Catfishing: A Cat for the Wall

For most fishermen, catfishing means going after
eating-sized fish---channel cats running a pound or two.
For them, a three pounder is a monster; one weighing
five pounds a trophy. But a growing number of
catfishermen are after real trophy fish. For them, 20
pounds is a small one. They don’t start counting until
the scales reach 35 pounds. And the real goal is one
that hits the century mark.

Talk about a nice stringer of fish!

The elderly gentleman was thigh-deep in Illinois’ Fox River. He’d bait his hook, then let it drift downstream under a huge bobber. Periodically he’d set the hook, and a minute of two later, clip another fish to his stringer.

I had to find out what he was doing, so waded out to chat with him.

Using rancid chop meat as bait, the gent was fishing for supper. Small channel cats, the biggest not quite three pounds, found his bait and presentation irresistible. Basically, he’d developed a form of jugging, using a rod and reel.

Not a bad technique, if you’re after fiddlers for the table. But if you’re catfishing for trophy-sized fish, more specialized methods are required.

Trophy catfishing is one of the fastest growing of the angling sports, as more and more fishermen discover that tales of 100-pounders are not myths. Just look at some of the world records.

The largest flathead taken on rod and reel tipped the scales at more than 123 pounds. That one came out of a Kansas reservoir in 1998, topping the previous record by only a couple of pounds. The most recent record for Blue cats is almost its twin, at 124 pounds, caught in the Mississippi River in 2005.

But even channel cats, the bread and butter fish, grow larger than most fishermen think. The world record, a 58-pound monster, was caught in South Carolina back in 1964. But others have come close more recently, such as the 54-pound Texas fish. Fifteen states have channel cat records going 40 pounds or more.

That’s not all. The largest freshwater fish ever caught was a Mekong River catfish. That one was caught in a net, by some Thai fishermen. Even so, a 646-pound fish is nothing to sneer at.

Big cats are relatively common. At a local pay lake, for instance, the owners have one lake reserved for trophy fishing. The smallest cat in that pond is 35 pounds, and they run as big as 90.

All those fish are netted in the Mississippi River and transported to the site. Which, by the way, is one clue. Most, certainly not all but most, giant catfish big enough to qualify as a wall hanger come from rivers.

You don’t catch fish like that with a lightweight rod. Catfishing for trophy cats requires big, tough tackle. Typical gear for trophy cats is a salt-water rod, from seven to ten feet long. This is paired with a heavy-duty conventional reel, spooled with anywhere from 30 to 80 pound test line. Most trophy catfishermen opt for fiberglass rods, rather than graphite, both because they have better action, and are less fragile.

In western Kentucky, in the lower Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio Rivers, stubby rod rigs are popular. These are short, stiff rods, measuring about 16 inches, loaded with salt-water reels. Lines testing 80 to 90 pounds are spooled, and weights as much as a pound used to get the bait down.

With this technique you motor as close to a dam as is safe, lower the bait to the bottom, and drift downstream, bouncing it into holes and other likely lies. When a fish takes, you set the hook hard, then toss the rig into the bottom of the boat, and handline the fish to the boat. It pays to wear a glove when doing this.

For many years, the Kentucky state record 99-pound blue (and unofficial world record) was caught just that way. It’s since been supplanted by one weighing 104 pounds, caught more conventionally.

Terminal tackle is just as heavy duty as the rods and reels. To get the bait down into the holes, debris piles, and waterlogged trees where big cats hang out takes a lot of weight. Especially when you’re dealing with big-river currents as well. Sinkers weighing 4 to 12 ounces are part of the trophy catfisherman’s arsenal, along with salt-water hooks ranging in size from 1/0 to as much as 4/0.

When fish are suspended, big floats are used as well. It’s not unusual to use torpedo shaped bobbers measuring a foot or more. Plastic straws, as much as 18 inches long are used in conjunction with these, to keep the rig from tangling around itself---an important consideration, especially when using slip sinkers.

Stinkbaits and dough balls are fine for fiddlers. But trophy-sized catfish want a real mouthful. In fact, they prefer live bait that they can catch themselves. Day in and day out, the most favored bait is a five to six inch bluegill. Following that are shad, and even bullheads.

When live bait isn’t available, cut bait is the second best choice. Here, again, shad are favored. Up on the Ohio, shad gut is the cut bait of choice. More and more, skipjack herring are coming into their own as a cut bait, primarily because of their availability.

Trophy catfishing does require dedication. You won’t catch many on any particular outing; maybe not even one. But, then again, just how many 30-100 pound fish does it take to make you happy? If you think one fish that big every once in a while will do, then give it a try.

You just might get hooked!