Big Channel Cat Surprise On Topwater While Bass Fishing

[hawgenvy]

This afternoon I was bass fishing on a golf course pond (Jupiter, FL), burning an EZ Swimmer across the surface. This 12 lb, 3 oz catfish inhaled the bait, and fought like a monstrous bass, shaking its head back and forth above the surface several times. I thought it was a huge, feisty bass at first --  and I honestly thought I was wrestling my new PB -- till I got a better look. I didn't know a catfish would chase an artificial bait that was moving that fast! I'm glad I was using my frogging stick or I wouldn't have been able to steer him around the weeds. I think it was a channel catfish. If it's a different species, someone please let me know.

 

 

[F14A-B]

I think your right on it being a channel kitty.. Heck of a battle though by the sound of it. Those baits must be the deal in Florida these days, I hear a lot of guys doing well with them.

Congrats...

[hawgenvy]

Thanks, Skippy. The EZs work well for me in winter and spring. And they're easy to rig weedless.

[RSM789]

Great Catfish!!

I have come to the conclusion that big catfish in ponds & small lakes have an identity problem. Once they get above 4 lbs, they think they are a bass & begin acting like one. Above 10 lbs, they decide they are going to eat anything that moves, just like their Largemouth neighbors. I saw a big catfish try to eat a full sized coot once...

[Bluebasser86]

The rounded anal fin is a dead giveaway of a channel cat. 

 

I've caught them on buzzbaits, poppers, spooks, hollow bodied frogs, prop baits, pretty much anything on top (and every other bait). A couple of the biggest explosions I've ever heard were channel cats destroying buzzbaits. They're way, way more predatory than they're given credit for. 

[hawgenvy]

Thanks, guys, for the info. That's amazing, Bluebasser. I thought cats just sniffed along the bottom for dead fish and chicken livers. Glad to learn and experience new things today -- especially the adrenalin rush from the big cat bite!

[Bluebasser86]

I know it's hard to tell but this is the inside of the mouth of a 10lb flathead and the bait all the way in it's throat is one of my homemade bladed jigs that it inhaled and about yanked the rod out of my buddies hand.

 

I had one day this fall that I caught 13 channel cats in a day on one of my bladed jigs.

[hawgenvy]

Thanks for sharing those great photos, Bluebasser. Love your homemade swim jig. And those cat monsters! Impressive barbels -- and that fantastic beer belly! Looks kinda like this guy that lives down the block...

 

I was reading that their entire outer skin is covered with taste buds (chemo-receptors). That's feasible, I suppose, because they lack scales. 

[flyfisher]

definitely a channel cat and definitely fun to catch.  Catfish are very active predators and will not hesitate to destroy a bait.  I was fan casting a flat once with a square bill and my rod got nearly pulled out of my hands.  I naturally thought i caught a large bass until i saw him near the surface and realized it was a big catfish.  I have also caught them many times on topwater on the fly rod while going after smallies.

[Bluebasser86]

Thanks for sharing those great photos, Bluebasser. Love your homemade swim jig. And those cat monsters! Impressive barbels -- and that fantastic beer belly! Looks kinda like this guy that lives down the block...

I was reading that their entire outer skin is covered with taste buds (chemo-receptors). That's feasible, I suppose, because they lack scales.

That's true, they're basically a swimming tongue. You can really see the taste buds on their skin when they get over 20 or 30 pounds.

[riverbasser13]

Those are some nice catfish.

[Bankbeater]

Some nice cats right there! When I was a kid there was a city lake that was stocked with cat, but you could only use lures and plastics to catch them. I remember everyone using spinnerbaits casting from the bank.

[Dwight Hottle]

Those channel cats are apex predators in my book. I have caught a few of them fishing lake Erie with jerkbaits for smallmouth. The first one I caught I thought I had the new state record smallie on until seeing her boatside.  They are tough fighters & will chase just about any artificial lure. They are definitely a fun fish. Glad you got to enjoy one.  

[scaleface]

I bet you thought you had a giant bass. What a thrill it must have been .

 

I only caught one channel in my life on a top water. I was throwing a buzzbait at night and missed a humungous strike. I quickly fired back and the lure got smashed   again. I thought I had the Missouri record bass on. It was a channel maybe 10 lbs.

