Five Tips On Fishing For Catfish

Catching catfish isn't rocket science, but there are a few tips that will help you increase your harvest.

Before we get into techniques, it is important to understand some of the biology of the different catfish species in the US.

There are 4 main species that are normally targeted. The most popular is with out question, the Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Not only do millions of anglers seek after the Channel Cat, but they are also raised commercially for restaurants and grocery stores. Channel Catfish is considered a delicacy in the South (and by me). They are available to just about anyone. They thrive in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams equally. They are seldom moody, and when you find them, they are almost always happy to cooperate, day or night, winter of summer. They can get very large, occasionally exceeding 50 pounds. 20-pounders are quite common.

Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furtatus) are close relatives of the Channel Catfish, but they are more limited in range and habitat. They grow much larger, sometimes topping 100 pounds. 40-pounders are abundant. They are big-water fish, requiring moderate to fast moving water, and lots of it. They thrive in large reservoirs, lakes and big rivers of the Mississippi River Valley, the Ohio and Missouri Rivers, and their tributaries.

Yellow, or Flathead Catfish(Pylodictus Olivares)grow to be true behemoths, , exceeding 120 pounds. 40-pounders are not rare. They are as different from their Blue, and Channel cousins as day and night, being more closely related to the bullheads. While they are found in some lakes, they are predominately river and stream fish. They like slow to moderately moving water, and deep holes surrounded by shallow water. They are pugnacious, moody, and very selective about what they eat.

Lastly are the Bullheads. There are 4 species in the US, the Black, Brown, Yellow, and White Bullheads. The main difference between them (besides basic coloring) are their ranges. They are all small, seldom exceeding 5 pounds. They inhabit slow-moving, low-oxygen water in lakes, streams, rivers and ponds. What they lack in size, they make up for by eating anything remotely edible, and are always very enthusiastic about biting. They are also great table-fare.

Bullheads are not very important to the sport-fishing industry, but, like carp, they are a greatly under-used resource. Many of us, from poor backgrounds, in hard times, have feasted upon delectable plates of bullheads, suckers and carp, caught on nothing more than a cane-pole, and a worm, grasshopper or table scraps.

by: Daniel Eggertsen

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