Can cats be taken on the fly? When I was spinning I’d usually just still-fish for them, what flies work best for catfish, retrieves, techniques etc? There’s a small lake not far from I and there’s some catfish in there and I was wondering what I’d need to use to catch them.
Any info is appreciated,
Shane
Big Black or Olive Wollybuggers work sometimes here in Ky. I weight mine to keep them on the bottom.
i don’t target catfish, but fish a small lake where i catch at least one evry time i fish it. what has worked are woolly bugger’s (black), grhe #10 and believe it or not had one smack my popper last sunday. nice 22" channel cat.
My only experience has been with Channel Cats. They suspend OFF the bottom and will bite minnow patterns.
I’ve hooked them on nymphs, Clousers, white bunnies and Zoo Cougars, meaning a topwater hit. From my experience that just about covers the water spectrum. I’ll also admit that I’ve never targeted Channel Cats. I was fishing other species when they hit. My largest flathead was caught on a Crappie Candy fly while fishing for crappie in the late spring, coming in just over 10 lbs. What incredible fighters, though. Wow. JGW
This on took a popper after dark.
I caught three or four of them that night.
ive caught them on pheasant tails and wooly worms.
only caught 2.
my first one was on the wooly worm last year. 8 lbs on my 5 weight.
hell of a fight.
my second one was with a #10 pheasant tail. 17lbs!!! on my 6weight!.
holy crap that one took 30 minutes to land on 2x! :shock:
Fly Fish TV did a show on that. It’s in their 2006 collection and it’s called Canadian Cats and Carp. I’ve caught a few over the years. Black Wollybuggers worked more often in the river I was fishing in but you can get them on nymphs and other things…almost like carp fishing really.
Going to be spending some money on quite a few flies haha. Until I get my tying supplies and learn how to tie. Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it everyone!
I used to do a lot of catfishing with the spinning outfit, but now that I’ve gotten rid of it, I’m eager to catch everything with the flyrod.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane,
Learn to tie & QUICKLY! I don’t target cats, but black woolly buggers are effective. Again today, I took my 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter Tori out. She tied into a cat on one of my regular ponds that ran her to the other side of the pond before it broke her snelled hook off. She was fishing her little Zebco with Berkley Gulp earthworm for bait. The smallest cat I’ve taken in this pond was over 20".
Mike
My friend Steve with his 34-inch channel cat…
and my 29-incher, both caught on flyrods this past Saturday morning at Two Rivers State Recreation Area just west of Omaha, Nebraska. The lake is total catch & release for channel cats and largemouth bass.
Steve used a Muddler Minnow; I used a brown woolly bugger. 
I’ve caught cats on a drk. purple wooley bugger before, great fighters
Don
I’ve caught cats on mice…ba dump bump. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. lol. Nice pics Old"HappyMemory"Guy! lol.
two words and one fly. jiggin shad. end of story. we dont go after catfish but my friend has got some nice ones on it. he caught 4 this year all 4 pounds or over.
WTH? jiggin shad? is that a fly or are you talking bait.
Hi All,
I have only caught 3 channel cats on a fly rod, and in every case I caught them on streamers. Two were caught on a maribou Mickey Finn. The maribou Mickey Finn was a large one, a #4 maybe. One was caught on a woolly bugger with out hackle, the tail orange and the body olive, this was a small one, a #12 or #10.
Regards,
Gandolf
my buddy was catching them on dry flies last year.
they were at the surface, and he was throwing a bug white wulff at them.
It did him no good really, he would hook tons of them…then they would straighten the hook everytime :lol: it was pretty funny to see the mounting frustration.
This time of year the catfish in the Susquehanna river, near Harrisburg, Pa. rise to The “White Fly” hatch ( Ephoron Leukon .) This is a heavy hatch/spinnerfall that comes on at dusk. large catfish and smallmouth bass are all over the place during this sometime blizzard-like hatch. A white wulff tyed on a lightwire # 10 hook is good, also an all white emerger with a trailing shuck.
the jiggin shad is a fly that works amazingly for anything that eats minnows and most that dont. 8) if you can get youre hands on one you should definitely try it. it seems to work best for crappie though. i only know of 2 maybe 3 people who make it. me the inventor and his friend. he probably taught some others though. so definitely try it if you get one