Creature Feature: Catching Catfish

Photo courtesy of Alan Englebrecht

Cooler water temperatures stir various types of catfish to think about eating even more than they do during the warmer summer months. Catfish can be found in all of the tidal creeks and rivers flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, and many lakes throughout Maryland. Catching them is simple and provides some fun fishing from lake and river banks.

All you really need is a good friend or your parents to enjoy this type of peaceful fishing. A good chair or bucket to sit on and a sunny spot to fish are important too, as well as a forked stick and your favorite spinning outfit.

Catfish like fresh cut bait from most any kind of fish you can find. Sunfish, minnows and white perch are all good choices. Nightcrawlers and chicken liver are also good. All catfish are fished on bottom rigs with hooks in the 1/0 size range; avoid small hooks because catfish have large mouths and tend to swallow them. Snelled hooks can make rigging easier. Usually a sinker of 1 to ½ ounce size is good, and if the current is strong, a pyramid-style sinker can be a good choice to hold the rig to the bottom of the water body.

First, you cast from shore or a dock out into deeper water. Then, once you make the line tight, set your fishing rod in a forked stick at an angle so you can see it twitch when a catfish bites. When you do get a bite, set the hook and be prepared to have a tussle on your hands. Catfish have spines on three of their fins, so be careful when handling.

You can learn more about catfish from checking the Fish Facts webpage.

Most common to Maryland is the channel catfish. White catfish are common in the tidal rivers, blue catfish are abundant in the Potomac River and bullhead catfish are often found in lakes and ponds. Channel and blue catfish are very good to eat, but all are fun to catch since they fight so hard. Perhaps one of the most fun things about fishing for catfish is sitting with a friend or parent and enjoying talking and perhaps sharing some snacks.

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