Iceout cats?

[camo]

Does anyone ever go real early in the spring after iceout? I remember going years ago in the snow fishing where the river runs into the lake and doing real well,just wondered if anybody else ever goes this early?

[NIMROD]

We catch cats year round here. I caught a bunch fishing jigs deep for Crappie in water dipping below 40. I used to net fish and lake would ice over but Cats would be full of Shad , they were feeding of winter kill Shad.

[ChrisCarter]

Some lakes here in Nebraska have shad, some don't. I don't know what those catfish feed on when there are no dead shad. Folks had luck with iceout cats early in Feb, but then winter threw a snowstorm at us and the lakes have refrozen. Don't know how the cats will react now. My first time going for catfish this early. Normally I start the first week of June when the water hits the upper 60's to 70 degrees.

I don't have a good idea on how catfish feed during the early spring. Are they lethargic and slow taking the bait to the point I should turn the clicker on and set the hook myself? Or turn the clicker off and let them run with it and let the circle hook set itself?

[wademaster]

Year round for cats, that's an advantage for fishing for them!

[south point]

I have been catching blues and channel cats all winter long on the lower Missouri river. blues more than channels. luckily, I don't see much ice here until it gets really cold, due to the current of the river. I cant wait for a little warm up and the water to rise from the snow melting, that will pull the bait and the cats out on the shallow flats, where they will be feeding up. not to say you wont catch a flatty, the flatheads will start being more active when the water reaches about 50* or so, but then it's on for them as well!

[ChrisCarter]

What size sinkers do you use on the Missouri?

[south point]

this time of year I am just using 4-6oz. they like the slower currents in the winter. in the warm months it can be anywhere from 6-24oz's, depending on where I am fishing and how big of a bait I am trying to fish. but the norm would be 8-12oz's for blue's, they like some current.

[ChrisCarter]

1 1/2 lb sinker? Sounds like using a rock. 1-3oz was recommended to me, but it sounds a bit light. I'll experiment with different weights to get a feel at what will work best around here.

[south point]

up river around nebraska you might have much less current than we do here. I fish the last 100 miles of the river so you are much closer to the first dam (Gavin's point) on the missouri than I am! 1oz of weight will just flutter in the current here with out adding any bait. in the summer, I use 4oz slip sinkers just for fishing channel cats in the slow water and side chutes. it takes this much weight to keep your lines from drifting together and getting tangled. I don't usually use 18+ oz's but there are times when the blue cats are staged in the fastest currents in the river, and are hitting HUGE baits, like a whole 16" skipjack or asian carp, and it takes some serious lead to hold a bait like that right where ya want it. if you don't have enough lead, the current will slowly drag your bait and weight around and it won't be long before your rig falls in the crack of a rock or under a log, then your hung up and that gets expensive!

[ChrisCarter]

Picked up some 4oz pyramid sinkers just in case. I would much rather use an egg sinker rig on the river than the 3 way swivel.

Got a little bit of doubt about tomorrow. Ice was still a couple inches thick on a good deep NW cove but everything south of it was open water. I'm hoping the abundant sunshine melted a lot of it today so tomorrow when that gusty SE wind kicks up, that cove will be perfect for the catfish to feed. Friday will be a better day temp wise, but wind won't be nearly as strong.