[HoosierHawgs]

Great Catfish!!

I have come to the conclusion that big catfish in ponds & small lakes have an identity problem. Once they get above 4 lbs, they think they are a bass & begin acting like one. Above 10 lbs, they decide they are going to eat anything that moves, just like their Largemouth neighbors. I saw a big catfish try to eat a full sized coot once...

This seems about right. My dad caught an 8+ lb cat on a black Colorado blade spinnerbait one evening at a private lake we fish. He also thought it was the bass of a lifetime. His rid doubled over and I had to help him land it, he was only fishing a medium rod w/14# line... Bug we managed to land it.. She was huge.

[everythingthatswims]

I catch them on deep diving crankbaits and blade baits a lot. Once I thought I had a huge cat on a 6xd, but it was a striper. Normally it's the other way around!

[powerduster]

That's a beautiful sized cat. Definitely bigger than any I've caught. Never caught one on a lure, but there was one time when bass fishing, a very large catfish chased after my lucky craft sammy. It kept on missing and missing, lol, I was moving it pretty slow too. It was huge. It was eel like with how it was rolling and twisting.. It had to have been a double digit.

That's true, they're basically a swimming tongue. You can really see the taste buds on their skin when they get over 20 or 30 pounds.

that sounds pretty gross.

[hawgenvy]

That cat was a lot of fun to catch, a great fight and a big surprise. I am wondering if I should go back to that shallow pond and throw out a hook with liver or a hot dog or crawlers on it to try to nail another channel cat. Or use that smelly goo they sell for catfish bait. I guess I just toss my line out to the middle, have a seat, hold on tight and try not to fall asleep. If I don't get one soon enough, it's back to bassin'.

 

[Bluebasser86]

 that sounds pretty gross.

It kind of looks like goosebumps on the fishes skin. Just remember, when you're holding a catfish, they're tasting your hands while you're doing it 

 

 

That cat was a lot of fun to catch, a great fight and a big surprise. I am wondering if I should go back to that shallow pond and throw out a hook with liver or a hot dog or crawlers on it to try to nail another channel cat. Or use that smelly goo they sell for catfish bait. I guess I just toss my line out to the middle, have a seat, hold on tight and try not to fall asleep. If I don't get one soon enough, it's back to bassin'.

 

Catch a bluegill or other baitfish and cut about a 3 or 4 inch long by 1/2 or 3/4 inch wide piece, (I usually just cut right behind the head from top to bottom, you can also use the head with smaller bluegills). Put it on a 1/0 or 2/0 Kahle or similar wide gap bait hook with no weight, bobber, swivel, nothing. Find a likely area and cast it out and allow it settle to the bottom. After it sits for several seconds, very gently and slowly lift the rod tip and move the bait a few inches and let it settle back to the bottom. It's a very slow version of fishing a plastic worm basically but it's a deadly technique for channel cats and much more exciting than sitting and waiting. 

[hawgenvy]

It kind of looks like goosebumps on the fishes skin. Just remember, when you're holding a catfish, they're tasting your hands while you're doing it 

 

Catch a bluegill or other baitfish and cut about a 3 or 4 inch long by 1/2 or 3/4 inch wide piece, (I usually just cut right behind the head from top to bottom, you can also use the head with smaller bluegills). Put it on a 1/0 or 2/0 Kahle or similar wide gap bait hook with no weight, bobber, swivel, nothing. Find a likely area and cast it out and allow it settle to the bottom. After it sits for several seconds, very gently and slowly lift the rod tip and move the bait a few inches and let it settle back to the bottom. It's a very slow version of fishing a plastic worm basically but it's a deadly technique for channel cats and much more exciting than sitting and waiting. 

Thanks! I'll try that!

[Ratherbfishing]

About the only reason I don't chase catfish more is that catfish are less likely to attack an artificial bait  As this thread demonstrates, however, they will SOMETIMES, and it's an added bonus.  They sure can fight hard!  They're pretty tasty, too.

[scaleface]

I troll for channel cats. I will find them on flats with sonar and troll a crankbait through them. They hit like hammer .