Fishing for Blue Catfish requires education about the Catfish and plenty of luck to lure one of these blue cats into your boat.
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Fishing for Channel Catfish
By Donald L. Bonneau, Fisheries Research Supervisor, Iowa DNR
The honors of being the most popular and abundant sport fish in Iowa go to the sleek and tasty channel catfish. Sometimes called "prairie trout," channel catfish are found in nearly all of our lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Channel catfish are, beyond a doubt, the most abundant game fish found in our streams. Studies have shown that populations of 500 to over 5,000 pounds of catfish per mile in Iowa streams are quite common. Lakes and ponds also produce excellent catfishing, and it is in these waters that the largest specimens are found. The large flood-control reservoirs contain natural populations of channel catfish; however, annual stockings of hatchery-reared fish are required to maintain the populations in small lakes and ponds.
Enough said of the general background of channel catfish in Iowa; let's get down to the specifics of the species and some of the best techniques used by fishermen to catch them.
Habitat
First, before getting into the actual fishing techniques it might be advantageous to take a look at the natural feeding habits of this species. Catfish, by and large, are omnivorous feeders with a well developed sense of smell. This simply means they consume a wide variety of food items, and the fish is most often attracted to odoriferous or "smelly" morsels of food. The single greatest determinant of catfish food preference is body size. Smaller catfish, those less than 14 inches, feed primarily on bottom-dwelling organisms, such as aquatic insect larvae and other invertebrates. As catfish grow to a larger size, their diet changes and a wider variety of food items are eaten. Fish, however, either alive or dead, make up the bulk of their forage after they reach 16 inches.
The diet of channel catfish also varies with the different seasons. Some food items are more available at one time of the year than another, and, being an opportunistic forager, channel catfish take what food is vulnerable to predation at that time. During late winter and early spring the most abundant food is a wide variety of organisms, including fish, that have succumbed to the harsh winter. These morsels, in various stages of decomposition, are consumed in large quantities by catfish. It is not unusual to find catfish stomachs gorged with decaying fish shortly after ice-out. As the water
By Donald L. Bonneau, Fisheries Research Supervisor, Iowa DNR
The honors of being the most popular and abundant sport fish in Iowa go to the sleek and tasty channel catfish. Sometimes called "prairie trout," channel catfish are found in nearly all of our lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Channel catfish are, beyond a doubt, the most abundant game fish found in our streams. Studies have shown that populations of 500 to over 5,000 pounds of catfish per mile in Iowa streams are quite common. Lakes and ponds also produce excellent catfishing, and it is in these waters that the largest specimens are found. The large flood-
Enough said of the general background of channel catfish in Iowa; let's get down to the specifics of the species and some of the best techniques used by fishermen to catch them.
Habitat
First, before getting into the actual fishing techniques it might be advantageous to take a look at the natural feeding habits of this species. Catfish, by and large, are omnivorous feeders with a well developed sense of smell. This simply means they consume a wide variety of food items, and the fish is most often attracted to odoriferous or "smelly" morsels of food. The single greatest determinant of catfish food preference is body size. Smaller catfish, those less than 14 inches, feed primarily on bottom-
The diet of channel catfish also varies with the different seasons. Some food items are more available at one time of the year than another, and, being an opportunistic forager, channel catfish take what food is vulnerable to predation at that time. During late winter and early spring the most abundant food is a wide variety of organisms, including fish, that have succumbed to the harsh winter. These morsels, in various stages of decomposition, are consumed in large quantities by catfish. It is not unusual to find catfish stomachs gorged with decaying fish shortly after ice-