Catfish is a relatively common large fish species, mainly distributed in the Pearl River and Yangtze River waters of China, usually in reservoirs, lakes have their presence. After the large catfish is hooked, the sound of the fishing line tearing the air is haunting and is loved by fishing enthusiasts. This article is about how to fish for catfish.
Learn about the habits of catfish
Feeding habits of catfish
Perfect time for catfishing
Fishing methods suitable for catfish
Other considerations
The above five points are the main content of this article, when it comes to catfish, everyone will think of the "catfish effect", catfish is not a simple fish species, let's understand the life habits of catfish.
The body is elongated, the head is flattened, and the tail side is flattened. The mouth is lower, the mouth is small, and the end reaches only below the front edge. The jaw is protruding. The interdental teeth are fine, villi-like, the jaw teeth and pear teeth are arranged in a curved band, the pear bone tooth belt is continuous, and the middle of the posterior margin is slightly concave. The eyes are small and covered by skin membranes. Adults have 2 pairs of 4 whiskers, the upper jaws can reach deep into the end of the pectoral fin, and the lower jaws are shorter. There are 3 pairs of juvenile fish, and 1 pair of chin whiskers begins to disappear when the body length reaches about 60 mm. Catfish are mucous and have no scales. The dorsal fin is small, has no hard spines, and has 4 to 6 fins. Adipose fins free. The fin is long and the posterior end is attached to the caudal fin. Catfish are usually dark brown or greyish-black in color with slightly dark cloud-like patches.
Catfish are ferocious bottom fish. Afraid of light, he prefers to live in stone crevices, deep pits, earthen caves or caves at the bottom of tree roots, and in slow-flowing waters near the banks of rivers. In the still water of reservoirs, ponds, lakes, and weirs, there are many submerged areas or under the patches of water lotuses, peanuts, and hyacinths. In the spring, activities begin and foraging. After winter, it does not eat, lurks in deep water or caves for the winter, and if there is nothing to disturb, it generally does not swim. Catfish have small eyes, weak vision, diurnal and nocturnal, all by smell and two pairs of tentacles to hunt, very gluttonous, the hotter the weather, the greater the amount of food, in cloudy days and at night activities frequently.
Catfish also have a more interesting phenomenon, it will change the body color with oxygen, water quality, water temperature and water depth and other growth environment changes. For example, in clear and warm water, catfish have a lighter body color, and in muddy water or in places with darker light around, the body color will become darker. When frightened, catfish also change color to suit their surroundings. Catfish can be described as nature's "camouflage master".
Catfish feed on small fish, shrimp, loach, and juvenile snails, and are also interested in carrion and animal livers. It also eats earthworms, green insects, small mice, frogs, grasshoppers and so on. Catfish rely mainly on two pairs of tentacles to find food, are not good at swimming but are explosive, and often hunt food in the form of sudden ambushes.
We humans use our tongues to feel the taste, while catfish taste by a few pairs of whiskers at the corners of the mouth. Before the catfish kills food, it will use the whiskers in the corners of its mouth to feel whether the food is safe, and the catfish will attack the food on the premise of determining that the food is not a threat to itself.
No matter what fish you catch, if you want to have a good harvest, you must grasp the timing of fishing. From the above introduction to habits, it can be seen that catfish are heat-loving species. Appetite is most exuberant around autumn, and after late autumn, the amount of food intake will decrease, and in winter, it will hide in the bottom of the deep pool to roost. Among them, you can fish at three o'clock in the afternoon in the summer and autumn. At this time, the catfish could not stop the desire to prey.
Catfish are afraid of strong light, like weak light, like to lie down at night, especially when the water is rising, with the help of muddy waters to move around. Catfish are also very active on rainy days, so the timing suitable for catfish fishing is: cloudy, rainy, sunny, windless and rainy nights. Of course, during the sunny day, if you want to catch catfish, you need to find shade places such as tree shade or under bridge holes and water hyacinths.
Summary: Choosing the right timing of fishing often allows us to do more with less.
There are many ways to fish for catfish, let's introduce several more familiar fishing methods, each fishing method will be different, you can also experience different fishing fun.
Hand rod fishing method: It is recommended to use a hard rod of more than 4.5 meters, because the catfish is fierce and abnormal, and the teeth are very sharp, so it is recommended to use pe line to prevent catfish from biting the broken line and escaping. The fishing hook can be used in the 6-10 isenay, and the fishing bottom can be selected. Fishing can be relatively blunt, the reaction of floating is to move a few times and then submerge into the water, which is commonly known as 'black drift', 2-3 seconds after black drift is the best time to lift the rod. It should be noted that the mouth of the catfish is relatively hard, and the rod must be stabbed hard when lifting the rod.
Lua fishing method: Lua catfish, the most important thing is to find fish. Starting from the catfish is more afraid of light, first choose the depth of the combination, the current is stable, the underwater structure layer is more complex area to find catfish, and then use soft bait to attract the attention of catfish, the fishing hook as far as possible to throw farther, at the same time, whether with sequins or soft bait to jump the bottom, the amplitude of the bottom should not be too large, when the fish give the opposite direction of the force and then stab the fish. To add a little: catfish fishing tackle selection requirements are not high, to be strong, due to its poor vision, the requirements for the bait is not high, it is not recommended to use expensive bait.
Rod fishing method: The rod fishing method is a method used by Xiaobian when he was a child, we use a crooked head hook, take 3-5 meters of pe line directly tied to the fish hook, put on the lead pendant, tie the other end to the bushes, hang the bait, and throw the bait into the water. This fishing method can be more than a few, no need for us to guard, the interval time to come to check. Tips: This fishing method recommends that pig liver be used for bait, which can effectively avoid the bait from being eaten by small fish and shrimp too early.
Catfish is a carnivore, suitable for fishing catfish bait more, such as earthworms, loach, animal liver, large green worms, small shrimp, etc. are good choices for fishing catfish, catfish like to eat carrion, fishing with animal liver, you can deliberately cover the bait to increase its fishy taste, odor. Of course, it is also necessary to adapt to local conditions, and the eating habits of fish in different waters will be different. When taking the bait, be sure to expose the fish hook, so that the catfish can be hung up at the first time and reduce the occurrence of running fish.
The first impression of catfish is that it eats fiercely and gluttonously, but in fact, it is extremely sensitive to the weather, so no matter what season it is fished in, if it encounters winds above level five, it is not suitable for catfish fishing. When fishing for catfish with a rod, special attention should be paid to the movements, and it should be as fast, accurate and fierce as possible.
Write to the end:
Catfish are widely distributed, in most of the waters in our country can see its figure, fishing needs to be around the habits and characteristics of catfish to make the best fishing plan, but fishing has no law, one side of the water and soil to raise one side of the fish, we need to combine the actual situation, adjust the best fishing plan.
Some advice on safety: Since catfish fishing is mostly at night, under the dark starry sky, the line of sight is obstructed, and special attention should be paid to safety. If you have the conditions, you can survey the terrain in advance during the day, so that when you walk your fish at night, you will have a good idea of the terrain. At the same time, it is also recommended to walk together and take care of each other. When fishing for catfish on a rainy day, the ground is slippery, so be sure to pay attention to your feet to prevent landslides.
Finally, I would like to appeal to the majority of anglers: please take the fishing garbage away, the fish do not like it. Leaving a clear spring is a responsibility and a piece of love. I'm a ding-dong cat who loves fishing, thank you.