait alive until you are ready to cut it up. The fresher the better. The people that catch catfish on stink bait are catching nasty old channel cats. YUK! Live bream and crappie are also great baits.
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on the rivers at night, I do well with night crawlers and chicken livers.
there is a problem with chicken livers on the lakes. they tend to catch turtles.
you may want to go with a commercial made catfish stink bait chuncks. I bought a tub of them a few years back, they did work, still I like night crawlers for cats.
I have caught Catfish on marshmallows with catfish attractant sent applied to them during the daylight hours.. Again a bit problematic, mellows don't last that long in the water so you need to put a new one on about every 15 min.
I imagine you can make your own dough ball out of cereal or bread and apply catfish attractant to that for a little longer lasting lure. That is real all a commercial catfish dough ball is made of.
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when i fishing for catfish i usually use chicken liver or i use a fresh cut bait
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