In pursuit of the Channel cat on a fly

[gene goss]

When the temp. hit 101...I told my wife that we need to go cool off at Folsom Lake for a couple of days. We loaded up the sailboat, tied on the kayaks, and stuffed the floatube into the boat. The first day i pick a small cove next to a flat....when the sun went down i blew the tube up and started fishing....after 45 mins of fishing (no grabs) the wind change direction, and was blowing about 15 mph....the wind and waves pushed the back of the boat very close to the rocks and shallow water....so i got back on the sailboat, and had to do a anchor watch all night. The next day i decided to look for a safer place to anchor the sailboat....we took the kayaks looking for a new place to fish, and anchor the boat....with the sailboat anchor in a new cove, and sun going down i started fish again....after 2hrs of tubing, i had zippppp to show for it. (no grabs)....got back on the sailboat....got the chickin liver out and my spinning rod....with in a hour i had a 7lbs channel cat on the stringer...hmmmm...there was someone home...took a nap while the wind was doing some strange things...at 2am i through out another glob of chickin liver and hooked 8lbs channel cat, and called it a night....So how can i get these channel cat to grab my fly ????????
I found this web. site on fly fishing for channel cat
http://www.fishexplorer.com/articles.asp?action=det&aid=32
My wife sailing the boat
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10019.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10003.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10020.jpg
beach art
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10016.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10010.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/sailboatfolsomlake9-28-10014.jpg

[Hairstacker]

Hey Gene, nice report! Enjoyed the pictures. Smart thinking teaching your wife how to pilot a boat . . . wonder if I can teach my wife to "man" a trolling motor? :lol:

If you are really interested in targeting catfish on the fly, I would highly recommend you join the board (aka forum) at www.warmfly.com. This is a warmwater board -- just do a search on the word "catfish" and read through the threads that come up. You'll get some great advice and see some great fly patterns, as there are a few very accomplished catfish fly fishermen on that board.

Anyway, good luck! Hope you get a really nice one like the one you pictured above.

[wjorg]

Got one on an elk hair caddis once, by accident, at Lake Del Valle, the old inlet.

I think it was on the first Elk Hair Caddis I ever tied...

And BTW, why isnt Kienes board good enough for ya'll?

[john]

I don't know west coast channels. In the upper missippissi drainage, channel cats that size are silver/blue/grey and damn good eats. Throwing livers, or any other dead baits, will get you mudcats. Channels up here are live bait minnow eaters--read clousers.

[gene goss]

I don't know west coast channels. In the upper missippissi drainage, channel cats that size are silver/blue/grey and damn good eats. Throwing livers, or any other dead baits, will get you mudcats. Channels up here are live bait minnow eaters--read clousers.

Hey John.....Fresh chickin or beef liver the kind you eat with onions.....no stink bait....its the fresh blood scent that attracts them.

[Hairstacker]

And BTW, why isnt Kienes board good enough for ya'll?

It is but do a search on this board to come up with fly fishing-dedicated threads on catfish and see what you come up with. :-|

[Tracy Chimenti]

I went to Shasta on a house boat adventure over 10-years ago. Big channels are a given at dusk on the lake. I caught a half-dozen or so at night flipping gitzits and pig 'n jigs into steep rocky areas. Most cats would bite the jig in a 2- to 4-feet of water.

I think that a nice, slower-falling crayfish imitation on a floating line would do wonders up here. The cats really battle and run 2- to 6-pounds.

Tracy

[Gulicemo]

I think you just have to get lucky... this guy ate a 2/0 whistler.

I've been lead to believe that in smaller waters, where the fish are more concentrated, a dark colored, deep offering can do the trick.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/gulicemo/59383_447472747824_628597824_5206137_5985520_n.jpg

[john]

Hey Gene, appreciate that. Most people menus around here, have liver 'n onions on them. All I'm sayin' is flatheads eat dead stuff, Channel cats eat live stuff, at least 'round here.

[gene goss]

Hey Gene, appreciate that. Most people menus around here, have liver 'n onions on them. All I'm sayin' is flatheads eat dead stuff, Channel cats eat live stuff, at least 'round here.

Your right John.....Channel cats are built to chase down there food (small head)....the channel cats that i caught were well feed....I think if i could put a fly in front of a channel cat....they would grab it....Finding them is the hard part...at dark they move up in the shallow flats and bays....but you can't see them....so how do you fish for a fish you can't see????

[Jet]

I do it all the time... I think its called fishing. :-)

[Nick B]

Just to clarify some stuff...
of the true 'catfish' we have in the Central Valley, almost all of them are channels, flatheads in CA are relegated to the Colorado drainage (and John... flatties eat MEAT. They fish for them using live bluegill, ~1lb carp, live tilapia... flatties are a mean kitty). There are some blue cats in the San Joaquin, but they seem to be very rare. We have several species of bullhead (white catfish, black bullhead and brown bullhead) in the area....

As for channel cat fishing, they primarily munch fish, and late afternoon/evening seems to be the best time to go for them. They seem to hunt in water that is less than 10 ft deep, but i have seen them up in the water column chasing shad on occasion. I have got them on black buggers, big zonkers and of course... bait. I have heard of guys (though I have not tried it) soaking their flies in stink before fishing. Try working veg lines, or steep drop offs next to shallow water, especially if there are a lot of bait fish nearby.... And try to C&R when you can, especially because channels in the CV reservoirs tend to have a pretty high mercury load.

Long story short... ya gotta give some love to the channels from time to time... they pull like a freight train.

[gene goss]

Just to clarify some stuff...
of the true 'catfish' we have in the Central Valley, almost all of them are channels, flatheads in CA are relegated to the Colorado drainage (and John... flatties eat MEAT. They fish for them using live bluegill, ~1lb carp, live tilapia... flatties are a mean kitty). There are some blue cats in the San Joaquin, but they seem to be very rare. We have several species of bullhead (white catfish, black bullhead and brown bullhead) in the area....

As for channel cat fishing, they primarily munch fish, and late afternoon/evening seems to be the best time to go for them. They seem to hunt in water that is less than 10 ft deep, but i have seen them up in the water column chasing shad on occasion. I have got them on black buggers, big zonkers and of course... bait. I have heard of guys (though I have not tried it) soaking their flies in stink before fishing. Try working veg lines, or steep drop offs next to shallow water, especially if there are a lot of bait fish nearby.... And try to C&R when you can, especially because channels in the CV reservoirs tend to have a pretty high mercury load.

Long story short... ya gotta give some love to the channels from time to time... they pull like a freight train.

Hey Nick....Thanks for the info.....When you were fishing for the channels was you fishing from a boat?????......I'm thinking about using a floating line with a indicator to keep the fly from getting snag on the bottom.

[Nick B]

Gene,
I have fished both from a boat and from shore, and done well from both... that 4-10 ft range seems to be the prime depth for those fish. I have never tried an indicator, so I can't help much there... I don't know the water you are fishing, but if you think something like that would really help your presentation, do it. Best thing about channel cats is that few people really fish for them with flies, and you can do a lot of jury rigging.

One thing about channels though, is that they are pretty sensitive to vibrations... so if you are moving that indicator around a lot, it might be a turn off. Good luck, and post more channel cat pics!