The summer heat gets to the fish, just like it gets to us. You need that constant flush of rain water to keep the catfish and the bite going. I have had a lot of experience fishing for catfish after a rain. I have found the best spots tend to be creeks, and slower moving rivers. For creeks try to fish the eddies and current seams, as these will be prime areas to fish catfish after a flood.
Toss your bait right in the edge of the current, but not quite in it. Behind structure with current breaks like trees and rocks are also key areas. Really anywhere you can find where the current is breaking is a great spot to place your baits. For rivers I generally fish closer to the bank. Catfish will more than likely be patrolling the bank looking for the food that was washed into the water.
Using a piece of garlic chicken liver can be deadly in murky water. This is my go to bait when fishing flooded creeks. The amount of scent it puts out will get the attention of anything in the area. The best catfish bait after a rain varies on location. You typically want to focus on the natural source of food for catfish. For example, if you are fishing a muddy creek with lots of worms and bugs, you should probably use nightcrawlers.
Same thing if you have lots of small Panfish in a local river, you may want to try cut or live panfish. Also note that catfish will most likely by relying on smell rather then sight after a hard rain. When the water gets muddied and high, it can make it tough for cats to see anything. The best catfish rig in flood conditions is the 3 way rig.
The way its set up, the weight and leader are easily separated by the swivel. This is a channel that the catfish pass when heading to the shallow parts of the creek in search of food.
Depending on the location, you may need longer fishing lines to cover more areas when catfishing during the rain. Also, if you can find narrow parts of the channel leading into the creeks, the chances of landing more catfish are higher. In these positions, your lures will be more visible to the fish and easier to bite. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Home About Contact Search. Catfishing In The Raining. What will you find? A lot of back and forth the most part. I think this is a little unnecessary and just needs to be explained a bit better by one newer source. For now, let BonfireBob be that source of information. Some Anglers seem to have great luck after storms, during rains, and after rains. The first tip and thing to remember are rising waters can equal some great catfishing. There is a difference however between fishing pre-storm, mid-storm and post-storm.
It also matters how much rain ultimately fell and the cause and effect it had on the water. Generally, air masses move west to east across North American due to earths rotation and jet stream. The sudden changes can make a big difference in water temperature, air temperature, wind direction, and barometric pressure that in return, dramatically impacts your ability to fish during the phases of these weather patterns.
Pre-storm is obviously before the real weather strikes. Low-pressure warm front collides with high-pressure cold fronts. The Fishing during the storm approach can still lead to some good hook setting and active biting from our whiskered friends beneath the water surface.
During the rain, overhead noise from the rain hitting the surface, water temperature changes, and reduced light visibility makes it difficult for prey species like shad, shiners, and bluegills to orient and detect approaching threats. Catfish, with their ability to detect food in very low-light conditions, are better suited for these reduced visibility moments than the food they consume. This gives catfish a tactical advantage over many of their favorite foods and incites them to get out and feed.
Once the rains have stopped, the full effect of the cooling or warming water will be present. Rains will affect water temperature which usually promotes a feeding behavior in most fish to include catfish. Rain will also have washed nutrients and food into the water. Shad, bluegills, minnows, shiners, and clams really like this influx of food and nutrients caused by the rain.
Feeding baitfish make themselves vulnerable to attack 3which is why catfish love this point of time. Heavy rains also stir up nutrients and dirt which can make the water muddy, reduce visibility, and raise water levels. For a complete gear and tackle recommendation for catfish, check out my recommended catfish gear list which will help you catch more and larger catfish than anyone else.
Catfish can be caught on a wide range of baits to include nightcrawlers, worms, crayfish, shiners, bluegills, shad, yellow perch, trout, suckers, minnows, grasshoppers, leeches, corn, anchovies, chicken liver, as well as specially designed stink baits marketed at catfish anglers.
These baits all can work well on small catfish, especially small channel catfish. But if you want to catch large blue catfish, channel catfish, and especially large flathead catfish, you need to give them what they are already eating.
Shad, herring, alewives, yellow perch, shiners, and bluegills are what we are talking about. The two best big catfish bait in most waterways are shad and bluegills. These two species of bait will catch all three species of catfish but flatheads prefer bluegills whereas channel cats and blue cats prefer shad.
To catch big flatheads in any weather condition, use a living bluegill as bait. Channel cats and blue catfish do really well with cut bluegills but prefer shad cut in half. This is especially true in rain and after rainstorms pass through when catfish are out looking for freshly dead or wounded shad.
During the summer, catfish are likely trying to find the coolest, most oxygen-rich water available. Typically this will be in deeper water with plenty of food nearby. Catfish will often hunker near the bottom to get as far away from the warm air as possible. When it rains, air temperatures will decrease and so will water temperatures by both adding cooler water to the lake and air temperature changes.
Catfish really seem to respond quite well during the summer to rain in regards to feeding. Rain has the exact opposite effect often times on water temperature. Typically winter rain has a tendency to warm up the water. Catfish will rise out of their deep wintering holes and venture higher up into the water column or into surrounding parts of the lake. Catfish bogged down in their wintering holes actually makes locating and catching them so much easier.
You could every catfish in a corner of a lake in a small hole. Easy to find and catch. When catfish venture out of the hole, each catfish might be more likely to feed but locating them becomes a whole lot harder. For a complete how-to guide on fishing for catfish in the winter, you need to read this fantastic article.
You will learn how to locate and catch monster winter catfish when no other fishermen are on the water.
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