Water’s warming and the catfish are turning on
Last weekend, on what was a summer-like day on Barnett Reservoir, I watched three youngsters catch catfish on every cast. Didn’t really matter to them the size, they hooted with every one they reeled in and actually competed to see who could boat the littlest cat. They took home over 25 perfect for cleaning and eating.
A couple of days later, while bass fishing, I saw pro angler Pete Ponds of Madison bow up against a big fish that had taken his Bandit Flat Maxx crankbait. Turned out, it was the big fish of the day and it forevermore had a large mouth. But it was a 15-pound channel catfish, and not the giant largemouth bass Ponds was seeking on a private lake near Flora.
“Doesn’t matter,” Ponds said. “It was fun catching one that big. Can you believe that in this heat, that catfish hit that crankbait moving that fast?”
Didn’t just hit it; it annihilated it, knocking paint off the lure’s side. Those two examples show why the catfish is so popular in Mississippi, dating back way before we started farming them and serving them by the tonnage at all-you-can-eat restaurants across the state.
They bite whenever you serve them the opportunity.
In the heat of the summer, whether jugging on the Mississippi River or Barnett Reservoir, or drowning wigglers in a farm or subdivision pond, catfish will bite when nothing else will, and usually in great number.
Fun to eat, fun to catch
Delicious? OK, so you don’t have to be told about the soul-satisfying experience of what my mom called “eating cats and dogs” — fried catfish and hushpuppies.
Fun? You bet, even if they are slimy and have those dangerous spears for fins.
There are so many pleasurable ways to catch catfish — trotlines and tightlines, jugging and grabbling. My favorite? Jugging. Just requires a boat, some bait (and anything will do), some form of floating devices (it started with jugs) and about 3 to 10 feet of drop line with weights and hooks. You fix up about 20 or 25 jugs each, and toss them in a spread over a fishy looking area and let the wind and current do the work.
As they move, the smell of the bait will spread through the water like a chum line in salt water, attracting the sensitive creatures to investigate. When they find the tasty morsel suspended in the water, they can’t resist and take a bite. As they swim away, the jug puts just enough resistance on the line to set the hook. The harder the fish pulls, the better the hookset.
When you see a jug start moving or bobbing in the water, simply chase it down, grab it and pull in your prize. There’s plenty of time for a cooling swim.
Take a youngster to the flats
On big waters, like Barnett Reservoir, catching a boatload of catfish is about as easy as it can be, if you find the right location. Catfish are always underutilized as a resource and therefore plentiful.
Style isn’t as critical as location. The key is finding a 10- to 12-foot flat surrounded by deeper water. If the river channel is near, it’s perfect.
You can jug or trotline in legal areas and catch fish by covering a lot of water. That’s fun, for sure, but kids like something a little more active and casting for fish is the way to go.
Take a lot of close-faced and spinning reels they can handle, and get ready for non-stop action. I have had great success by chumming up an area, and give you an example. Using cheap canned dog/cat food, I prepared my favorite flat the day before I took a half dozen young-uns out on my pontoon boat. I opened the cans and poured the cans around the area.
The next day, I came back with a friend and the kids and had a ball. We caught hundreds, literally hundreds, on nightcrawlers and old freezer burned shrimp.
The pontoon boat with a top provided relief from the sun and a perfect summer fishing platform for a group of young fishermen. The action is addictive. Take a box of refreshments, sunscreen, plenty of bait and an awful lot of patience, because you will be spending a lot of time unhooking fish, baiting hooks and exchanging high fives.
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