Bullhead Catfish behavior

[catfish-logic]

Way back in '85 my neighbor caught some mud cats along the Jordan River. This was when we had that huge flood in northern Utah.
The catfish were just small 3 inch to 4 inches that he caught with his bas hands that were stranded in flooded "ponds" along the Jordan near Lehi.
What struck me about these fish was when he kept them in a 5 gallon bucket the mud cats would only eat live suckers!
Strange? Most of us are convinced that mudders eat only "dead pond scum" when they get hungry. Of course when they are in a fish tank with enough oxygen and very clear water they can sight feed I guess.

Anyways the little cats, I would toss in the bucket worms, potatoe bugs, ect, ect. As it turned out when another friend of mine at the time caught some suckers from American Fork Creek those little cats got so very finicky! They stopped eating everything else in the "holding tank" that my neighbor had on his front porch, they ate nothing but the little 3 inch suckers! In fact the little mudder that was 3 inches would eat away at the tail of the suckers. The sucker would die of course and the rest would be history.

If you ask me I think this observable phenomenon occurs with Channel Cats as well. When there is something of "great flavor" around they just don't want an "average meal".

I think this happens at Willard Bay, when you have an abundance of Gizzard Shad the larger Channel Cats gorge themselves down ignoring everything else that they would normally feed on. Although I know larger cats are not as plentiful as they once were at Willard, none of the less I believe this to be the case. At at Utah Lake too.

In fact when I lived in Arizona when I fished the Colorado River, you look in that river and there is a super abundance of "catfish gourmet food" items in utter abundance. No lie. This is just what makes cats the more difficult to catch.

Back to mud cats or mudders. They feed mostly the bottom as I know but when they get a chance at a delicious sucker thats it, nothing else matters, same for Channel Catfish too.

For this reason I would not be surprised that when Willard Bay Channel Catfish get "figured out" I would not be surprised that some folks get larger cats. Just wouldn't surprise me. Despite the fact they are not as plentiful as in the past. Gizzard Shad are just that "gourmet meal" that channels just love.
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[line_dangler]

Many people, as you have stated, have misconceptions about catfish. In fact, catfish are classified as not scavengers but predators. Once the catfish reach about 20-21 inches long, they feed almost exclusively on smaller fish, crayfish, frogs, mice, etch. They will, if presented the opportunity, eat dead things, that is why they can bo caught on hot dogs, chicken, liver, etch. However, big cats are not often caught on these things. All the record cats have been caught on artificial lures or whole or live minnows and fish. Catfish are also smarter than bass, trout, carp, and just about any other game fish in North America. They have bigger brains, and can detect electric fields far greater than other North American game fish. They can search for prey just like sharks, that is why they are found in murky waters, and grow to huge proportions in the right environment. A forage fish has the maximum amount of energy that can be gained by any game fish, so it will be the preferred food for all predators. What all this means is that catfish deserve alot more credit than we give them. Cats are supreme and efficient predators.

As an aside, there are also huge catfish in Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell. In fact, the DWR biologists conducted a study on them, and concluded that once the Flaming Gorge cats reach 22 inches, they are the fastest growing cats in the continental United States! They begin to chase smaller fish, just like lake trout. In 2002 I caught a catfish at Flaming Gorge, right where the Henry's Fork river enters Linwood Bay. The cat weighed about 15 pounds and was caught on a whole dead Utah Chub, around midnight. Divers I have spoken with tell me that Lake Powell has catfish with mouths large enough to fit around a man's head. One way such large cats are caught is to troll or drag a huge real fish, like chubs or something bigger, preferably at night. During the day, they choose their "shelter" spots, and become almost inactive, except when they spawn in spring. The periond right before their spawn, with water temps 62-68 degrees, is the best time to target them. So far, I have not had a chance to go down to Lake Powell during this period. I would encourage anyone who goes down there in the next 2-4 weeks to try and catch some big catfish. The hard thing would be to locate their spawning grounds. But if found, the state record may well come from Lake Powell. Perhaps a 40-60 pound channel cat is possible to catch there.
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[Vivid-Dawn]

My mom won't eat catfish, because of the theory of them being scavengers. "They're dirty!" she says.
But I love 'em! Especially fried in egg/flour batter...nummy!
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[line_dangler]

You should convince and prove to your mother that such is not the case with catfish. Giver her some natural history reading on catfish, repeat it over and over again, for do whatever you have to. Catfish are not scum, they are some of the best dang tasing fish, I tell you what.


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