Catfish in the fall?

[andiibart]

So I've never done much kittie fishing in the fall, but I decided to take a kid out and try to get some on. Went out to cutler with worms and no luck. The kid caught a few bass and blue gill but thats all. I was wondering if catfish/carp go on a different diet come fall? Any tips/advice is usefull, thanks!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Channel cats feed all year, but are most active in warmer water. Once the water temps drop below about 55 degrees they slow down a lot...but still move around and feed...even under ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Two things motivate kitties...and carp...food and comfort. They follow the groceries and they like to hole up where the water temps are most suitable. In the winter that will be in deeper pockets or wherever there is an inflow of warmer water, from whatever source.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Catfish are not too picky about their diet. They eat anything...animal, vegetable or even mineral (rocks). In most Utah waters they dine heavily on worms, crawdads and other invertebrates. They also like the young of other fish species, as well as their own. They sometimes subsist through the winter on the remains of fish, birds and/or rodents that have died and sunk to the bottom during the cold months. But they will accept almost anything you offer. Actually, plain old crawlers is about as good as it gets during the cold months...both for cats and carp.[/#0000ff]
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[GALEX]

Hey Tube Dude,

I've caught a couple kats this summer that have swallowed the hook. I kept some to cook, but for others I cut the line and threw them back. Do you know if there's any truth to the tale that hooks will eventually rust and fall out w/o killing the fish?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Catfish, and many other species, have powerful digestive juices that will dissolve fur, feathers, bones and scales fairly quickly. But the notion that they will dissolve stainless steel hooks is a bit far fetched. Even poor quality bronze hooks take a long time to "rust out" in a fish's innards.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have caught fish with hooks in their guts, and pieces of monofilament coming out of their mouths or the other end. From the looks of the line in some cases it has been there for a long time...with algae all over it, etc. And I have cut open fish that have hooks still inside them...apparently none the worse for wear. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most fish are tough...except for trout. Trout roll over and die if you even handle them a bit roughly. And even cutting off the hook if you hook them deeply is often not enough to keep them alive. But many other species are able to sustain some pretty nasty wounds both inside and outside and still keep on keeping on.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have also seen evidence that fish are able to create an infection around the hook that pushes it out of the wound over time...like humans do with splinters. Then the hook is passed on through the gut along with everything else...but it does not rust out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are never any guarantees that a deeply hooked fish will survive simply because you cut off the hook and release it. But I can guarantee they will have a better chance if you cut the line than if you rip their guts out or put them on a stringer.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, if the deeply hooked fish is bleeding there is little chance it will survive after being released. Fish do not have a lot of blood and if the hook point penetrates into gills or internal organs that bleed a lot the fish will weaken and die fairly quickly. It might swim away but will either sink or float to the top within a short time.[/#0000ff]
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[CoyoteSpinner]

I've run across a few leftover bits too. Some in the upward ends, some a bit further down. One trout had a hook out the backside attached to a split shot, on to a swivel - all still inside.

Guts and Gills - if I might add. Even a little damage to a fish's gills can go a long way toward their demise. Or is it demise there?