Fall Catfish Fishing "102"
Catching Fall Catfish "102"
Hello All! I was reading a post by RGRAFG about how to catch a catfish at Irvine. I decided to give some info to him, but then decided to go larger so ALL can get it. Contrary to popular belief of many on this site, I actually enjoy helping people out and giving tips when it comes to fishing for cats. That's why I guided there, gave seminars and wrote articles. Anyway, here it goes and you can thank RGRAFG.
Until this heat wave is over, save your money and use your time studying fishing for catfish. This means read as many articles on fall channel and blue catfish fishing as you can. There are many articles, videos, magazines, etc... Go to Infisherman.com. and Brotherhood of Catfish and YouTube to start. Use Google as they seem to have the best selection. Then read, read, read! Then watch every video you can find. Unfortunately 85% of what you find will be focused on east coast river fishing instead of ponds or reservoir fishing like Irvine and other popular lakes in southern California. So this is just the icing on the cake for you. I say save your money because the fishing isn't that good right now and this heat is miserable. No one wants to have a bad day of fishing, right? If you must fish, I would suggest fishing from 7pm until close for now. That will pretty much be your best time to fish for the rest of the season.
TACKLE
Since fall weather is almost here, there will be more fish and bigger fish being caught soon so you must be ready.
Rods...Spinning 7 to 9 foot medium/heavy action with 15 to 30 or even 40 pound line rating especially if you are going for a "TITAN"! That is a term I coined over a decade ago which means a fish over 40 pounds! Hey, I have to give myself props on that one since it seems to have caught on. :-)
Reels.....Anything that matches your rod. For channels, you only need up to 20 pound capacity. For TITAN blues, you might want to step it up to 30 or even 40 pound if you can find one. Yes, I am talking saltwater gear, not trout or bass stuff. Not here to advertise companies today because there are no checks in the mail...lol You don't need high end expensive gear but it may make the difference if you tie into a Titan.
Line...Nothing less than 15 pound monofilament line. My 89.65 pounder was caught on 15 pound line and that line was destroyed!!! I use 20 to 40 now depending on my target. Those who like to challenge themselves by going light, go with 10 to 15 pound test. If you are fishing structure or those weed beds, go with 20 and up. If you catch a fish and your line is all nicked up, go higher or do as I have done in the last year or 2 which is using a strong swivel and a 4 foot leader of 40 or 50 pound mono. That will help pull through the grass and hopefully keep from getting broken off by structure. Stay away from braided line. It's expensive and just not needed.
Hooks...I love the Octopus Circle style hooks in 5/0 to 8/0 depending on the size of the bait, however my biggest fish 15 years ago was caught on a 4/0 J hook. Regular circle hooks are suppose to be the best but you need to know how to use them and I'm not focusing on that right now. The gap is too narrow for the bait I use.
Bait...Of course catfish eat just about anything but you must know that stink baits are for smaller channels while cut baits are more preferred by blues. If you want a Titan, leave the punch baits, dough balls and sticky baits at home. Among the plethora of baits including hotdogs, night crawlers, chicken liver, beef liver, bonita, skipjack and mackerel just to name a few, I stick with mackerel as my #1 bait. You can cut and doctor up your baits with different scents then freeze at home so you are ready to go when you get to the lake or you can simply buy the mackerel sold at the Long Fin Fishing Tackle shop on Chapman down the street from the lake or the frozen macs sold at the lake. You don't necessarily have to add scent if the fish are biting. I have caught a few Titans with plain unaltered mackerel. Sometimes you might add the wrong scents and turn off the fish. You can't go wrong with regular plain mac. You can cut them into chunks including the heads or fillet them and cut about 4 pieces from that. Titans will eat big and small baits the same way we eat burgers and fries. My biggest came off a 2x3 inch piece of bait while I have caught 60 pounders on whole mackerel. No piece is too big but they aren't always needed. Remember, their main diet consists of clams and shad. Now those are some small morsels. Of course they also eat the trout, bluegill, crappie, crawdads and whatever else will fit in their big mouths. There is a myth going around that you must have fresh caught, never frozen mackerel as your bait. I say fooey! I've always used frozen baits and haven't done too bad. I think that rule applies more to the guys on the east coast who catch their own shad and suckers, put them on ice and then cut because there is fresh flowing scent but we don't have that luxury nor do we have those baits, so frozen is fine. No need to fish piers all day to make bait unless you enjoy it.
Spinning gear vs. Conventional gear....Now in the ocean, if you show up with spinning gear on a boat, people look at you like a rookie. Ocean guys are all into the most expensive conventional gear they can buy and spend all day bragging and naming their gear. Again, I say fooey! All that isn't needed for catfish fishing. I prefer spinning gear because it allows you to keep your bail open so when you get bit the fish can swim off without feeling any tension and it allows you time to get to your pole. My experience with conventional gear is that you set the clicker on and once that fish feels the clicker vibrating through the line and that tension, they spit it out. Your bit usually lasts a few seconds at best. Don't get me wrong, many guys use them and are successful with them. It is just a matter of preference.
Fishing....During the day, the fish are all snuggled up near structure to stay out of the heat and direct sunlight so you want to find their "day spots". This may take time. You should fish an area for up to an hour and if no bites, move and start over. Keep doing this until you get bit. Once you get bit, focus your attention in that same area and you will probably catch more. At night, the fish are moving in search of food in the shallows and near that vegetation that has haunted the lake for the past 2 years. During this time, the fish will come to you instead of you going to them. At night, I usually fish 1 spot and wait it out. A fish finder is always good but not to locate fish, rather to check out the depth and structure below. There are too many different species of fish in that lake to know what you are seeing. Right now the water temperature is hot and the fishing is a bit slow. Once the heat waves stop and we start getting cooler days, the water temp with start to drop. Surface temp is in the low 80s now but once it start dropping 3 to 5 degrees a week, get ready! That is when the fish will start feeding like bear fattening up for winter hibernation. This is when it gets good and it is just weeks away. I'd say really start fishing hard the last week of this month and keep going even past the end of the season. You will be able to catch cats all through the winter if that is what you like doing instead of trouting.
Now I could go on and on about structure, moon phases, drop offs, the thermocline, slip knot bobber fishing, drifting etc...but this is just 102 and not 103...lol Come on, you have to do some work on your own, right?...lol Remember to read articles and watch videos! Of course make sure you have a big enough net for the fish you would like to catch. I'm sure you have seen that monster net I carry with me just in case. Well, I started this very early in the morning and my fingers are starting to hurt so it's time to stop. One more thing about the cut mackerel, there is really no reason for any weights. Your bait will make it to the bottom on its own. The deepest part is only 35 feet right now anyway. As I said, I could go on and on but I just wanted to give a little contribution to those who love fishing for cats as much as I do. Oh, if you do start catching a lot of fish especially Titans, be prepared for haters. Boy do they come out of the wood works!...lol Trust me, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Well, as long as they are talking about you, you know you are doing something right. When they stop trash talking is when you have a problem...lol Gotta love'em though. God bless'em! Well signing off. Good fishing peeps! Meeeoouutttt!!!
CMD
