Funded by MAFWA Multistate Conservation Grant #F25AP00104-00
Up to this point in my fishing journey, I’ve never caught a catfish on purpose. I’ve caught 4 while trying to bass and crappie fish – 2 on a spinnerbait, 1 on a jerkbait, and 2 on a crappie jig. All 5 times I wasn’t prepared for a catfish to be on the other end of my line. Thankfully, every time it’s happened the catfish could manage to get itself unhooked and went on its merry way. It was always a blessing in disguise because I had never learned how to handle catfish. We will get into talking about handling the fish soon. But first, let’s talk about the tools and gear you’ll need while on the water.
Tools and Equipment
When fishing for catfish it’s important to have a rod with a strong backbone and heavy line. They can grow to be very strong and powerful fish! I think it’s better safe than sorry and have gear strong enough to handle a biggin just in case.
Some additional tools you’ll need to pack are:
– Scissors to help cut your bait into smaller pieces
– Pliers to help remove hooks
– Gloves/a towel to help keep your hands clean
There are a few types of hooks that people can use when fishing for catfish. Today we used kahle hooks. This type of hook has a wide gap allowing more space for the bait to rest.
Bait
On this trip, I got the opportunity to fish with bait for the first time. A lot of bait works great for catfish – nightcrawlers, cut baitfish, and live bait just to name a few! Today I used fresh chicken liver for bait. The good news about chicken liver is that it’s strong scent will draw in the catfish from all around. The bad news is that it’s a little slippery and it is hard to keep on the hook. Liver is a very fragile organ. It tears very easily and comes off the hook with very little effort during casting. I found that I’d have to weave the hook through the liver several times. Too few threads through the liver and it would fly off when I casted. Too many threads through the liver and it would essentially disintegrate.
Once I managed to get the liver to successfully stay on the hook, I was aiming to shoot our bait under docks past the shade line. Docks are great spots to fish for catfish because they provide shade and hold a lot of bait fish. It was a really bright sunny day so the dock blocked the sun and probably offered some relief from the Texas heat.
Catfish are known to spend a lot of time feeding at the bottom of the lake – but the truth is, they are incredibly opportunistic feeders. They are predators and they’ll eat just about anything they come across anywhere in the water column. So once the liver was casted up under the dock, I’d let it sink slowly. When I had strikes, they all happened before the liver hit the bottom.
Safe Handling
Once I managed to get a bite the next most important thing for me to learn was how to handle the fish. Catfish have spines on both pectoral fins and their dorsal fin. I found that gripping by the eye of the hook helped keep a little more control of the fish than holding the line. Once I had one hand gripping the hook, I’d use my other hand to grab around their belly and get one of the pectoral fins between my index and middle fingers. This grip avoids the dorsal spine and controls the pectoral fins fairly well. I only got spined once so I think it was a pretty successful day!
I managed to catch the 3 biggest varieties of cats on the lake this afternoon – cannel, blue, and flathead catfish. Each of them put up such a fun fight and they had beautiful coloration and patterns. All the catfish returned to the lake today, but maybe sometime soon I’ll try to fillet some. Before keeping fish be sure to grab your fishing license and check the bag and length limits on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. I had so much fun catching these catfish on Lake Palestine and I’m looking forward to doing it again soon!