Bass vs. Catfish

[Lord Castlereagh]

 

Kept accidentally getting catfish on Goose Creek. So I figured I'd go for them for real. Here's what I found:

 

I caught 5 in about 4 hours which is pretty good for me

The bait (chicken livers) is as close to free as you can get

They are HUGE, way bigger than the bass I catch

And, of course, fried catfish is way better tasting than bass.

 

So, why is bass fishing so much more popular than catfishing?

[Scott F]

Because most of the time, guys spend more time fishing, than catching. FISHING for bass, using a variety of artificial lures, casting and retrieving, throwing at targets, is more fun than throwing out chicken livers and waiting for something to happen.

[Tennessee Boy]

I agree that catfish is way better

4 minutes ago, Lord Castlereagh said:

And, of course, fried catfish is way better tasting than bass.

I agree there is no comparison on taste.

 

I don't feel like I've proven anything if I catch a bunch of catfish on chicken livers.  The chickens are the ones doing all the work.

[Troy85]

I don't really like fried catfish.  I'd much prefer fried Speckled Trout, Bass or Redfish over catfish.

 

I don't like the waiting game, I never have liked throwing out a bait and just letting it sit till I get bit.  I'd much rather cast and retrieve.  Even when I'm salt water fishing I don't like using dead or live bait, I'd much rather cast and retrieve my artificial bait. 

[Glaucus]

You can catch 5 bass in 15 minutes.

 

Fishing for bass is more fun than fishing for catfish. Throwing a piece of bloody guts and then sitting and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, is no fun. There's a plethora of ways to fish for bass. Tons of artificial lures for different situations. I haven't accomplished anything by letting a bait sit on the bottom for an unknown amount of time waiting for the scent to catch the attention of something. I have accomplished something by locating the bass and figuring out what they want to hit on and how.

[WRB]

If you like catfish then fish for them. Join a cat fisherman forum site because there are lots of them and popular.

Channel cats, blue cats, flathead cats are all god sporting fish, strong fighters and sometimes caught on lures, usually fresh cut fish or something smelly (ugh).

My son caught a 26 lb channel cat when he was a youngster on his light tackle using a soft plastic 3" reaper split shot rigged that earned him In-Fishermans award the species. I have caught both channel and blue cats on my bass lures like crankbaits, structure spoons, soft plastics and jigs because they are predator fish.

Nothing wrong targeting cats, some folks even like yellow bullheads!

Whatever gets you out fishing is good.

Tom

[Brew City Bass]

Because bass fishing isn't about catching the biggest easiest fish in the lake. 

I started bass fishing because it's hard. I could just soak live / dead bait and catch bigger bass. I could do that for a multitude of even bigger fish in my state, but to me, that's fish in a barrel. Much like the same reason I don't hunt at a game farm in a treestand that's really a cabin overlooking a feed stand where the deer would come up and let you pet them. Just too d**n easy. 

Yes, I admit it's fun catching big easy fish. But hunting down bass on my graphs, studying lake contours and depth lines and then using my knowledge of what artificial bait to use and where at a specific time is half the fun of bass fishing. Catching the actual fish is the other half of the fun. 

Also, we get to play with some cool gear and lures because "We're bass anglers"  

None of this is to knock catfishing or any other fishing. I also fish musky because they're even harder and more elusive than bass, and same for pike that are 35"+. I'll look for the occasional walleye as well because they are pretty hard to catch in my local lakes, but some giants are out there.

Bass Fishing - The journey is the destination.  


 

 

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Brew City Bass said:

I started bass fishing because it's hard.

 

Just now, reason said:

Really? Bass fishing is some of the easiest fishing there is. They are everywhere, they will eat almost anything, they grow fast, and move predictably through the seasons. Why one could almost set a clock (or calendar) by them......

Wait for it.....

 

[BuzzHudson19c]

Some say catching bass is easy, but catching BIG bass ain't easy.

 

I may have posted this before but oh well...

