03-21-2005, 04:26 PM
Mmmmmm, I would say your first mistake is trying to catch a catfish with an artificial lure. I've heard of it being done, but it's a rare occurance asside from the small 1 or 2 pound baby catfish that don't know any better. I mostly saltwater fish, however, one of my favorite fish to catch are large Flathead Catfish. I live about 30 minutes from Santee Cooper river in South Carolina, and cat's in excess of 50 pounds are caught quite often. Large catfish are actually pretty smart predators. Unless they are really hungry, they're not just going to chomp down something and swallow it. And believe it or not, the different species of catfish's feeding habbits are as different as night and day. Here's a break down of it for you....... Channel cats are the "crap eatters" of the bunch. They are the ones that eat the stink bait, hot dogs, and all the other left over groceries that people talk about fishing with. They are relatively small in size, i'd say if you caught a 10 pounder you've got a big one. And thier eating quality is less to be desired in my book. Next up would be the blue catfish. They are scavengers like the channel catfish, however, they prefer fresh dead bait as apposed to "anything" that they come accross. You may still snag a hungry one on a stink bait or something along those lines, but fresh cut herring or bream is probably best. Thier food quality is better than the channel, but, I would still throw one back if I caught one. Remember, a fish IS what is eats. The last of the most common species is the Flat Head Catfish. Flat heads are the hunters of the group. They prefer live bait but will also chomp down fresh cut bait. They get huge in size. The previous world record flat head was actually caught here in SC at Santee Cooper river weighing in around 100 pounds. Thier food quality is exellent, i'm talking in comparison with saltwater species such as Wahoo and Sheepshead. Oh, and by the way, don't let catfish fool you. You may think they're fat and sluggish, but they're not. Cat fish are like fat boys with a rocket up thier ass. They can peel line off a reel at an explosive rate of speed, faster than most other fresh water species asside from pike or peacock bass. I've even seen 30+ pounders breech the water like a marlin. They are nimble and powerful. I'd be willing to bet that 10 pounder you were trying to catch would have made light work of that 8 pound test. They're not like a bass. Were as a bass would have "horsepower," a catfish has "torque" and "gas" mileage. Think about it. I'd be willing to bet if you slid a small, live minnow or a piece of cut bait in front of that cat, she'd have swallowed it down, nesting or not. Give that a thought. Also, check out your local walmarts. They sell a catfish stradegy book that is cheap and give a break down of all the species. It'll help you alot if you plan on targeting large catfish in the future. Good luck and I hope I was of some help.
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