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I realize that structure will hold all kinds of fish but has anyone purposely taken catfish in their planning? The lake we crappie fish is different than we are used to. We are going to be starting a project for structure and also love catfishing. Any ideas?
I have a questionable back and bad shoulder I have to work around. So my plan is smaller lighter pieces but a poop-ton of them.
I catch a few under dock and around submerged standing timber. I used to fish an old stump flat in a clear lake growing up. You could see those cats swim out of those hollow stumps when you got close
Good luck with the structure. I go for catfish on purpose at times also. i usually hit the main river channels around drop offs. I have noticed I do catch a few around docks and other structure when hunting crappie. The cats will feed on the panfish, so I think what you are planning will work great.
I catch some along rip rap shorelines also.
We used to be river rats most weekends. Fished tournaments on the Red River close to Shreveport for years. Now we are over an hour to the Red and Ouachita rivers either way. Claiborne lake is wide open and kinda a barren landscape above the water. There are some stump fields. Just kinda hard to even know where to start. 8 mile long lake. Crappie right now are deep and easy. Will have to branch out soon.
Won't be too much long and they should be headed to the banks and shallow flats to spawn
Howdy catfishtoon !
From what I understand about catfish, the love hiding places. Tires, drums, corrugated pipe, anything big enough that they can fit into (most of which you will want to find similar objects to avoid the bad materials in the water like rusting metal). The placement would be tricky. I say tricky because there are channels, blues, flats, bulls, etc. and have similar yet different places they like to be. I would research the habits and traits of the catfish in your water and build from there.
I do not know how true this is, so please research: I have been told by other anglers that a high population of catfish in a lake will decrease some other populations because some catfish are predatorial and eat small fish. This was the reasoning that my HOA used years ago to justify not stocking catfish in our ponds. Again I have not personally validated.
Matured catfish like live bream and crappie as vaitQuote:
Originally Posted by N1X
Y'all are correct. There is a misconception that catfish are bottom feeding scavengers. They are predators. Often they are the apex in a given ecosystem. A ten pound blue can eat a two pound fish easy. Imagine what an 40lb flathead can eat. I have caught 12-15 lb blues off of huge bream fished live. On the other hand I caught a 54lb blue on a half of shad. If you ever want a true battle hang a hand size red ear on a 7/0 circle hook and get it close to a tree top on the edge of a river. On a huge bobber. Hold on, there is no telling what you are gonna hook into.
Crappie a definitely on the menu for a big cat. Especially a decent sized flathead
See a lot of tires stacked up at low water around docks that people fish off of. Guess they would be like a hollow stump
The black corrugated road tile stuff would be what i would use for an attractor for both. A 12-24" diameter corrugated pipe turned on its side, maybe 4' long, and then add in pvc sticking out of it. Sort of like a hollow log with limbs sticking upright. Get it to lay flat on bottom with limbs sticking up. Cat will back into the culvert. Crappie and whatever else in the "limbs."
Noodling is big thing on one of the COE lakes nearby. They will either take a 55 gallon poly drum and cut it in half or they make flat boxes that are sort of triangle shaped with an opening about 12"x12"x12" in the front. They'll weight them down with rocks in what will be 4-6 fow at normal pool. Guys dive in and run their arms up in the boxes feeling for fish. Not my speed but they do it.
I would have grabbed ahold when I was a lot younger. I do like to watch folks noodle for them.Quote:
Originally Posted by smashdn
As a young boy going pay lake fishing with my dad remember a 4th of July fishing contest where a huge shovel head was being weighed and it puked up a 4 pound carp right in front of everyone. I remember the guy who caught it was mad as all get out while I was just stunned that that monster 50+ pound shovel could have even swallowed the carp let alone barfed it back up. I was hooked on fishing after that
That would make quite an impression. Lol. Hard to comprehend a digestive system that can process a 4lb fish and not get fins stuck on the way back out. They are impressive beasts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowellhturner
I had 2 uncles who would go hogging or hand fishing in rivers. They use hollow logs or 2 55 gal drums open at both ends and lashed to gething to make a log. They always had cats in them. Biggest I can remeber was 82 lbs.
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Catfish will use cover like logs , stumps , and brushpiles . They look for holes or hollow logs for spawning sites .