Most articles are written about Blues and Flatheads and I think the Channel Cat deserves a little more respect!
There are more Channel Cats in North America than any other catfish species. Channel Cats are really fun to catch and great to eat! We see articles all the time on how to locate and catch Blues and Flatheads so let’s address the same issues in this article about Channel Cats.
Just like with Blues and Flatheads the time of year dictates where to locate Channel Cats.
If you locate bait you can be sure that there are Channel Cats nearby. Catfish are, by nature, opportunistic feeders and will stay close to schools of bait. Channel Cats love flats and shallow water that warms up first in the spring. During spawning the Channels will spawn in rocks, rotted out trees, wood and tires etc.
They will spawn any place where they think their eggs are safe. After the spawn they will pull out to deeper water to regroup from the spawn and then after a few days start feeding heavily again. In the fall, Channels put on their feed bags. I love to Channel Catfish in the fall. Channels will eat in the winter but are not nearly as aggressive as other times of the year.
Once you locate the fish how do you get them to bite? Remember, Channels are opportunistic feeders.
I believe if you put bait which is smelly, oily or rotten, in front of a Channel you will probably get a bite. The following is a list of some good Channel Cat baits: Shad, Creek Chubs, Night crawlers, Shrimp, Dip Baits, Bluegill, Minnows, Crayfish and Frogs. As you can see Channels will eat just about anything.
Now that you have located the Channels and have the right bait, you need to be using the right equipment.
Although Channels are opportunistic feeders they can also be finicky at times. If you are going to target Channels you need to have a fishing rod designed for Channels. In my opinion, The Whisker Whips by Tangling With Catfish are the best Channel Cat rods on the market.
Check them out at www.tanglingwithcatfish.com. You need to have a rod with a tip soft enough that it does not alert the Channel to something unnatural in their habitat. However, the rod needs enough backbone to land the fish. A 10 pound Channel will fight like a 30 pound Blue.
Each year there are more and more tournaments where the targeted fish are Channel Cats. The Cabela’s King Kat tournament trail had 5 tournaments, including their Classic last year, that were on waters that featured Channels as the targeted species. If you have not targeted Channels in the past, give them a chance, you will have a blast!
Joe Ludtke
