Thoughts on Catfish Tactics

I’m fascinated by catfish, even though I don’t frequently target them.  There are several reasons for this.  First off, I’m primarily a fly fisher these days.  Flies, by their nature, work best with predators that rely heavily on sight to feed.  While catfish have excellent eyesight, they also have an extraordinary array of senses, some of which we have difficulty in comprehending, such a sense of pressure, the ability to taste without touching the item, and electroreception.  I do catch them on flies and wrote about ways to successfully target them.  Still the reality is, day-in, day-out, fly fishing isn’t the best way to target catfish if you’re goal is to consistently catch them.

I suspect there are those who feel catfishing is easy.  If you’re idea of easy is baiting a hook, tossing it out, pulling up a lawn chair, and cracking a cool one, yep, it’s easy.  If, however, catching catfish consistently, any species for that matter, is your objective.  Then, no, catfishing isn’t easy.  While some view cats with only slightly more regard than suckers or carp, the reality is catfish are near the top of the totem pole among fish when it comes to brain power, whereas favored species like trout and black bass are near the bottom.  Uhm, you don’t suppose stupid, and ease of catching are related, do you?

Ok, I’m not an expert on catfishing, nor am I claiming to be.  What prompted this writing were a few articles I recently read on the subject, primarily from In-Fisherman.  The following two are on-line and I received through the email newsletter I get from them. Yes, I’m a subscriber to the magazine.  One is “Moving Baits for Catfish,” and the other is "The Best Told Mistakes of Every Catman.”

Within these articles the following points are made, and while oriented to catfish, I feel they are applicable to fishing in general, especially bait fishing.  If you’re wondering why a fly fisherman is reading bait fishing articles, the answer is simple. Fishing is fishing, and by reading about other methods I pick up knowledge that allows me to be more effective with my preferred fishing method.  In my opinion, so should you.

Here are the main points I got from the articles. 

Movement is, or at least can be, important in triggering strikes.  If you put a bait, lure, or fly out there and don’t move it, you’re chances of getting bit are greatly decrease.  So put down that drink and actively fish. 

It’s not necessary to hide the hook. Given what we’re taught this concept is hard for many anglers to accept.  The issue lies with our tendency to believe fish somehow think like us. They don’t. In fact, we don’t have a clue what fish perceive. Consequently, the hook has no meaning to the catfish and isn’t something you need to worry about hiding.

There are no secret baits.  I’d go one further, there are no secrets when it comes to fishing.  You may think there are, but if someone knows outside of you, then it isn’t a secret.  Now that doesn’t mean you need shout all you know at the top of your lungs to the world, but the truth is, someone else knows what you do, at least in part.  If you add all the parts that others know, everything you think is a secret is known and more.

If you get a bite, set the hook.  Seems easy enough, but . . . many don’t follow this mindset.  In the long run, failure to do so will cost you more fish than not.  How you set the hook is another story, and depends on the situation.

Shorter leaders are generally better. This again is counter intuitive to many.  And I’d add, typically heaver leaders can be used than you might think. The reason is simple. The line/leader has no meaning to fish.  The reason leaders are important, to my way of thinking, is they impact how the bait/lure/fly behaves in the water.  That impacts your presentation, which determines whether or not a fish bites.  So think in terms of how your leader impacts the presentation, not that the fish can see the line, because it can.  Your knot selection is probably more important than leader selection.

These “fishing” concepts were gleaned from catfish articles and are applicable to more than bait and cat fishing.  No, I’ll probably never be a world class catfish angler, or for any species for that matter, but that’s OK.  Still, I’ll read about styles of fishing for all sorts of fish because I never know when I’ll pick up a tidbit that’ll help me become a better angler, even if all use is flies.