Went for bass, got cats.

[Functional]

I'm beginning to think I'm fishing the wrong areas. Offshore or against shore it seems like I'm pulling in a 8+ lb cat once a month now in my attempt to get bass. Always on a offshore dropoff or a small 3-5' deep flat against shore before a drop off and always on a spinner or paddle tail fluke. 

 

This fella weighed 10lbs and put up one hell of a fight. No lie it was a good 10 minutes to get her in, texted my wife right before I put this cast out and when I sent her the pic it was 15 minutes since. 

 

Not that I'm really complaining but am I in the wrong areas or is this typical and no one posts about it? I'm going to have to learn how to cook a cat soon if this keeps up.

 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Sounds like you’re fishing the right spots to me. This time of year I catch a bunch of catfish beating the bank with a 3” paddle tail. 

[Bluebasser86]

Catfish are predators just like bass. I catch lots of catfish while bass fishing and it's a pretty unusual day that I don't catch a catfish while fishing for bass. 

[NavyToad]

LOL! I foul hooked a 32” carp on a chatterbait this A.M..  First carp and the biggest fish I’ve ever caught.

 

I was in the right place for bass, but clearly bass weren’t the only residents. Carp 1, pickerel 1, bass 0.

[Boomstick]

Can't complain!

Here's a couple of catfish recipes that are sure to impress.

 

#1) Blackened catfish.

 

Generously rub cajun seasoning into your fish and cook for one minute on high on each side and 2-3 minutes on medium on each side on an iron skillet. If you can find a cajun seasoning that has more cayenne and less salt than usual, even better (catfish is a fatty fish and it won't be too hot for most people).

 

This recipe isn't too dissimilar from how I make my own except I would switch the amounts of cayenne and paprika.

 

Blackened Seasoning Mix Recipe | Allrecipes

 

#2) Fried buffalo catfish.

Throw your filet in a freezer bag with a wing sauce of your choice. I like the Melinda's habanero wing sauce personally. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 45 minutes, and then coat each filet in flour and fry in peanut oil. Serve with tartar sauce and/or a hot sauce.

[DitchPanda]

Over the years catfish have been a fairly common by catch for me in my pursuit for bass. Caught a big channel cat...like 15-16lbs..on a strike king spinner bait once. Just mangled it.

[Bankbeater]

I don't get surprised any longer when I catch a cat.  I carry a stringer with me so I can take it home.

[Woody B]

I catch a catfish occasionally while bass fishing.  I caught a 4 pound cat Saturday.  I caught this one last month on a square bill crankbait.   

 

[Functional]

well at least I know this is common haha! Thank you for the cooking tips, between the cats and the black crappie I end up catching I'll be eating well. Guarantee if I targeted those species I'd never hook one though!

 

Thats a nice looking cat Woody! 

[cyclops2]

Channel Cats are Very aggressive area owners. I have caught the same cat in the same feeder creek break water into the river. they pull in and eat everything that is there.  Day & night time animals. Then move on to another current breaking creek. I do not think anything is safe with a big catfish around. 

I remember PROFESSIONAL repair & inspection divers surfacing & refusing to ever go into a area when a huge cat came out to size them up for dinner.

 

Edit

Can you have ANY fear of HUGE  + 300 pound cats where all those jumping Asian carp now own the waters ? 

"  Hey guys.  Look at that nice basser wading !!.  YUM  YUM   "

[Functional]

24 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

Channel Cats are Very aggressive area owners. I have caught the same cat in the same feeder creek break water into the river. they pull in and eat everything that is there.  Day & night time animals. Then move on to another current breaking creek. I do not think anything is safe with a big catfish around. 

I remember PROFESSIONAL repair & inspection divers surfacing & refusing to ever go into a area when a huge cat came out to size them up for dinner.

 

Edit

Can you have ANY fear of HUGE  + 300 pound cats where all those jumping Asian carp now own the waters ? 

"  Hey guys.  Look at that nice basser wading !!.  YUM  YUM   "

 

Since you are from NY/NJ youll understand but I used to work for a utility company up there and heard stories of the divers who worked on the cooling pipes at Indian Point that fed into/out of the Hudson. Couldnt pay me enough...

[cyclops2]

Really large ones could just not be caught on tackle.  There are boating accidents in places  where the bodies are never found /  surface from bloating with gas.  

