Tips For Catching Channel Catfish in The Spring, Summer, and Fall

If you are looking for information on catching channel catfish, Mark gives some great tips for catching channel catfish.

Bait Fishing - Catching Channel Catfish in the Spring, Summer, and Fall - Details Here!

Channel cats are the most studied species of catfish, but compared to other game fish studies the amount of data available is minimal. Most of the data that is available about channel catfish's seasonal movement is based on just a few rivers, lakes and reservoirs that have been watched closely.
One factor that remains constant when you are talking about seasonal movements of catfish is the fact that the length of daylight effects all species of catfish. Some species such as the channel cat are effected more then other species such as the blue catfish and flat head catfish. Actually the length of day effects small organisms and all animals up the food chain to include game fish. The intensity and length of light effects drives the yearly migration and spawning and feeding patterns of channel catfish, blue catfish, and flat head catfish. If you can learn these patterns you will enjoy more productive channel catfish bait fishing trips on a regular basis.

The channel catfish's movements can be analyzed by using a very good the catfish calendar that the In - Fisherman developed. This calendar can be obtained by purchasing their book In - Fisherman Critical Concepts. Basically the calendar divides North America into the Southern range, The Mid range, and the Northern Range. The calendar has ten periods which include catfish pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, pre-summer, summer peak, summer, post-summer, fall turnover, cold water, winter. Each of these periods is posted on the calendar through all months of the year in all ranges, so you can predict where catfish will be and what kind of catfish bait you can use in your local area. Or if you are planning a trip to catch a mess of catfish out of state you can use the calendar to pick the best time of year.

The winter period includes the cold water and winter periods. This period is classified as long periods of time that the water temperature is below the normal range for catfish. Channel cats will continue to feed during this period but they won't be as active when compared to other times of the year. If you plan on going bait fishing to catch some channel catfish at this time of your look for deep water holes that is where they will be holding for the winter. Temperature ranges in the winter average from 32 degrees to 39 degrees in Manitoba to 40 degrees to 50 degrees in Florida.

The spring coldwater period arrives right after ice-out in the north and when the water temperatures in the south start to rise. Channel catfish will still be located in deep holes. Unlike walleyes, pike, and sauger, who move quickly into their spawning period, channel catfish, blue catfish, and flat head catfish do not spawn for tow three more months away when water temperatures rise to 75 degrees. When water temperatures rise above 50 degrees channel catfish, blue catfish and flathead catfish will begin to move out of there deep holes looking for the years winter fish kill. This is an ideal time to use gizzard shad and skip jack herring as your catfish bait. All catfish species will be aggressively eating the deed fish kill, even the flat head catfish who normally feeds primarily on live bait fish, such as bluegill, perch, and other catfish and forage fish.

The pre-spawn period is when the channel catfish will start it's migration to smaller rivers, and tributaries to look for food and to find good spawning areas. In lakes or reservoirs this migration may be to the mouth of any incoming creeks or rivers into the lake or reservoir. This time of you're a good catfish bait would fresh mussels and large live creek chubs and large shiners. The main difference between the pre-spawn and early spring period is that the channel catfish's metabolism is increasing and they are becoming more active so they are aggressively looking for catfish bait.

As the water temperatures rise to 75 degrees catfish such as the channel catfish, blue catfish, and flathead catfish enter the spawning period. Channel catfish will spawn for over a month so bait fishing efforts will not be effected. Channel catfish are extremely active and aggressive during the spawning period. A good catfish bait would be cut baits such as gizzard shad, soured mussels, or creek chubs.

The settling period includes the post spawn and the pre-summer periods when water temperatures rise to about 80 degrees and above. The channel catfish has the same activity level and feeding patterns during the summer as they do during the spawn period and your bait fishing methods and catfish bait can remain the same. As the water levels start to drop the channel catfish will start their move to deep water areas down stream or deeper areas on a lake or reservoir. They will still feed aggressively during the night hours in shallows but move deeper during the daylight hours.
The summer period which includes summer peak, summer and post summer periods occurs when the water temperatures rise to 80 degrees and above. The summer period includes much of July, August, and September. Summer is the prime time to fish for channel catfish because they are predicable and actively feeding. You can continue to catch channel catfish while bait fishing using cut bait for your catfish bait selection. Some common bait fish to use for cut bait are gizzard shad, skipjack herring, shiners and creek chubs.
As the cooling period starts channel catfish and blue catfish will head for deeper holes in rivers and lakes. And will be less active as the whole cycle of life starts over again.

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Catching Channel Catfish Tips For Catching Channel Catfish

A great channel cats article from Dan. These catfishing tips are coming from someone who has been there done that and got the tshirt many times over! Enjoy :)

Catching Channel Catfish

Of the over fifty species of catfish living in North American waters, the Channel Catfish is one of the most sought-after by cat anglers, for its incredible fighting power, even in a smaller fish, and also for its delectable eating qualities.

And, there's the fact that a decent-sized Channel cat can easily be in the mid-20 lb. range, with specimens having been taken at nearly 60 lbs. - no small catch, indeed. However, to take a fish like these, requires proper tackle, bait and technique, and above all, the right spot to find the fish you want.

Channel cats, as with virtually all catfish, prefer deeper water, but Channel cats also like it clean, clear, and with a decent current running through. The ideal spots for Channel cats are in places such as the deep holes carved out under a dam outfall, before the shallow "white water" which usually ensues, or in a deep, fast channel in between two lakes, hence the fish's name. Bottom conditions that are mostly rock or rocky, and without too many weeds, are other features to look for, in selecting the ideal Channel cat spot. Above all, find deep water, preferably a hole, where the constant darkness gives the cats the edge on everything else that swims or floats there, due to their exceptional, almost shark-like sense of smell, and their set of eight barbels, or "whiskers" around their mouths, which are not only tactile sensors, but highly developed taste organs as well, enabling the fish to navigate, plus detect, locate, quantify and qualify food items easily, in near total darkness.

As with all catfish, Channel cats have weak eyesight, anyway, but their aforementioned superpowers of smell and sightless sensation more than make up for this. Because of this particular development, Channel cats, and cats in general, are most easily attracted to baits which exhibit an exceptional level of odour, whether or not it's a bad odour.

Once you've found a spot that you think, or know, can produce a good-sized Channel cat, you'll want to prepare the fish, the spot, and your tackle, for your coming fishing expedition. Preparing the fish, and the spot, means chumming the water with a suitably prepared concoction, preferably a few times in advance of the first time you put a line in the water, and at least once, and possibly several times, during your fishing time.

Chumming is one way to gradually condition the fish to accept a particular bait, by presenting them with its smell, again and again, until they are willing to take a large piece of that food, when they find it as bait on the end of your line.

There are dozens of recipes for chum, but most all of them are based on a moist base of stale bread crust, with a bran, oatmeal or flour stiffening agent mixed into it, plus some small pieces of the same bait that you will be using when you fish the spot, and then, some kind of extra-scented additive, such as fish fertilizer or fish paste, cod liver oil, anise seed oil, or anything else you can find that will stink out the neighborhood.

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best saltwater fishing information possible. Get more information on catfish fishing here: http://www.askcatfishfishing.com

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It can be great fun catching channel catfish and there are hundreds of catfishing tips for catching cats, it's just knowing which tips are good and which are not!