A good acquaintance of mine. Blog here. Picture from Facebook.
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What type of fly does one use to land catfish? I have a 5w and 6w rod that my wife and I share, I just want to know what gear to use.
Thanks for all help in advance.
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A good acquaintance of mine. Blog here. Picture from Facebook.
Attachment 10240
What type of fly does one use to land catfish? I have a 5w and 6w rod that my wife and I share, I just want to know what gear to use.
Thanks for all help in advance.
Good ol' Scott!! He's a caught some MONSTER Cats on flies!!
If you are going after big cats specifically, use the bigger rod. I've caught a decent number of cats from 20"-30" and my largest of 31.5" on a 5wt rod. So...you can do it with the lighter rod...but they deserve the heavier rod.
If you are fishing the same lake Scott fished, woolly buggers would work just fine. Make sure the hook is fairly stout so it won't bend out during the battle. I've caught nice cats on large deer-hair streamers that looked like shad...woolly worms, woolly buggers, the Jumpin' Catfish Nymph, foam bass poppers,....and quite a few on Boa Yarn Leeches!
Good luck, and share pics of your success here! I'd love to see 'em!
Not to be argumentive but if you are going after catfish the strength of the leader is more important than the weight of the flyrod. A light rod is more forgiving when a cat surges on you than a long pool cue. If I were going after catfish I would add some scent to the fly. Dave is right about the bugger working fine.
Good to see his name has gotten around! When I first saw the picture, my jaw hit the floor.Quote:
Originally Posted by FishnDave
So, my next question is, going after cats on a weighted woolly (about all I have right now) has to be a sight-stalking venture, right? Or do I just throw it into some brush and let the sucker sink to the ground? I've got bullheads on a fly, but I could put my finger in the water and they'd bite it. o.O
If I'm remembering correctly, Scott was catching those giant cats from a small lake in the Omaha area. There were automatic fish-pellet feeder(s) there. Since the pellets tend to float for a while before sinking, the fish were coming to the surface to eat the pellets. You might want to use an UNWEIGHTED woolly bugger in that situation, so it will have a much slower sink rate. Cast to feeding fish.
At most other places, like where I fish, it's a game of chance. Although I've caught some really big cats during the middle of the day, most of them come just after dark. This is when they start cruising the shallows looking for food. Keep a fly in the water, moving slowly...eventually you will cross paths with a catfish. I've never tried adding scent to a fly, but I will admit I've tried "chumming" an area with bread to get the catfish to feed near me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I have used plastic "onion" sacks and put cheap dog crunchy treats, link Milkbone, in them and weighted them with rocks brought bream, probably some catfish but also turtles.
I don't target catfish, but i always catch some out of the local lakes i fish. spent one day near a mulberry tree and caught ten in ten casts. Most of my local waters are relatively murky and i have never once sight fish for catfish. i am sure you could, but placing your fly in appropriate looking cover should yield some fish.
So, my next question is, going after cats on a weighted woolly (about all I have right now) has to be a sight-stalking venture, right? Or do I just throw it into some brush and let the sucker sink to the ground? I've got bullheads on a fly, but I could put my finger in the water and they'd bite it. o.O[/QUOTE]
I read somwhere about a guy that tied on a 2 or 4 treble with some stink bait and cast that out. It worked, catching cats on a fly rod but not a fly.
I have caught a fair number on a #10 black hot head mohair leech, fished shallow while after bluegills. Bigger ones have also come on a big (size 1) modified Clouser minnow. Like anything, it depends on what they are feeding on!
I don't target catfish either but seem to always catch some nice ones when I least expect it. Best patterns have been bass-size buggers, Clousers and hare worms although I did catch one last summer fishing for bluegill using a popper with a prince nymph as a dropper. A nice 22" cat took took the nymph and the race was on with a 3 wt rod and light tippet. My personal best is a 28 incher on a lime and chartreuse bugger.
My best catfish pattern is a Puglisi, or Polaris Shad, but they also hit very good on Buggers, and Bunny Leeches.
I caught this one last summer in a small residential lake near my house; black wolly bugger as I recall:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...g/IMG_3201.jpg