Where's the cats?

[SkunkedAgain]

Been so long since I've been out and the weather has taken a major turn towards hotness, I expect the cat feeding pattern has shifted. What are you finding out there? Is it time for night cattin? I expect it is, can anyone confirm or deny? Thanks J
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[DjHill16]

That's when ive been catching all mine so far and im just a little ways down river from ya. but it seems like ill get bites around 830 or 9 till about 1230 to one
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[idahoron]

Depending on water temp the fish have spawned. The males should be coming off the nests. The females have been off the nest for a while and the males will join them in the current hunting. I catch them all day long drifting in the Snake River. They will be holed up behind large rocks waiting for food to float by. Use as little of weight as you can as you float AKA match the hatch.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Ron I'll try that on the Bear River and see if it will work. Sounds like a good technique. Thanks J
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[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks that sounds right in line with what I expect thank you. J
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[SkunkedAgain]

I'm hoping to finish my second crop hay this weekend so hopefully I can sneak out on the pond and try them again. I couldn't remember when it was last year that the cats moved out of the shallows completely. I think it's August time frame, and I was doing good in the evenings just before that. So I'll hope they are still in the shallows at night and give it a try. I never do very well once they get back into the depths. I need to hurry and find my big ones because my prime time season is fading fast. Thanks again for the tips. Later J
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[idahoron]

They will defiantly be heading for shallow at night.
I find the biggest fish of the year in March and April.
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[SkunkedAgain]

You sure seem to have those cats dialed in. I appreciate you sharing some of your techniques. I expect similar behavior with our cats down here. I can't wait to get out and try them. I know a few sections of river where I expect bigger cats to hang during the day, I just need to figure out how to stay off the snags. Lots of timber growth in those areas and plenty of snags where I'd like to drift my bait. Sounds like a good place to fish in the toon. Thanks for the help. J
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[DjHill16]

Your welcome. I am hoping to get out either tonight or tomorrow night or both if I can swing it. I've been having luck just using sucker meat but I may try throwing out some liver or shrimp too.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I think I may try one of those nights as well. Still have a little hay to tie up, but I need the right conditions so I think I can try fishing around those times. Good luck. I've been seeing minnows surfacing so I may try my cast net for bait. If they are big enough those carp minnows might be just the ticket. That's good and bad, the bad is there is too much food so the bite slows down. We'll have fun and catch a big one. Later J
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[SkunkedAgain]

Well I didn't sell the hay in the field so I ended up hauling most of it so I didn't get out after the cats until 9:30 Saturday night. Then the water was so low I didn't think I'd catch anything where I went to fish, but I tried it anyway. Still lots of carp there even though it was only a foot to 16" deep. Had a couple bumps and then finally a good hit. It was on my ultra light pole so it felt better than it was, but I got an 18" channel and since the mosquitos were so terrible, I gave up about 10:30 and called it a night. I wasn't very happy with the shallow water so I need to find a better spot or take a floating platform (toon or boat). Hopefully next weekend I can get out. How did your trip go? Later J
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