How to Catch Catfish

Every angler dreams of hooking a big fish and getting into the record books. How big can a catfish grow? The Mekong Giant Catfish, is a catfish found in South East Asia which can grow up to 3 meters. In 2005, a specimen of this species weighing 293 kilograms and measuring 2.7 meters in length, was caught in the Mekong river in Thailand. This fish, almost as big as a grizzly bear, was the biggest freshwater fish ever caught. The following is a brief note on how to catch catfish with few catfish fishing tips.

How to Catch Catfish

Before, you set out to catch a catfish it is necessary to know about its habitat and its habits. It is considered to be one of the types of freshwater fish. The following list includes few catfish species:

1. Channel catfish
2. Blue catfish
3. White catfish
4. Yellow bullhead catfish
5. Brown bullhead catfish
6. Fathead catfish

Catfish are commonly found in the areas close to rapids and pools, in small rivers and of course, as aquarium fish in people's homes. These are the places where fast moving water carves the bottom to create deep pools. The river catfish also known as 'channel cats' occupy these depths because of the slow moving water. Catfish lie in wait to ambush their food, prey or the bait near the rocks, boulders, fallen logs or trees. The catfish found in big rivers find the structures that slow down the river current more suitable to feed, such as wingdams, sandbars and rocks. One must not overlook the deep pools or holes at the tributary junction while fishing for catfish.

If you are looking for information about how to catch catfish in a pond, then, the trick is knowing where to cast your bait. If you are fishing in daylight then you must look for catfish in deep-water areas such as dams, in creek channels flooded with water, near the mouth of the channel that feeds the pond, rocks, and trees.

Fishing is a sit-and-wait game that can test a man's patience. If you are going to follow this old tradition by trying to catch the catfish from the bank. Then a spot, just bellow the dam or bellow a two river confluence, enabling you to cast in the shallow waters or bellow a fallen log at the head of a deep pool, can make you happy with the day's catch. On the other hand, you can sit in a boat at anchor and go about your business. The trick is in positioning the boat at the right spot and in the right fashion. You should look for the channel edges or a large snag along the riverbank and park your boat sideways, which will enable you to cover more area without snagging your line. The list of equipment which may help you in your task of catching a catfish:

• Bait: Catfish go for any kind of any bait, from night crawlers, crayfish, minnows, stinkbaits, chicken liver, mackerel, small sunfish and crawdads, worms to home made smelly cheese that no self respecting catfish would eat. However, if you are angling for the big catfish, then the following is a tip on how to catch big catfish. The trick that may help you catch a big catfish is to prepare the bait that can lure it to your fishhook. Drain the water and blood from chicken liver and fill it with garlic salt and let it mature for a day. The salty taste of the preparation will definitely prove irresistible to your game and if you don't wear gloves while preparing it, you can simply dip your hands in the water to catch 10 catfish.
• Rods: A medium heavy to heavy stout rod of 6-7 feet in length, can be useful in catching catfish, provided you can easily handle it.
• Fishing lines: You can choose a suitable fishing line from the many available fishing line types such as, a monofilament, braid, or heavy test fluorocarbon fishing line. If you are fishing for the big game, you might consider using fishing lines that can cope with the 30-35 pounds of strain.
• Hooks: Circular hooks are more useful than J-hooks, because it hooks a fish in the jaw.
• Reels: Spinning reels and large bait-casting reels etc can also be used to catch catfish.

A variety of methods are used to catch fish, from using hands, bows and arrows and fishing nets to detonating explosives in the water to stun and catch the fish. Have you ever heard of how to catch a flathead catfish by noodling? There are some people who consider noodling the best way of having fun. But what is noodling? A fisherman inserts his hand in a hole, which he or she hopes contain a catfish or two, in the riverbank or river bed and lets it dangle and wriggle there. The hole may contain a snapping turtle or a beaver or as hoped by the fisherman a catfish or a snake. When the irritated occupant of the hole snaps and takes firm hold of the hand, the fisherman uses his muscle power to drag it out of the hole and to carry it to the bank. If it is a catfish then well and good, otherwise you can try another potential catfish hole. Noodling is considered as an extreme sport and only those who are lucky, succeed in catching a catfish.