In April, when the dogwoods bloomed, the crappie started bedding on my favorite lake. Catching 30 or more a day was a cinch. Largemouth bass were spawning at the same time, and a lure worked near shoreline shallows produced one on nearly every other cast. May was bluegill time; scores of these fat panfish could be taken from a single bed when using crickets for bait. Spawning season is peak time to catch many game fish, but when catfish are considered, it's a different story.
The spawning habits of catfish differ greatly from those of other game fish, and fishing success may take a nosedive when blues, flatheads and channel cats are on their nests. Unless you understand why this occurs, you're likely to return from a late-spring or early-summer fishing trip frustrated and perplexed.
All of our major catfish species spawn during spring or summer when the water warms to an optimal temperature. Channel and blue catfish spawn at 70 to 84 degrees, but 80 to 81 degrees is considered best. Flatheads spawn at 66 to 75 degrees. Not surprisingly spawning begins at different times in different latitudes, progressing from south to north.
Even more important to anglers in their home waters, spawning also may occur at different times within a single body of water. For example, nesting activity often begins first in the headwaters area of a large lake. Creeks and small streams above the lake warm first because they are shallow and fed by the first warming rains. These in turn feed larger streams flowing into the lake, and they, too, warm up before the deeper main lake.
Thus, headwater reaches attract catfish early in the season and are among the best catfishing areas this time of year. All our catfish are cavity nesters. Blue catfish deposit their eggs between rocks, in root wads, depressions, undercut banks or other areas protected from strong current.
Flatheads select sites such as hollow logs, excavated caves in clay banks, root masses from downed trees or manmade structures such as old tires, car bodies and metal drums. Channel catfish usually select dark, secluded spots such as crevices in piles of woody debris, burrows in banks, and spaces between and under rocks.
A sexually mature male selects and cleans a nest site and spawns with a female he lures there. After the female lays her mound of sticky yellow eggs, the male fertilizes the mass, drives the female from the nest and begins guard duty. He protects the nest from predators and fans the eggs with his fins to keep them aerated and free from sediments. The eggs hatch in six to 10 days depending on water temperature , and the compact school of fry remains near the nest a few days before dispersing.
The male guards the fry until they leave. Catfish enthusiasts who fish during the spawn may notice a sharp drop in catch rates because male catfish eat very little while protecting the nest.
Fortunately, the peak of the spawn is over in a few days. And because fish in a system don't all spawn at the same time, a section of river or lake may contain pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawn catfish. If water conditions are favorable, some active feeders will always be available to catch, so there may be no noticeable decline in fishing success.
If poor fishing is noticed and can't be attributed to other causes, the angler can wait a few days until the spawning peak passes and male cats are feeding more actively once again.
When catfishing success is poor, it also may help to focus your fishing efforts in areas you might not previously have considered fishing. For example, if you normally fish in the main portion of a lake, you may find that catfish bites are rare during the spawning period if you continue fishing your flat-water hotspots.
The best fishing often is in tributary streams instead because, as the water temperature warms, catfish migrate upstream into tributaries to spawn. Read on to find out when you might want to leave your fishing pole at home. Therefore, for the catfish, geography is destiny. Because water in southern latitudes warms first, catfish-spawning season begins in the south first. Most species spawn in the late spring or early summer. Obviously, it takes longer for a lake to heat up than it does for a shallow backwater to do so.
Yellow bullheads begin a month later. Remember, too, that not all fish in a water system spawn at the same time. Any part of a lake or river may have catfish at one of three stages: pre-spawn, spawn, or post-spawn. And of course, there will be fish too young to spawn. You'll observe dark or black spots on juveniles and small adults and may want to toss them back. After all, white catfish can live to be about 14 years old, and the oldest Canadian catfish ever caught was estimated to be about 24 years old.
Letting the young catfish live may allow you to catch a larger catfish in a year or two. Let's say you're determined to catch a catfish during spawning season. Where would you hide, if you were a catfish? Check out the next page for some ideas on where to cast your bait.
If you were a catfish, you'd nest in a secluded, dark cavity. Think of spaces under and between stones or heaps of debris from overhanging woods. Some fish will even choose places left by humans such as metal drums, old tires or bodies of submerged automobiles.
