If you Google “Catfish species native to the Carolinas” and dig around a little bit, you’ll soon figure out there are three main catfish species that are of importance to the gamefish angler, a couple that occasionally make their way to the end of a fishing rod, and a host of much smaller sized catfish that only biologists keep track of.
The three top species are blue catfish, flathead catfish and channel catfish. Of these three, only the channel catfish is native to the Carolinas and inhabits the widest range. Channel catfish can be found in rivers, lakes, and streams from the mountains to the coast. The blue catfish and flathead catfish were introduced to our waters. The bullhead catfish is capable of achieving recreational sizes and most anglers who are lucky enough to catch a white catfish don’t realize that it’s not a channel cat.
Catfish anglers are a die-hard breed, most of which are characterized by large decked aluminum power boats. These boats are spacious, capable of hauling large capacity bait tanks, large capacity livewells, and typically ringed with thick gauge rod holders to hold dozens of heavyweight rods. Perhaps it’s the persona of the average catter that makes so few kayak anglers consider pursuing them. Another is the fact that catfish species are rarely, if ever, targeted with artificial lures. It’s also more common to target catfish with multiple rods versus just one.
Cats love the cold
Catfish are often thought of as a summer-pursuit species while in fact, the colder months of the year often produce the best catfishing results in both size and numbers of fish. The lion’s share of catfish are caught by one of two methods – anchored out with multiple rods and drifting or trolling.
It’s not set in stone that catfish must be targeted with multiple rods, but setting up a kayak to do so isn’t that hard either. Several manufacturers make rail-mounted rod holders specifically for kayaks. The heavy caliber holder seen on most boats isn’t a necessity as the rod won’t be out of reach in the ‘yak. Once the fish takes the bait and starts taking line, the rod will be in the angler’s hands.
Anchored out fishing is just what it sounds like. The kayak angler selects a location and must “anchor” the boat, either by staking it to the bottom with a pole or weighted anchor, or tying the craft off to a stationary object such as a stump, rock, bridge piling or other piece of structure.
Rods are fan-cast in multiple directions in hopes of one or more of the baits landing in the catfish’s travel path. When using cut or prepared baits, the scent of the bait is an added attraction to draw the fish to the hook.
Catfish holes
While catfish do suspend up in the water column, the majority of fishing success is found placing the baits on the bottom of whatever body of water you are fishing. This will require the use of enough weight to anchor the bait to the bottom in the appropriate depth and current without being so much weight that it impedes the fish moving off with it.
The two biggest factors to consider when anchored out fishing are water depth and current. Catfish are particularly drawn to holding in deep holes or crevices created by current. They lie in wait in these locations, out of the current, waiting for a meal to swim or wash by.
In creek and river locations, water current may be obvious. Catfish will lie in holes, allowing the current to wash over them or behind current breaks, allowing the current to wash around them.
Logjams, blowdowns, large rock outcroppings, undercut banks and the lee side of bridge or other manmade pilings are top choices to place baits when anchored out catfishing.
Drifting or trolling for catfish is a relatively new tactic. Trolling, or in the case of a kayak not equipped with a motor, paddling or pedaling, works best in water bodies with little or no current. The idea is to move the bait, covering large expanses of water, hoping to drag the bait across or at least adjacent to the catfish’s hiding place.
Trolling from a kayak can be achieved by placing one or two rods on either side of the kayak with sufficient weight to hold the bait near the bottom. Most trollers opt for drift rigs that allow a snag-free weight to stay in contact with the bottom while the bait is tied to float up off the bottom to keep from snagging, but close enough not to be out of reach from a bottom-hugging fish.
Choosing bait
The kayaking angler should spend some time considering the type of bait used to target catfish. In a nutshell, blue catfish are typically cut bait aficianados while flatheads prefer whole, live baits. Channel catfish will eat nearly anything from worms to minnows to concoctions of stink baits and smaller cut baits.
As in any type of live bait fishing, the fresher the bait, the better when using either live or cut bait. If cut bait only is the objective, a cooler with ice can be used to chill fresh caught or fresh bought live baits and then cut the baits at the fishing destination before putting it on the hook.
Live baits will require the most care in a kayak. Hardy baits like bream or perch may be kept alive in an aerated cooler for at least half a day in warm weather and even longer in cooler weather. For herring and shad, specialized kayak bait tanks are available to store a limited amount of live bait.
Non-fish baits, typically aimed at fishing for channel catfish, can be kept in whatever container they are obtained. Nightcrawlers, earthworms, crickets, and small minnows will all catch channel catfish and don’t require an abundance of space to store, although it’s advisable to keep them in a container within reach of the kayak seat but out of direct sunlight.
Stink baits shine in warmer weather and can be used right out of the container whether anchored up or trolling for channel catfish. Using stink baits to target channel catfish requires some type of rigging medium to absorb or smear the bait onto. Sponges, tubes, and a variety of treble hooks can be used, and the kayak angler can fill a small tackle box with these items to keep them handy on the deck of the kayak.
If a concentration of catfish are located, it’s not out of the question to use a single rod and cast a bait to the fish. In some cases, a piece of cut bait or shrimp can be impaled on a light wire jighead and cast into whatever structure or cover the catfish are holding. Cast the jighead past the holding area, then hop across the bottom in small spurts until the fish takes the bait.
Fishing for catfish from a kayak can be as simple or as difficult as the angler wants to make it. With the kayak’s go-anywhere capabilities and the widespread distribution of catfish species, it seems a shame that there aren’t more encounters between the two.
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