Cat fish on the fly

[markm]

Anybody target catfish on a fly rod? There is a great population of cats in a couple local lakes and I want to try and get into them on a fly rod. What are some patterns and techniques to catch the cats?

Mark

 

[fr8dog]

Oh heck yeah!! They are a ton o' fun on the fly rod. I get a bunch of them while crappie fishing. Black or brown buggers, they'll eat clousers, or pretty much any streamer. People don't think of them as predators, but they will chase stuff down. If you have any rip rap or rocky banks, they'll be hanging around, and not just at night. Fun fish, fight hard, and work real well in the fryer. (like these guys).

 

[ia_trouter]

They frequently cruise the rocky shoreline fairly shallow as fr8dog describes. Swinging a streamer into current breaks can work too. We have some forum members from up north that even catch them on trout nymphs. That wouldn't seem like a high percentage play everywhere but maybe it is?

 

[mjkirshner]

Caught on a chartreuse Clouser.

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[weiliwen]

Here is my catfish fly fishing story. About 5 years ago, I was "embedded" in a factory in Sedalia, Missouri. Nearby was a 5 acre lake. I'd brought my 4 and 5 weight rods, and in April and early May had enjoyed great bluegill fishing there.

However, after spawn, it started to taper off, so I dusted off the 5 weight and took it to the lake. I put a sorta woolly bugger-ish thing in a rust color on my line and cast it out from the beach - I didn't expect anything there, as I usually fished on steeper banks.

However, something big grabbed my line. i thought it was a bass, but it didn't jump, just pulled. I finally got it close enough in to see it was a big catfish, I'd estimate 7 pounds I pulled him onto the beach, and grabbed him by the lip to remove the hook.

Bad idea! He clamped down on my thumb like there was no tomorrow. I screamed like a little girl, and tossed him onto the bank. He took a good bit of skin off my thumb as he let go and sailed onto the grass.

I got to him and found that he had broken the hook in two - it looked like an articulated woolly bugger! I got the hook out - using my forceps this time - and walked back to the water and tossed him back in.

I heard yelling, and looked up to see 3 folks running toward me yelling - they wanted me to keep it so they could have it for dinner!

 

[dennyk]

I'm inspired, I'll add a few Clousers to my Carp flys.

Denny

 

[ejsell]

I've caught them on crayfish patterns bottom bouncing them on the river bed. They are a lot of fun to catch on the fly. Most of my crayfish patterns are buggers with silly legs. Bodies and marabou in rusty browns.

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[rocketbomb]

I've been targeting them the past couple years at a couple local lakes with tons of catfish in them. The ones here love wooly buggers, not sure I've caught any on anything else (if it was, it would be clousers). I always fish for catfish shallow (even when using bait), rarely in more than 4 feet of water. While fly fishing, I find them especially along the edge of shallow weed beds in the evenings, looking for little bluegill and other panfish. Also mid spring, the cats here like to head up into warm, shallow feeder creeks chasing small fish that also are looking for the warm water. Ever sight fished for catfish? Loads of fun! They pull hard, though it's not as "exciting" of a fight as a bass or big trout. I use either a 6wt or 8wt, depending on the conditions.

 

[karstopo]

I've caught a few hardheads and gafftops on clousers and redfish crack. I Never really targeted catfish. I see a lot of posts about channel and blue cats being caught around inland.

 

[chames15]

Never really targeted them specifically. Caught this guy while chasing white bass and bass with a simi seal leech. As others have noted, he hit the fly right when it hit the water up against a rip rap bank with a sharp drop. At first I thought it was a carp because I couldn't get his head up. Two runs into backing later I finally saw what it was.

 

[bigjim5589]

Yep, many times I've had Channel cats or Bullheads grab a fly. I don't target them specifically when fly fishing, but if they grab the fly, I'm OK with it.


There some over 100 lbs in the area where I live, so not sure I would want one of them big ones to grab a fly. Too much chance of breaking my equipment!

 

[clouserguyky]

I've caught some nice channels while bass fishing both in ponds, streams, and in Lake Erie also. Always on buggers pretty much, in deep holes. Always a welcomed surprise!

 

[Flyfisher for men]

Flatheads like woody cover and overhead cover. A sunken log especially if they can get under it would be good. I'd try to get a big fly right in front of him.

If those lakes you have are tailraces, catfish get active in water releases--they can feast on dead and injured shad.

 

[msl819]

I once caught a catfish and a rainbow trout on consecutive casts in a stock pond in Texas. I doubt that happens to me again. Both bit an olive wooly bugger

 

[fr8dog]

It's that time again. 4' down along a rip rap bank. Was throwing a #10 bugger for bluegills on a 4 wt and these guys made an appearance. Between 11 AM and 4 PM. Just good eaters. They'll be in the oven later. I REALLY like fresh catfish with slaw and hushpuppies. Going to grab a few ears of corn to go with them.

 

[karstopo]

I’ve been doing well on size 6 tungsten beaded buggers. Yellow hackle, black marabou, black bugger chenille or the same with chartreuse hackle.

I haven’t tried these but on one lake, but they seem productive just about every time I go out. Fishing with floating line and pretty long fluorocarbon leaders just as a mini sink tip. Tungsten gets down 2-3 times faster than lead or brass. I just throw the fly right against the shore, could be bulkhead or a natural vegetation type, and bring the fly in slow and into deeper water trying to stay pretty close to the bottom. Get hung on submerged logs on occasion, but it’s not too bad getting the fly free.

Fish have ranged from tiny to 5.5 pounds with a lot of eaters in the mix. This lake is a natural cut off lake and is only 12-14’ deep at the deepest. Water typically is about 18”-2’ feet of visibility.

 

[karstopo]

A photo of some catfish productive flies

The yellow and chartreuse seem to be the best. Olive has been good some days.


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[fr8dog]

A little while back I was following a school of whites on the surface. Just 10-13" schoolies hitting about a foot down in 20 feet of water. Got a 4 or 5lb channel in the mix. Thought I hooked the mother of all hybrids.

 

[karstopo]

Catfish are regulars now on a woolly bugger. Definitely they are an unexpected upside to fly fishing because I almost never or never got them on artificial lures. Had one today in that 2-3 pound class come completely out of the water. They are fun fighters if not just a bit slimy. Try a gafftop catfish for slime.

Purple, chartreuse, yellow, black, olive, I don’t see color being the deciding factor. I get way more on size 6 buggers than smaller ones. The 5/32” tungsten beaded buggers work just as good 3/16”.

 

[karstopo]

I downsized my tungsten bead on my size 6 buggers from a 3/16” to a 5/32” but it didn’t make them any less attractive to the catfish. I did use a slightly smaller woolly bugger chenille to reduce bulk. Tungsten seems to be the way to go on my lake as I catch more on those buggers than I do on the brass beaded ones. The 5/32” bead lets me use my 4/5 CGR and that makes a 2-3 pound channel cat a lot of fun.

Color doesn’t seem to matter. Purple was what I used yesterday. Yellow, chartreuse, olive, black, pink. It all seems to work.

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