mjanes 's List: Fishing

• The best time of day for good catfishing in summer is from 4 am to about 8am. Sorry, you'll have to get up early or stay up late. Calm overcast days are usually good throughout the day. Remember that catfish can become active at any time, these are just guidelines. Catfish will usually be in cover or near cover during the day and feed more during the night and early morning.
• Catfishing starts in mid to late Spring when the rivers rise and the water starts to warm above 50 degrees. Catfish can be active at any time in the Spring so you will have to experiment to find the best times. When the water is high, catfish rest in slackwater and feed in the current. The best spot to fish is an area where fast current meets slackwater WITH cover. Cover is essential. Cover is where catfish can rest without having to fight the current.
• In the Fall, catfish really start to feed heavily to prepare for Winter. This can be some of the best trophy fishing. Many of the biggest catfish are caught in the Fall. When the water starts to cool the fishing gets good. You won't need to fish at night like in the Summer. Later, the fish will gather in their wintering holes. Fish are highly concentrated in relatively small areas throughout the Winter and are mostly inactive.
• Catfish will eat just about anything, but freshly cut baitfish or lively baitfish are my favorites.
• Nightcrawlers should be kept in a cooler and minnows should be kept in a good insulated bait bucket with cool fresh water. Cut baitfish should be kept under ice to remain fresh.
• The are literally hundreds of artificial catfish baits on the market. Some can be good at times, but you will probably not catch trophy fish with them. Trophy fish are taken on the freshest cut or live fish.

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• Catfish are deep-dwelling fish that become more active during the night hours. They typically prefer the colder deep water found throughout the deep parts of lakes, particularly if there are flowing currents or channels. Catfish grow to between 5 and 100 pounds on average and are considered a fine fish for eating.
• Rig your line with at least one sinker between 1/2 and 1 ounce. Keep the sinker approximately 12 inches above the hook. Use a 6/0 barbed hook. If you are fishing in water between 10 to 20 feet, try using a bobber for detecting the subtle strikes catfish make.
• Go out fishing for catfish on a lake at dusk. Catfish prefer the darker cooler waters. Nighttime brings them out of the underwater logs or rocks. Fish one section of the lake for 15 to 30 minutes. If no strikes occur, move onto another area. When fishing the regions, go in a zigzag motion with the trolling boat.
• Use catfish smelly baits (found at outdoor fishing stores) and cast upstream to let the scents drift downstream, attracting the catfish.
• As a general rule, the colder the water, the better the chances of catching larger catfish.
• Fish with smelly baits along the lake banks after strong rains. It is not uncommon for the catfish to come in toward the shores after rains, sometimes in water 5 to 7 feet deep just off the banks.

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• The honors of being the most popular and abundant sport fish in Iowa go to the sleek and tasty channel catfish. Sometimes called "prairie trout,
• Catfish, by and large, are omnivorous feeders with a well developed sense of smell. This simply means they consume a wide variety of food items, and the fish is most often attracted to odoriferous or "smelly" morsels of food. The single greatest determinant of catfish food preference is body size. Smaller catfish, those less than 14 inches, feed primarily on bottom-dwelling organisms, such as aquatic insect larvae and other invertebrates. As catfish grow to a larger size, their diet changes and a wider variety of food items are eaten. Fish, however, either alive or dead, make up the bulk of their forage after they reach 16 inches.
• As the water warms into late spring and summer the diet of catfish shifts continually to food items that are again most available and vulnerable. The most prevalent foods at this time of the year are aquatic and terrestrial worms, fish, frogs, crayfish, mulberries, insects and their larvae forms, elm seeds and algae.
• The experiences of these anglers over the years have shown that catfish are not evenly dispersed over the stream bottom; rather they are concentrated in certain areas, and the success in putting fish on the stringer depends on their ability to search out and find the reaches that hold fish. In fact, some of the more knowledgeable catfishermen feel that 90 percent of the fish are concentrated into 10 percent of the habitat. One of the best ways of improving your catch of catfish is by closely observing the characteristics of locations that produce fish -- or likewise do not produce fish. Some careful observations and the tried and proven techniques of trial-and-error will make any angler a good stream catfisherman.
• Bait selection ranges from nightcrawlers, chicken blood, chicken liver, chicken or fish guts, crawdads, grasshoppers, water dogs, live and dead minnows, cut bait, and a multitude of prepared "stink" baits. The prepared baits most often have one thing in common -- cheese.
• The most important points to consider when selecting catfish bait are to determine the size of fish sought and the water temperature of the lake or river that will be fished. The rule of thumb is to use cut-bait or dead minnows for the best luck in late winter and spring-time just after ice-out. This bait is composed of half-rotten fish and should be fished when the water temperature is less than 60 degrees F. Catfish actively feed on fish flesh and other animals that diet during winter and sink to the bottom. The stronger the rotten odor of bait this time of the year, the better the success. Fish in deeper portions of the lake or stream prior to ice melt; then shift your efforts to shallow water afterwards. The shallow water warms faster and attracts catfish into the near-shore reaches. Catfish can be caught under ice conditions, but feeding begins in earnest after the water temperature reaches 40 degrees F.
• The keen sense of smell possessed by channel catfish make it one of the few species of game fish that can be readily caught during high stream flows in the spring, summer, and early fall.
• Summer is the normal period of low stream flow, and smaller streams can be fished most effectively by wading. A pair of cut-off jeans and old tennis shoes will allow you to walk directly in the stream. Catfishermen seeking larger fish during this period use large-sized baits such as dead bluegill, live chubs, water dogs, crayfish and frogs. Large catfish like a good-sized meal and the movement of these creatures will attract their attention.
  
• Lake anglers use relatively short rods,
• Just drop the line near a likely spot with no more line out than the rod length. This provides excellent control of the bait for better placement and improves the chances of hooking a fish after a natural-like presentation. Ten-pound test line is recommended over lighter weight line because the bait is fished on the bottom and often near underwater snags.
• Catfisherman need not show concern about the sizes, shapes, and color of expensive lures, but hooks and sinkers, inexpensive as they are, are important. Always use the lightest weight necessary, and always use a slip sinker
• The slip sinker rig allows a catfish to pick up the bait without feeling the weight of the sinker. With any resistance on the line whatsoever, a respectable channel cat will leave the tasty bait morsel in search of another. Always use a sharp hook. Hooks with bait holders on the shank are preferred by most anglers. Use sponges or plastic worms when fishing with one of the soft, prepared cheese baits. No matter which hook and bait you select, present it to the fish in the most natural manner, which always requires the use of a minimum amount of sinker or weight.
• Catfish, like all fish, are not randomly distributed, but are congregated in particular locations. Fishing success will depend on your ability to find these concentrations of fish.
   Light tackle catches more fish, but heavy tackle is required in snags and structure when catching large fish.
   Catfish can be caught year around.
   Use dead minnows or cut-bait in the late winter and early spring when the water temperature is between 35-60 degrees F.
   Use prepared cheese baits in the summer when the water temperature is above 70 degrees F.
   Cheese baits are most effective on fish 10 to 16 inches in length.
   Live bait is best for larger fish, those above 3 pounds.

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