Open up and say ahhhhh! (IGFA photo)
Holy creature from the Black Lagoon, Batman! While this titanic beast may look like something that may slither up out of a storm sewer and start devouring unsuspecting city dwellers in some John Carpenter flick, it’s actually a pending
International Game Fish Association All-Tackle Word Record wels catfish!
While fishing with a live bream on the River Po in Mantova, Italy with IGFA Captain Alberto Bartoli, angler Roberto Godi hooked into this enormous, 250.3-pound cat…which fought like a wounded wildebeest for 45 minutes before being subdued…weighed…and released.
[click to continue…]
by JD on February 18, 2010
On Wednesday, the Three Amigos (Me, Riles and Big Fred) that just returned from that epic Oregon steelhead mission were back in action: This time our target was Clear Lake’s winter bass. Armed with a mixed bag of live minnows, drop-shot gear and swimbaits, we took to the water for a rip-roaring bucketmouth blitzkrieg.
The weather was decidedly “unwinter-like” for the dead of February and the bass were feeling frisky. When the smoke cleared, we put probably 30-40 chunky largemouth in the boat. Here’s a little photographic evidence… [click to continue…]
by JD on October 14, 2009
Okay, so Shane Davies of River Run Guide Service in Texas (214-418-9786; s.davies@sbcglobal.net) has stones the size of Cowboys Stadium. Need some proof? Check out his tale from a recent kayak trip on the Brazos River. In his own words:
“In 20 years of fishing the Middle/Upper Brazos River, I can honestly say that I have never encountered a venomous snake (pit viper) within the riverbed,” he says. “However, as I tell my clients, go outside the riverbed and that can be a very different story. Obviously, just because I have never come across a venomous snake in the river, does not in any way mean they are not there. In fact, I always remain vigilant and on the lookout knowing that I’m simply overdue for my first encounter. The way I look at it, Texas , venomous snakes and the outdoors will always go hand in hand. So, I wasn’t too surprised when I observed a juvenile rattlesnake headed accross the river while I was in my kayak flipping a jig for bass.”
[click to continue…]
by JD on November 2, 2008
Perhaps the best time of the year to catch catfish…a lot of catfish…is in the fall, immediately after the first rains of the season. Here in California, we just got our first shot of precipitation in 6 months and that means it’s time to get out there and enjoy some red hot action. But you don’t have to live on the West Coast to take advantage of this situation! This method works anywhere you get some wet stuff after an extended period of dry weather.
Aquatic Smorgasbord
The trick to fishing cats in rivers — and especially lakes — right after a rain is to target the mouths of tributary streams. After a long, dry summer, a big rain will wash all sorts of yummy critters — crawfish, worms, crickets, grass hoppers, minnows, lizards, freshwater clams, salamanders, etc — down creek channels and into the main water body.
The biggest influx of food occurs on the first 2 days after a rain and cats move in quickly to gobble up the buffet of protein. Often, it’s easy to figure out where to fish — just look for the plume of dirty water and fish the edges. Initially, the cats will hang on the leading edge of the dark water but will move right into the creek mouth once the velocity of the current tapers off.
Baiting Up
One of the real beauties of this style of fishing is you really can’t go too wrong when it comes time to choosing a bait. Since the fish are in an opportunistic mode and feeding on a wide range of morsels, they’re not at all picky. Just the opposite, in fact, so you’re golden if you go with nightcrawlers, chicken live, clams or mackerel to name a few. Nightcrawlers are about as natural a bait as you can go with, though I’d opt for something a little more stinky if you’re fishing in really muddy water.
After the first rain, you’ll typically have a pretty limited window of opportunity to catch fish on an individual creek. White catfish will pile into a tributary plume just after it starts flowing, they will move just as quickly onto the next one once the food stops washing in. So, it pays to jump around until you find a creek that’s still holding fish.