Caves or burrows in clay banks, banks that have been undercut, crevices and hollow logs are all inviting. If the fish aren't biting in your usual spots in the main part of a river or lake, consider moving to narrower or shallower waters. During spawning season, catfish will migrate into tributaries, which grow warm faster than the larger body of water. Tributary mouths are key locations, because catfish ready to spawn use it as a staging area.
If you settle in just upstream of these places, you may be able to catch some of the catfish that waiting to ambush prey of their own from behind shelters that provide breaks in the current. Another prime spot to try would be downstream from dams constructed on large rivers. Catfish that find their usual spawning migration routes blocked will use the dam areas as very convenient alternatives. Those tailwaters are well stocked with an abundance of food favored by catfish.
Check out the water that moves more slowly between the open gates of the dam. Some species will spawn twice in one season. After they leave the nest, the fry will stick together in compact schools until they can find a place that offers suitable cover.
They will disperse and feed at night. Now that you know where to find catfish during the spawn, let's take a look at how to go about actually catching them. Catfish taste food with external taste buds located on those distinctive barbels , or whiskers. Early summer is called the pre-spawn period, and catfish are looking for places to nest. They're also feeding heavily. This means large groups of fish feeding in fairly predictable locations. Fishing gets tougher after the catfish begin spawning, sometime between late June and August.
But you will not find a more enjoyable fishing experience than catfishing in Indiana during May and June. The combined White River enters the Wabash near Mt.
Both are loaded with catfish, and the Department of Natural Resources DNR has provided public access ramps along both rivers. Call the DNR at for information on maps, access points.
Brochin fishes the White River with a johnboat powered by a jet outboard. This allows him to run through very skinny water, with no prop to worry about. Know this before you launch any rig here: The river is often shallow especially in the summer and filled with snags. The White River is a public waterway. Still, you must stay within the high-water marks on the banks, and never trespass on private property along the river. Carry out all your trash, and release the biggest fish you catch, keeping the smaller ones to eat.
The White River is one of Indiana's best natural resources, and we need to preserve what is just downstream. Catfish in the White seek two things - cover and deep water. Cover is often in the form of trees, either submerged tree trunks or logjams. In some areas, chunks of concrete have been used as riprap to help slow erosion. In other places, natural rock and gravel can be found. Anything that a fish can hide in or hold around is subject to attract cats, provided it is in deep enough water.
You might catch a decent channel cat out of the waterlogged backseat of a sunken car. At this time of year, especially, the cats are looking for potential spawning sites.
Reading water means being able to see this cover, as it would look underwater. The places that look too snag-infested to cast into are exactly where you should be fishing. Depending on where you fish the White, the average depth can run from several feet to over Finding the deepest holes within a given stretch of water provides you access to most of the fish within that stretch.
The biggest catfish will claim spots near the deepest water, and all decent-sized fish are not far from a hole of some depth, say 6 feet deep or so. Be advised, some holes are more than 20 feet deep. Catfish are willing to travel into shallow water to feed. At night, especially, it is not unusual to catch a really big fish in water barely knee deep.
Brochin says one additional thing about location when fishing the White: Move often. If I don't catch a fish, or even if I catch a few, I'll move to the next spot. That way I find active fish. But how do you fish a likely looking spot? It depends on whether you are pursuing channels or flatheads. Channel cats require different tackle and bait, and slightly different strategies.
Once you have found a spot with some depth and cover, anchor above the hole. Then I allow my boat to drift silently back into casting position. Brochin then throws pieces of cut bait - cut fish - toward different targets. He will place some baits in front of wood snags, for example, and others in the deepest section of the hole. Other baits go near the head of the hole, where the current slows and the water deepens.
He may fish as many as three rods at one time, or even more if there are others fishing in the boat. There is a limit of three rods per person in Indiana. Because of the abundant cover, he spools with at least pound-test line. Still, some fish will be lost. A necessary element of catfis. Channel cats fall for cut baits. You can catch your own bait from ponds and creeks, and good bait shops sell frozen shad or jars of shad guts.
Suckers and chubs, available at some bait shops can be effective when kept fresh and fished in chunks. Early in the summer, night crawlers will work, too. You will often fish near the bottom, so bring plenty of lead. Depending on the current, you may need from 1- to 5-ounce sinkers. The best catfish bait shops carry large sinkers.
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