Catfish VS Lures

[AC870]

Caught 2 on RedEye Shad in last few months. You think you got something decent for just a second, then they start that roll. Caught one on an ultralight with a cricket bluegill fishing the other evening. Little ultralight held up good. 

[OCdockskipper]

17 hours ago, Mobasser said:

Its funny, with all the cut baits,  dough baits , chicken livers, and homemade concoctions for catfish, they love to hit bass lures! Biggest I've caught was a 6 pounder on a senko...

Growing up, we used to use chicken livers, dough baits & nightcrawlers and the largest catfish I ever caught weighed 5 lbs.  Years later, began using frozen mackerel and caught a few that topped 10 lbs.  However, I have caught more catfish over 10 lbs with lures than I can count, with a half dozen topping 15 lbs.

 

I believe it is because larger catfish have the size & tools to become true predators instead of opportunistic bottom feeders .  Once they top 8 lbs or so, there aren't too many things they can't get in their mouth and they are tough enough to do battle with just about anything.  I even saw a large catfish grab, wrestle & take down a full sized coot once, it was amazing to see.

[Bluebasser86]

4 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

Growing up, we used to use chicken livers, dough baits & nightcrawlers and the largest catfish I ever caught weighed 5 lbs.  Years later, began using frozen mackerel and caught a few that topped 10 lbs.  However, I have caught more catfish over 10 lbs with lures than I can count, with a half dozen topping 15 lbs.

 

I believe it is because larger catfish have the size & tools to become true predators instead of opportunistic bottom feeders .  Once they top 8 lbs or so, there aren't too many things they can't get in their mouth and they are tough enough to do battle with just about anything.  I even saw a large catfish grab, wrestle & take down a full sized coot once, it was amazing to see.

To add to this, a lot of the time people fishing prepared baits for catfish are just casting into the middle of the lake and hoping a fish happens along, which often works for catfish because of their many senses capable of honing in on an easy meal. However, the big fish are predators, and just like a land predator, they cruise edges, stalk the shadows, basically the same thing a big bass does. That's why bass anglers will often encounter them and such large individuals compared to a novice bank angler targeting catfish, we're putting a bait, although maybe not an optimal one, where the fish lives and hunts. 

 

I've tried so many times, as recently as Tuesday, to explain to bank anglers that they were casting past the fish they were after when I had already caught several catfish right against the bank that were obviously pinning craws and baitfish against the shorelines and in an aggressive feeding mood, they just refuse to believe me that their slow moving, bottom feeding fish could be swimming right under their noses I guess. 

[FishDewd]

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

To add to this, a lot of the time people fishing prepared baits for catfish are just casting into the middle of the lake and hoping a fish happens along, which often works for catfish because of their many senses capable of honing in on an easy meal. However, the big fish are predators, and just like a land predator, they cruise edges, stalk the shadows, basically the same thing a big bass does. That's why bass anglers will often encounter them and such large individuals compared to a novice bank angler targeting catfish, we're putting a bait, although maybe not an optimal one, where the fish lives and hunts. 

 

I've tried so many times, as recently as Tuesday, to explain to bank anglers that they were casting past the fish they were after when I had already caught several catfish right against the bank that were obviously pinning craws and baitfish against the shorelines and in an aggressive feeding mood, they just refuse to believe me that their slow moving, bottom feeding fish could be swimming right under their noses I guess. 

This is absolutely true! There are several factors of course that will dictate where they may be, but a catfish can really be anywhere it wants to be! Sometimes it'll be out in those deep holes where most bankers will be targeting, but I've caught loads just off of the bank in a few feet of water. Think I largest I ever caught, somewhere around 4 pounds out of my pond, was when I was retrieving my bait and the catfish ate it on the upslops going up to the bank. Was less than 3 feet in front of me. That was the day I figured it out.

[Looch]

all sorts of jigs and crankbaits. Seems to happen more when river is muddy or they are in their spawning period