I think I was using a wooly bugger when I caught a foot long catfish in about two feet of water. Is this common. Long as I'm here- could anyone show me a wooly bugger so I know if I got it right?
Turns out I was using one. Not as ornate as the two I just looked at. It came out of a Wal-Mart fly pack.
I think the little bugger just drifted to the bottom at the right time and catfish thought he was having a free caterpillar meal. I've heard of the locals catching big cats on live minnows.
It sounds like you are just starting out in flyfishing. Check out my website and see if that helps you get going in the right direction. Good luck and keep me posted on your progress.
On the Red River, north of Winnipeg, they catch monster channel cats. As well as carp (people come from England for them) drum, walleye, sauger and the odd sturgeon!:whoa: So this year i'm gonna git me some
I've seen alot of carp caught on a fly, but monster channel cats! That would be awesome. I come from a huge catfish fishing family, my uncle is a catfish guide on the Ohio River and my father has travelled all over the country doing quite well in Catfish tournaments.
we fish a helluva lot of wooly buggers for bass and other species. this time of year, we fish them almost exclusively, and yes on almost every trip, someone manages to land a nice cat. we have caught many cats on minnow imitations and leech patterns...dave's craw patterns work well all summer long in my local haunts....had a nice fast action rod snapped by a nice flathead last year....still got the big boy to the bank....nice dinner, he was
From what I've read and seen on tv, flatheads are more of a predator than a scavenger and actually prefer live food/bait.
In my area we have more bullheads than catfish, but even they will go after lures on occasion. I've also seen a bullhead in an aquarium chasing and eating bait fish. We'd net a bunch of bait, dump it into the tank and enjoy the show. The tank also had sunfish, perch, crappie and largemouths, and the bullhead chased down the bait just as aggressively as the rest of the fish. It would continue to grab bait even before it was even done swallowing what it had in its mouth!
in northeast tennessee where i spent many a summer vacation. local river guides will warn you about using anything smaller than a 7 or 8 wt. rod because of the channnel cats......i've seen many caught on strymph patterns while smallie fishing....green river here in central ky is famous for its cats.....that's where i lost my rod.....50+ lbs. flatheads caught on heavy tackle and hand lines all summer long, especially down through Adair county.....
Im not surprised that you would catch a cat on a big fly. When my son was younger I used to take him down to the Ohio River to fish for smallmouth and sauger. The best way for a kid to catch them is with a minnow and a single split shot. Usually we used big fatheads, about 3 - 4 inches long. It was not unusual to catch a channel cat on a minnow. They are definitely predators. Never caught one on a fly rod, though, probably because they feed near the bottom and the water there is 15-20 feet deep.
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