Summer
Catfish heat up the evenings on the river
The last Couple
of weeks have been plenty of fun soaking some bait in the river
and basking in the star lit nights. Summer on the delta may bring
some sweltering temperatures in the daylight hours but the nights
can be full of fun. Over the past couple of weeks just outside
the door of the Motor home have yielded some of the best Catfishing
in a long time. Catfish into the 5-10 pound class and stripers
to 30 inches, add to that two monsters fish I couldn’t turn
(probably Sturgeon) while other around me were catching 1 to 2
pound catfish and small stripers? Why the big difference? They
may get a few more bites, but one of my fish could outweigh there
entire limit! 95% plus of all catfish anglers on the delta set
themselves up for just such results, lots of bites yet very few
bigger fish. So I set out to experiment a bit to get that bigger
bite!
The Delta
is full of channel catfish that are by far the most praised by
anglers for their excellent quality. Channel cats are also one
of the best fighters of the catfish family. With a size potential
of up to nearly sixty pounds, anglers really could have their
hands full with a good-sized channel cat. Yet most cut baits and
get the smaller ones but with the abundance of small fish you
really must concentrate on bigger baits to get the better bites.
With most fishermen concentrating on the numbers of fish caught
rather than the size anglers really have an opportunity here.
Those who concentrate on looking for big fish can catch many fish
over ten pounds, and some upwards of twenty pounds can be taken
regularly.
For a catfish
life isn’t all the glory filled, try to imagine trying to
eat in a world with very little visibility and without the tools
some of the other species have to help them locate their meals.
Ask your neighbor to help you try this, before you get to their
refrigerator, stop about 10 feet short. Close your eyes, and have
them spin you around a few times. Now, with your eyes still closed,
head for the refrigerator and get your intended meal. By the time
the intended meal is found, you can rest assured the refrigerator
will look as if a bomb exploded, complete with a few ounces of
spilled liquids and mystery-meat. Face-it we not too good at locating
and eating food when blind - this is a given. But many species
of animals eat food with little more than a sense of hearing or
movement. Catfish also have a diminished ability to locate food
via sight. And, while they do not have to deal with the modern
refrigerator, catfish do essentially forage about until they get
a hold of something edible.
When the
catfish is on a scent, the whiskers will be spread out wide like
ape-hanger handlebars on a Harley. If the fish loses the scent,
or gets near the bottom, the whiskers act more like the cane of
a blind person - seemingly searching the ground for something
as if they were an appendage. Finally, after a lot of moving about
and whisker-searching, the target is located. Depending on the
conditions, a live worm being normal, native forage, the catfish
will tend to locate and devour the meal with little hesitation.
After the
fish senses that the forage is near its mouth, the catfish draws
the prey into mouth by picking up a lot of water now, if the located
item is not native food, like a stinkbait or cut bait, the fish
will tend to be way more cautious before eating it. Which brings
us to where the fisherman/fisherwoman comes in?
Remember when
we toss bait, or lure out to catch a catfish, we primarily fish
with that which we have the most confidence in. In the above example,
the fish will tend to locate and eat the forage with no major
concern over the content. Yet, if you change the from their normal
forage the fish it may be much less eager to eat the bait, and
instead decide to investigate the food item more closely.
The baits
used to fool catfish vary as much as the techniques used to catch
them. Standard baits for catfish include Worms, livers, clams,
anchovies Big Balls of Dough Baits. For the Big Cats try the Largest
Shad you can find, Live Jumbo Minnow or the smallest bluegill
you can find. (When using bluegill you must not transport them
so catch them where you are going to fish!). Added to this list
are soap, dead mice and many different oily stink baits. are also
a good choice in the Delta. All of the big Catfish Baits are best
on a sliding sinker set-up fished with an open bail is one way
to fool the big cats
Keeping your
bait on the bottom is about the only rule for consistent success.
A simple two-looped surf leader with the weight on the bottom
works well for most anglers.
The smaller
catfish don't seem to be affected by feeling the sinker. The larger
catfish will have a tendency to drop the bait if they feel the
resistance of a sinker. A sliding sinker set-up fished with an
open bail is one way to fool the big cats. Anglers from all over
the state can be found soaking baits in the Deltas many sloughs.
Some prefer night fishing, others certain tides. Enjoy!
Dan
Mathisen
FishDelta.com
- All Species, All Delta
The
Ultimate Resource For California Delta Fishing
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