First run-in with Johnny Whiskers

[goodfishin]

Had about an hour to kill before picking up my five-year old this eve. Also had his little 3-foot long Junior Ugly Stick in the trunk so decided to hit a tiny pond about the size of my bathtub along the way.

I've never caught catfish before but my son actually pulled a couple of little ones out of that pond last week. So, decided to do what everyone seems to do to catch cats: toss in some chicken livers.

Next thing out know, I get a hefty hit and then had a really fun five-minute fight on my son's little rod and 6-pound test before pulling out this guy.

Very surprising catch and really fun...

Mike

ps like I said, I've never caught a catfish before, so any tips on how to,hold them will be happily accepted.

[surfrod]

nice catch! I wonder about any cats in some of our manmade ponds in the neighborhood. I know they have bass, sunnies and a few have grass carp.... never even thought of trying for cats. Some bucket brigade might have dropped them in :)

[Eskimo]

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That's a good Channel Cat.

I googled "proper way to hold a catfish" and came up with some youtube videos, but youtube (and most internet sites for that matter) are blocked here at work.

See if this works.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnE0Kvc5I14

You definitely don't want to stick your fingers in their mouth. The most painful bite I ever received from a fish was when I stuck my fingers in the mouth of a Yellow Bullhead to unhook it. OUCH! They don't have big teeth, but their jaws have this surprising crushing power.



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[lunkertaker]

Nice. My son used to catch em on his Scoobly Doo Rod.

Livers are a sure bet for cats, but watch out for those eels:eek:

Also love shrimp..aged in the heat for extra fermentation power.

[zhitoman]

The worst bite I had was from a toadfish.

[KRocks]

My kids "Dora the Explorer" rod and reel outfit got into an unexpected tangle with a 2 lb LMB
last summer when we would have been happy with a couple of more sunnies. And yes, I have a pic to prove it Eskimo. ;)

Catfish are surprising. However, I neved targeted them as a species. Until.........recently. By accident of course. Check out my recent post from Blue Lake.

My "personal best" channel cat and got her on the TROLL in 20+ feet of water with a keitech jig type rig. Go figure?? :). Tight lines y'all!