ADTV Specimen Series - How To Catch Catfish

The wels catfish is very different to any other fish that swims in UK waters, as it is all tail, almost resembling a giant tadpole. This long tail gives the fish formidable power and strength with every single flap of its tail, which is why no matter the tackle you are using when you hook a big catfish there is no stopping it!

Although they are classed as a predatory fish, they do not have teeth, instead having crushing pads on the inside of their mouth, which resemble sharp Velco, that can easily crush prey fish or even bird life. They have a large cavernous mouth, so will eat almost anything and have long whiskers which they use to detect vibrations. They may not be the hardest fish to catch, but they are by far the hardest fighting fish and will try their best to pull your arm off in a fight!

For this session, I am fishing the Yew Tree lake, which I have never fished before at Waveney Valley, normally heading to the Marsh Lake for my catfish fishing. This lake offers real variety with several islands, big areas of open water with wide spanning lily pads. My first job though is to get the marker float out and cast around looking for any underwater features, as the wels catfish likes to reside around shelves where food or prey fish may congregate.

After casting around, I have found a shallow (3ft) gravel spot at around 12-13 rod lengths and although this specific area is too shallow for catfish, there is a lovely flat softer bottom just put that gravel patch in deeper water (5-6ft) which will be absolutely perfect for catfish to confidently feed in at all times of the day. 

For these hard fighting fish, robust tackle is a must! Starting with the hardware, I find a dedicated catfish rod is best such as the Wychwood Agitator CR-C 11ft 4lb and I have matched this with the Advanta Big Pit 8000 Reel loaded with super strong 25lb mono fishing line. 

Rig wise, I am using beefed up carp fishing tactics, with a nice simple hair rig using a size 2 hook and a snowman hookbait consisting of a 20mm Sticky Baits Krill Active Boilie topped with a 16mm Sticky Baits Signature Squid Pop Up. The hooklength is 35lb coated braid and I have only stripped enough to just tie the hair rig, so the full hooklength is coated, giving it added protection against the velcro pads of the Wels Catfish. The rest of the rig uses a running rig set up with a large run ring and a buffer bead. This allows the catfish to take the bait with no resistance leading to better hook holds then when fishing with a lead clip arrangement. 

After clipping up both rods and putting a small bit of marker elastic as a reference on the line, which saves me wrapping each rod when I need to recast, I have managed to get both rods out and it isn't long till I can see some activity from catfish in the area.

With catfish fishing, the best times are normally at night or late in the evening/early in the morning, but it seems that no one told the catfish for this session, as even in the bright summer sunshine the first rod is away! 

After a good scrap, where I have used every bit of the 4lb test curve of my catfish rod, I soon slip the net under the first catfish of the session. Although it it only small, it shows that even an average size catfish will push even the strongest fishing tackle to the limit! 

Although catfish can be caught on a variety of different baits including deadbaits, live baits, lobworms, boilies and pellets, there is one common theme that will help you grab the attraction of any catfish and that is smell!

Catfish love stinky baits, so for this session as I am fishing beefed up carp tactics, I have gone down the boilie and pellet route and have based my feed around the popular Sticky Baits Krill flavour. My bait comprises all different sizes of the Sticky Baits Krill Pellets as well as some of the extra high oil Sticky Baits Trouties Pellets for even more attraction. To this I have also added a mixture of different size Sticky Baits Krill Boilies as well as a healthy glug of the Sticky Baits Cloudy Krill Liquid. This mix may overpower the senses of the angler, but let me assure you that it will draw catfish from far and wide! 

After 2 more bites shortly after the first, the swim has quietened down. However, as soon as the sun has started to set in the distance, it is obvious the catfish have gone on the feed as the swim has erupted with bubbles and it is not long until the rod is back into action! Whilst playing another good sized catfish, the second rod is also away, an unexpected double take!

This is why I like to take a second landing net with me when fishing as you never know, and as catfish can be incredibly hard to net due to their size and the fact they swim backwards, a second net is a handy addition to your catfish tackle. By getting the head of the catfish to the spreader block, I am able to shuffle the first one into the net, before with the help of Chris we manage to land the second catfish. With so many bites, so early in the session, I decide to get a bit of sleep, so I can get the rods back out at the crack of dawn to see if we can catch any of the elusive bigger catfish that reside in this lake. 

After getting both rods back out at the crack of dawn, I couldn't believe that it took less than 10 minutes to get the first bite of the morning. However, immediately after hooking this fish, I could tell that this catfish was different as it has gone on a full tour of the lake! After standing on the balcony of the neighbouring lodge and playing the fish in the neighbouring swim, I have been able to slip the net under the biggest catfish of the session, which is definitiely well over the 50lb mark! 

After slipping this lovely catfish back, I even managed to squeeze one more double take before the end of the session, rounding off an incredible catfish fishing session. I'm defeinitly going to have sore arms after battling so many catfish. So, if you have a catfish lake near you, then give these tactics a go and expererience the UK's hardest fighting freshwater fish for yourself!