 

 

 

 

[Brew City Bass]

2 minutes ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

Some say catching bass is easy, but catching BIG bass ain't easy.

 

I may have posted this before but oh well...

 

 

 

 

Exactly. I wasn't talking about catching 1lbers all day. That is easy. 

I'm talking NICE bass. Good luck going anywhere but the south and catching 4+ lbers without working your ass off.

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

Some say catching bass is easy, but catching BIG bass ain't easy.

 

I may have posted this before but oh well...

 

 

 

 

Well said and I agree with this quote from the movie. 

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

Some say catching bass is easy, but catching BIG bass ain't easy.

 

I may have posted this before but oh well...

 

 

 

 

That's what I say too. Catching bass is exceptionally easy. Catching nice bass is not.

[Arcs&sparks]

2 hours ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

Some say catching bass is easy, but catching BIG bass (on artificial) ain't easy.

 

 

Correction ?

[Deleted account]

7 hours ago, Glaucus said:

That's what I say too. Catching bass is exceptionally easy. Catching nice bass is not.

I see how some (or most) may come to this conclusion, but it's just not so. We see this with striped bass as well. There is nothing "more difficult" about catching larger fish. There are fewer caught because there are fewer around, and to a lesser degree because some (or most) folks knowingly or unknowingly fish for smaller fish and end up catching larger fish as by catch.

[Hyrule Bass]

some of you apparently no nothing about catfishing. it may not be something you like or enjoy, and thats totally fine, but dont pretend to know when you dont know...

[scaleface]

I dont like the taste of catfish but do bass .

 

 I like catching catfish. I find them easy to pattern during the summer , so much so that I fish for them with lures . Pop a  lipless crankbait off the bottom in a school of channel cats and one  will pummel it , no little tap like a bass gives .

[soflabasser]

Forgot to mention earlier that I am one of the few South Florida fishermen in this forum that enjoys fishing for catfish and I have caught well over 10 species of catfish in my travels. Most tend to look down on catfish but I don't since I have a open mind and acknowledge that catfish can present just as much a challenge than a bass can. Many trips I have been humbled by catfish and I have caught a couple double digit bass on public waters.There's always some one looking down on what you fish for such as bass fishermen looking down on catfishing, saltwater fishermen looking down on bass fishermen, rod and reel fishermen looking down on spearfishermen, fly fishermen looking down on just about all types of fishing,etc. I learned long ago to ignore these types of elitist fishermen, not take them fishing with me, and instead enjoy fishing for whatever species of fish I want, whether its for tiny mosquito fish or for sharks bigger than myself that can give me a decent workout while reeling the shark in.

[Lord Castlereagh]

47 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Forgot to mention earlier that I am one of the few South Florida fishermen in this forum that enjoys fishing for catfish and I have caught well over 10 species of catfish in my travels. Most tend to look down on catfish but I don't since I have a open mind and acknowledge that catfish can present just as much a challenge than a bass can. Many trips I have been humbled by catfish and I have caught a couple double digit bass on public waters.There's always some one looking down on what you fish for such as bass fishermen looking down on catfishing, saltwater fishermen looking down on bass fishermen, rod and reel fishermen looking down on spearfishermen, fly fishermen looking down on just about all types of fishing,etc. I learned long ago to ignore these types of elitist fishermen, not take them fishing with me, and instead enjoy fishing for whatever species of fish I want, whether its for tiny mosquito fish or for sharks bigger than myself that can give me a decent workout while reeling the shark in.

Very well said...

[BuzzHudson19c]

15 hours ago, reason said:

There are fewer caught because there are fewer around, and to a lesser degree because some (or most) folks knowingly or unknowingly fish for smaller fish and end up catching larger fish as by catch.

Well yes, this can be said for any species. The guys who target and consistently catch big bass will tell you it ain't so easy. Everyone runs into a good fish (of any species) by accident from time to time, but are they always doing what it takes to make it a habit?