 

All those dying Jumping carp ?   Scary to think of all those TONS of meat  feeding cats continuously.     Want to go skin diving at the outflows of any dams holding cats ?

2 six packs and I am game !!       

 

What did the large cat say when he saw the world record L M B ?

 

SUSHI tonight  !!

[Blue Raider Bob]

Not just cats but durn near everything that swims will eat bass lures. This Carp ate a Z-Man Worm! Nearly every trip to the Tennessee River produces something other than bass. Most often its Drum.

[Captain Phil]

I've caught a number of large catfish when flipping heavy cover here in Florida.  They are always a surprise and put up a great fight.  I tried cooking and eating one once.  It was awful.   Ended up throwing away the fish, the pan and the cooking oil.  Those small catfish you get in a restaurant are farm raised. 

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

Really large ones could just not be caught on tackle.  There are boating accidents in places  where the bodies are never found /  surface from bloating with gas.  

 

All those dying Jumping carp ?   Scary to think of all those TONS of meat  feeding cats continuously.     Want to go skin diving at the outflows of any dams holding cats ?

2 six packs and I am game !!       

 

What did the large cat say when he saw the world record L M B ?

 

SUSHI tonight  !!

I talked to a TVA scuba diver once, he said all stories about monster catfish from divers are tall tales, you can’t see 2 inches that far underwater 

[VolFan]

Somewhere way back on here is a 40 lb plus blue cat I caught in the Potomac right by Reagan National Airport one spring. It took at least 30 min to get to the bank and there were only pieces of the spinner bait left at the end. I thought it was some chain link until it took off. I wish I’d had a scale but I measured it with my rod (M spinning btw) and line. 40 lbs was conservative. Probably one of the best fish fights I’ve ever had.

[Koz]

It happened to me not that long ago. 20+ pound flathead hit an underspin with a paddletail. It was too big for me to pull into my kayak. Luckily I lipped him and once I got the fish grippers on him it was easy to unbutton him.

[Bird]

Channel cat are everywhere in our river and love anything Yamamoto.

[gim]

I’ve never caught any species of catfish in my 25 years fishing in Minnesota. Or a trout of any species either.

[Functional]

9 hours ago, gimruis said:

I’ve never caught any species of catfish in my 25 years fishing in Minnesota. Or a trout of any species either.

 

might be coincidence but when I lived in NY this never happened. Once I moved to the south it became pretty common.

 

Only thing I can think of is the pickerel and pike were much quicker to hit a spinner/paddle tail than a cat. 

[gim]

4 hours ago, Functional said:

 

might be coincidence but when I lived in NY this never happened. Once I moved to the south it became pretty common.

 

Only thing I can think of is the pickerel and pike were much quicker to hit a spinner/paddle tail than a cat. 

 

Very likely the reason.  Tons of pike here and easy to catch.

[Choporoz]

Not unusual to catch a blue, a channel and a flathead in one day of bass fishing around here.  There's times that I quit throwing a chatterbait because I can't keep the blues off of it.  

I have caught flathead on jigs, worms, cranks, spinnerbaits, craws...pretty much anything you hope a bass will eat.

[Bluebasser86]

22 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I talked to a TVA scuba diver once, he said all stories about monster catfish from divers are tall tales, you can’t see 2 inches that far underwater 

Exactly. Most likely someone getting jumpy from being under water and not being able to see well and thinking they saw something. No doubt they've probably bumped into some large catfish. A 60+ lb flathead would be a massive fish to ram into you if you accidentally ended up nose to nose with it in murky water. 

 

If there were 200-300 lb catfish, why aren't we finding them dead on these lakes since they blow up like balloons when they die? 

[LrgmouthShad]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:28 AM, Functional said:

Only thing I can think of is the pickerel and pike were much quicker to hit a spinner/paddle tail than a cat. 

Those buggers eat anything I throw. I honestly can't stand em, particularly because they mess up my plastics in a hurry. 

 

I wouldn't mind accidentally catching a big ol flathead. And yes, so far I've never had a catfish strike my lure in NY.

[Blue Raider Bob]

Here's your big ol Flathead! Caught on a TRD Ned Rig in the Tennessee River using medium light spinning tackle. This brute is 42" long. I just drifted down river trying to gain more line than she took. I won in the end and she got weighed and measured then released!