5/13 catfish opener

[etucker1959]

Trust me it seems all the techniques that worked at Irvine DO NOT work at SARL, I use to kill it at Irvine with shrimp dipped in Bite-on or Bang Garlic but that definitely does not work in as good in SARL not sure why and of course there are a bunch of theories out there that Irvine catfish preferred Bite-On because that is what they were fed at the hatchery and what not because Irvine was a sponsor of Bite-On blah blah blah, :-). to me all it takes is time to zero in the lake and know what SARL catfish like so far from all that I have read and seen at the lake, the marshmallow Combo as well as fly lining are the best methods to attack those cats and the best location is on a float tube (I would think a boat might give the same results) The last 2 times i have gone and got skunked I have seen only the tubers catching any catfish so its time to dust off my tube (that i have never used) and hit that water, just got back from Army training in Germany so if anyone wants to go out there and show me the ropes of tubing for catfish let me know.

SARL catfish are their own animal. The only good way to fish them is from a tube or boat. (The 2 baits we've had the most luck on is N/C and shrimp) They tend to school up and go on a feeding frenzy at a certain time of the day. (what time???) That's the trick, being there at the right time and finding a good school. A fish graph helps tremendously!!!!!! Try drifting in a boat or tube with the meter on, once you get bit or see them on your graph anchor up on them. If you keep seeing them on your fish graph, you'll probably have a good day!!!

[jhernandez25]

SARL catfish are their own animal. The only good way to fish them is from a tube or boat. (The 2 baits we've had the most luck on is N/C and shrimp) They tend to school up and go on a feeding frenzy at a certain time of the day. (what time???) That's the trick, being there at the right time and finding a good school. A fish graph helps tremendously!!!!!! Try drifting in a boat or tube with the meter on, once you get bit or see them on your graph anchor up on them. If you keep seeing them on your fish graph, you'll probably have a good day!!!

Yeah I have come to realize that SARL Catfish are by far not you ordinary catfish, I have made plans to either take my float tube or my boat on my next trip and try the fly lining technique and now am going to drift thanks for the advice, I was just going to hit certain hot spots I seen the tubers and boats have success in. Guess if I dont want to get skunked I need to clear my schedule and plan to spend most of the day at the lake until I find the school or the feeding frenzy starts :-), Thanks for the advice, am definitely going to put it into practice.

[hotramen]

The catfish at Irvine were definitely easier to catch. As soon as the sun went down it was game on. I figure it will take me a few visits before I get the layout and good spots figured out for SARL. From looking at pictures of the lakes when they were drained it seems like shore fishing will be on a slope. Maybe that is why bait that is suspended works better.

I thought about tube and boat fishing, but the big lake seems small enough as it is.

Ever try trolling for trout in the big lake? Or is it all shore fishing for trout?

[etucker1959]

Yeah I have come to realize that SARL Catfish are by far not you ordinary catfish, I have made plans to either take my float tube or my boat on my next trip and try the fly lining technique and now am going to drift thanks for the advice, I was just going to hit certain hot spots I seen the tubers and boats have success in. Guess if I dont want to get skunked I need to clear my schedule and plan to spend most of the day at the lake until I find the school or the feeding frenzy starts :-), Thanks for the advice, am definitely going to put it into practice.

Another thing about SARL catfish they like to hang out on humps and depth changes. So I'm watching my meter the whole time when I'm drifting. Shrimp is the best bait to use while drifting. (impossible to come off the hook) You don't need to see a lot of fish on your meter when drifting to put the anchor down, (just a pattern of fish in the same area) but when you do and you're on the anchor. ( You're on a good spot) If they start stocking a lot of Blue catfish the N/C come into play, if not peeled white shrimp is all you need. Good Luck!!!!

[Mr T-rex]

Yeah I have come to realize that SARL Catfish are by far not you ordinary catfish, I have made plans to either take my float tube or my boat on my next trip and try the fly lining technique and now am going to drift thanks for the advice, I was just going to hit certain hot spots I seen the tubers and boats have success in. Guess if I dont want to get skunked I need to clear my schedule and plan to spend most of the day at the lake until I find the school or the feeding frenzy starts :-), Thanks for the advice, am definitely going to put it into practice.

Whenever you're ready buddy!
Lets kill some kitties on the tubes