by Lou Rountree

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 05, 2009

Catfishing is a mixed bag. One may have a real decision if trying to decide which is more fun, eating a big, deep fried fillet of Catfish or the act of catching Catfish.

Because we have to catch them before we can eat them, we begin with the different types of catfish and the various methods of catching them. In the southwest US most people fish for channel cats or mud cats. Both are good eating. One may use a fishing pole, hook, line and sinker with tie on leaders about six to nine inches long or the pole may be given up for the more modern casting reels. Most catfish are caught in fresh water rivers but, some fishermen prefer the ocean type catfish. If you are using a reel you may cast your line in any place in the river where it will not get entangled. Catfish get around and while the Mud cats mine for their food along the banks near the bottom of the river, the channel or blue cats may be found in rivers even where water flow is rapid.

In south Texas the Guadalupe, Perdenales and Rio Grande rivers afford good catfish for the fishermen. River fishing is done with casting rods, poles or by trotline or throw lines. While in places like Missouri a type of cat fishing is called Noodling which is jumping in the water and fishing by hand. This is now legal in Missouri for about six months of the year. It can be very dangerous in that the Noodler feels along the silt near the banks of the river or seeks holes in the bank and they reach in the hole or silt, wiggle their fingers a tad and if there is movement you have located a cat fish. Cat fish up to 50 pounds are common and are of the Mud cat or Bull head cat fish variety.

One word of warning is that excitement or death are close by as Noodlers have been known to come up out of the water with a hand full of water moccasins or other critters which are not cat fish. Still Noodlers continue the Noodling as, forgive the pun, they are hooked. Just remember that water moccasins are poisonous as are some of the other inhabitants of the river bank holes and silt and you have to be very careful.

If you use throw lines you have a good 100 pound test line, at least, with a sinker on the end and a leader about two to three feet above the sinker. The leader should be six to nine inches and the fish hook and bait are on the end of the leader. The leader, especially in fishing waters with a good flow, allows the bait to float away from the main fishing line. In addition, depending on the bait you use the

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