[Arcs&sparks]

8 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Forgot to mention earlier that I am one of the few South Florida fishermen in this forum that enjoys fishing for catfish and I have caught well over 10 species of catfish in my travels. Most tend to look down on catfish but I don't since I have a open mind and acknowledge that catfish can present just as much a challenge than a bass can. Many trips I have been humbled by catfish and I have caught a couple double digit bass on public waters.There's always some one looking down on what you fish for such as bass fishermen looking down on catfishing, saltwater fishermen looking down on bass fishermen, rod and reel fishermen looking down on spearfishermen, fly fishermen looking down on just about all types of fishing,etc. I learned long ago to ignore these types of elitist fishermen, not take them fishing with me, and instead enjoy fishing for whatever species of fish I want, whether its for tiny mosquito fish or for sharks bigger than myself that can give me a decent workout while reeling the shark in.

^I really like this comment.  We need more of this attitude in the fishing community(communities?).  BTW you left out the elite purist dry-fly-only fly fisherman looking down on those savage wet-fly and streamer-fly fisherman?. ?

 

“So, why is bass fishing so much more popular than catfishing?“

 

I think you could ask that about a lot of different species,  but it of course depends what is available in different locations.  Bass, largemouth in particular,  are found in every state, and usually plentiful.  Also, TV shows, tournaments, cool lures etc, and how bass are a bit prettier than catfish, make them appealing to the public.  Where I live,  most casual fisherman target bass, not even knowing that they aren’t even native here,  and that there are much bigger fish in some our lakes. 

 

 In my state,  our only catfish is brown bullhead,  with 12” being a big one, and honestly I love targeting those adorable little guys, but if we had some monster cats,  you’d bet I’d target them on occasion too.

 

I just bought a shark fishing combo,  also, a second boat specifically to rig up with trolling gear and downriggers for salmon, trout, and lakers.  

 

I think I might get bored only if I only fished for bass. 

[Bluebasser86]

By the numbers, catfishing is more popular than bass fishing in a lot of states and used to be for the country but I don't think that's the case anymore. I know more hours a spent pursuing catfish than bass in Kansas by a wide margin. 

[scaleface]

A friend of mine showed me his coffee mug that read " catfishing is like bass fishing , except for men "?

[FishDewd]

Who said you can't work a bait going for catfish? I've caught them on all sorts of bass lures on purpose. Like tubes, plastics, crankbaits... it's fun.

 

One thing I notice about catfish is that they typically fight harder for their size and are way stronger than bass. A 3+ lb. catfish on fairly light tackle is an absolute blast.

[Gkitz]

I caught a 15 lb catfish on Ned rig with a ML spinner and 6 lb test. Absolutely great 15 minute fight.  I completely trust the drag on my shimano stradic now.

[mrmacwvu1]

On 7/3/2018 at 4:52 PM, soflabasser said:

Forgot to mention earlier that I am one of the few South Florida fishermen in this forum that enjoys fishing for catfish and I have caught well over 10 species of catfish in my travels. Most tend to look down on catfish but I don't since I have a open mind and acknowledge that catfish can present just as much a challenge than a bass can. Many trips I have been humbled by catfish and I have caught a couple double digit bass on public waters.There's always some one looking down on what you fish for such as bass fishermen looking down on catfishing, saltwater fishermen looking down on bass fishermen, rod and reel fishermen looking down on spearfishermen, fly fishermen looking down on just about all types of fishing,etc. I learned long ago to ignore these types of elitist fishermen, not take them fishing with me, and instead enjoy fishing for whatever species of fish I want, whether its for tiny mosquito fish or for sharks bigger than myself that can give me a decent workout while reeling the shark in.

Had a sailcat poke through my sandal last year. Lost feeling in my big toe for months. That is why I never use live bait when snook or red fishing. d**n cats everywhere down here. BTW the red tide is finally moving out. Had a 50 trout day the other day with 15 over 15 inches and 6 over 20. The largest was 26. All were caught on an 1/8 ounce jig with a mirror lure paddle tail.