Catfish ?!

[Jeff Jones]

I know a place where the catfish are stocked and say in fairly shallow water ( 5-6 ft. ). Anyone ever tossed a fly at a atfish? Would you need a " smelly" fly ? I'll show ya' where they are if you thinkyou can catch 'em on the fly ! http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[Ken Smith]

I don't see why not. I was b****fishing in south Ga. a couple of years ago with a friend, and had a 10 lb. catfish nail a top water plug,"Jitter Bug". Do you know if these catfish are fed?. I have another friend in LaGrange who has a small catfish pond. He feeds the fish and they will hit anything on top of the water after feeding.
Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try. I would try a large b****fly, maybe a frog imitation.
ken

[Jeff Jones]

these are small cats- but they are fed reg. by the rangers /,. ooops. i mean ...er..someone. Mabye a fly soaked in dogfood ?!

[Loren]

Jefferoonie,

Last fall, my ff buddy who was just learning to cast carried some wooly buggers I had tied to a friend's pond. The were # 10 black with a little flashabou in the tails. He caught a few large bream and then just about lost the rod and did break his line. He soon learned to play larger fish and landed some large cats (7.5 lbs was the largest).

Catfish are funny. Depending on the type, they will take plugs, spinners and flies. I have even caugt the spotted ones they have here in GA (not seen them elsewhere) on plastic worms and beetle spins.

Loren
Loren

[HNeal]

It seems reasonable! The biggest catfish I've caught, 9 lbs., was caught on the shallow running b****plug, so why not a fat streamer, like some of those using natural wool.

[Jeff Jones]

these are the little spotted ones, Loren ! you got esp?! the local state park has a kid's fishing rodeo every year and the lake stays closed 'til April. They feed the cats all winter nd you can catch 'em like crazy on warm spring days. most are only 12" or so, but I did see one fellow with a 10 pounder last year ! Of course he caught it on liver. Anyone got a liver-nymph ? think maybe I'll stick to largemouths, but I might toss at the cats at least once or twice just to see...... Thanks for the ideas on flies, gang. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[Danny Leigh]

I used to fish in some private ponds where the owner would feed the catfish, and I used black wooly-buggers to catch them. There was not many casts I had that did not bring a strike. I would usually throw out a little food and then throw the fly near the food. The catfish would pounce on the slowly sinking fly. My largest 2 cats were 9 & 9 1/2 lbs and boy did they fight. It was actually easier catching the cats on the flys when they were chummed compared to traditional catfish bait.

I have heard of some people throwing dry catfish food to get the catfish to the surface.

Jeff, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what state park were you at? I have a 2-year old son that loves to fish and am always looking for a kids fishing rodeo. Last year I took him to Moccasin Creek State park for their catfish pond and also to Laurel park in Marietta. He had a blast.

[old bw]

Gee, Jeff. I dunno. I'm still looking to catch my first trout on my new flyrod. Wouldn't a catfish sort of demean the whole outfit? Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with catfish. I mean, I like to eat ‘em at Uncle Buds. It’s just that they remind me of other bottom feeders, like some management types and attorneys I know. heh, heh

Best to all/old bw

[SHAWN]

Catfish will basicly eat anything that you put in front of their face. They are not selective on what they eat. I've caught catish on #16 elk hair caddis. just had to drown it and stick it in front of it's face. Other people I've talked to say to go a little big and ungly on the fly selection. Big ugly buggers and stuff like that should work.
Shawn

[Kent]

Jeff -

Catfish will definitely take a fly. Not only are they scavengers, but also voracious prdators. The difference in them and the "game-fish" is that they rely primarily on smell, not sight and sound, to find their food. But put a fly in front of them and they'll often take.

It is, of course, possible to chum them. As it was explained to me - "Throw out the fish food. Tie on a #10 brown wooly worm w/red tail and throw it out. Don't move it at all, BUT whatever you do, don't lay down your rod!

We have one pond at Callaway that has catfish, and we often catch them by accident while b****or bream fishing. Last Sunday just as I walked up to a small pond to start fishing, I saw swirls out in the water. I threw my wooly bugger right in the swirl rings, and as the fly sank, the line tightened up. Yep - Mr. Cat ( http://www.mindspring.com/~kje/cat.jpg ) chasing bait on top!

We often use the catfish in our teaching classes at Callaway. They're a great way to get a beginner hooked up to a big fish - they can learn how to clear line, and how to use the rod & the reel to play fish. And you'd be surprised how many of the "pros" will request that we chum up a few.

To target them specifically, I'd either use a bottom-hugging fly (scent is up to you) & fish it real slow, or toss a bit of fish chow and fish the brown wooly. But don't lay down your rod!

Kent
Flyfishing West Georgia & Beyond
kje.home.mindspring.com (http://kje.home.mindspring.com)

[Drifter]

To all you Cat chasers:

Check out Georgia Outdoor News regarding the Altamaha River. Seems DNR was doing some electro-shocking there and shocked up a 77 pound Flathead! The state record is in the 60 lb range.

http://www.gon.com/hugeflathead.htm

The Drifter