Catfish spearfishing

[JustAddWater]

Do the flatheads taste any different than the channel cats, or are they pretty much the same? We have bullhead cats here. Are they the same as flatheads?

 

[1MyWay]

Intresting forum. Here in OKlahoma it is legal to catch flathead catfish with your hands. I have never used scuba to catch catfish, because it is not usually necessary. The largest flathead I have caught is 91lbs, and that was from the North Canadian River. It is not as difficult as most think, just reach in grab and hold on. Those who tell you different have never been noodling. Just remeber if the hole goes up let it go, if is goes down, get after it. Flathead catfish will not fight much until you get them on the surface, so be sure to attach a line to them before you bring them up. If you reach into a hole and get attacked and tore up, bet it is a blue cat, there mean SOB's. And yes I have all of my fingers and appendages. I have been noodling for quite some time so I speak from experience. It is a great way to catch large catfish without much effort. Most states outlaw this practice because it takes the large females out of the population. Just remeber if is furry let it go!

 

[mudhole]

Thanks! This is good info. I have been told by some they will take a perforated can of dog food in a mesh bag and place it to attract catfish. Have you ever tried bait? In our area (South Carolina) many large catfish are taken in rivers as well as lakes by fishermen. From your reply I assume you are mostly in lakes. Do you move around or pick a good spot and wait?

Dog food works well in river current to attract channel or blue catfish following the scent carried with the current. Channel catfish can taste good or bad. It depends on what they have found to eat. In Oklahoma there are only a few of our rivers have water clear enough to dive, and they have restrictions for diving. Hunting catfish you need to keep moving. Channel you move around till you find the fish. Flathead catfish are harder to see and will frequently be in holes in rocks, under trees or any shadowy area. Find an area with lots of baitfish then look for hiding places close by. When you find fish in a hole, mark the spot because fish will use the same place year after year. There is a tree stump with lots of exposed roots that has been a good catfish hole for me for over 25 years.

 

[fishoutawater]

Do the flatheads taste any different than the channel cats, or are they pretty much the same? We have bullhead cats here. Are they the same as flatheads?

I think Flatheads taste better than channels. At least out of the Mississippi river anyway. Whiter and flakier (is that a word?)
As far as bait and attracting them, yes, a couple perforated cans of the cheapest, greasiest dog food you can find works well. One brand I've used that seems to work pretty good is Old Heart dog food. Really nasty stuff. One old dude told me to mix some Old Heart with some limburger cheese and set it in the sun for a few days to rot, works real good as bait. I tried to do that once, but found that blowing chunks while trying to put it on a hook was no fun at all. I think it's the blown chunks that actually draws the fish in.
I've found that natural baits taken from the same area you plan to fish works the best. Right now flatheads will be hitting on live shad and bluegill, channels really like grasshoppers this time of year. Channels like chicken livers all year. Another old geezer I know swears by baby birds. I can't quite bring myself to do that one.
My very favorite technique is big flatheadin' at night. Anchor boat in a shallow sand flat next to the main channel at night. Tie a gallon jug to end of your anchor rope so you can just throw it overboard when a big flatty hits. Use a large bluegill for bait, thirty pound test line with a large hook and 1 once slip sinker. Cast it in, sit back and drink beer and swat skeeters (if you have to use Deet, wash your hands with soap before you handle bait). Leave the bail open to let bluegill swim around. When Flatty hits, let him run with the bait. If it looks like it might be a big one, go ahead and untie the anchor line and throw it overboard. When he stops running with the bait, close the bail and set hook hard, be ready to fight a freight train. I had one pull me and my boat around the river for 45 minutes one night. He was my personal biggest at 46lbs.

This is a little Channel I caught this spring:

 

[DennisW]

Fresh catfish is really good. (I don't like catfish that isn't really fresh, tastes too fishy.) However, as Mudhole has said, spearing fish in fresh water is not legal everywhere. Check the state laws regarding fish spearing where ever you intend to fish.

 

[chuck41]

Arkansas allows SCUBA spearfishing in SOME waters during open season (Mar 15 to June 15th {or July 15th for flatheads} the season is closed). I fish Lake Ouachita, near Hot Springs. Catfish are great, but my favorite fish for hunting is crappie, with walleye and cats sharing the second place. Bass I mostly leave to the plug chunkers.
I use a Mares 70cm pneumatic speargun. The band types take too long to reload when you get into a bunch of fish, and sometimes you can't see past the end of the gun with the longer band types.

 

[Quetzal]

In SC its legal to shoot Cats.
http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/etc/rulesregs/pdf/nongamefish.pdf

 

[Krusty]

I watched a tv show on discovery or NGC where they were nuddling for cats. They were pulling 50+ lb cats out of rivers in the bayou this way. Showed some old guy who lost 3 fingers to a catfish. No way am i sticking my hand ina cats mouth give me the good ol dynamite and ill show you some fishing!!!!!!!!

 

[mudhole]

I gave you advise to move around to search for catfish. Yesterday My partners and I had to do the same. Falling lake levels, poorer visibility than normal and strong winds made us pass on the locations I knew so well, and find some new places.

We chose a protected shore that I haven't been to in over 20 years. We searched a rocky shoreline with small rocks with occasional big bolders above the waterline, similar underwater. It was muddy at the surface, clearer at depth. We went down to 30 feet where the thermocline was, and the best viz. We headed out and looked above and below looking for shadows. Most of the "cover" we found were sunken trees, big shadow; or rock piles, small darker shadows. Each time we say hiding places we moved to approach cover from below.

Some places we found were in cold water, we passed them quickly. Others were in a good depth but no baitfish, we looked them over quickly and kept moving. When we found cover and baitfish we searched closely. This area won't become a favorite, but we found fish, several channel catfish and a flathead. Searching for a bottom your fish likes, changing depths to look for good temperatures, looking for baitfish and searching a large area for the few fish holding conditions will help you find fish. Write down a description of the places you find. Lake levels, time of year any variables should go into a logbook.

I hope these ideas help you. Also, look in your area dive shops and ask for local spearfishermen. A shared dive with a local successful spearfisherman, can start you on quick learning curve.

 

[Speeddy]

Anybody shoot catfish in South Carolina or Southeast? Do you use bait? Nighttime? What type of gun and length? Rivers or lakes?

My son and I pole spear cats.He is 14 years old and pretty good at it.It's best to do it at dark with a good light I got my son a cannon 100 dive light with the hid bulb you can't beat it.It uses 8 c battery with about 8 hrs on a set of battery's. We spear fish on the rocks at Lake Thurmond dam on SC side.There is a Plane sunk there it's in about 35 ft water the rocks stops at 25 ft. You need to breath real slow so you want spook the fish. All you need is 6 ft pole spear with a good rock tips or the tip that has 3 prongs I think it's callled parolizer tip. I mite have miss spelled it lol.It takes to long to reload a gun.It only takes a few sec for a pole spear lol