Blue catfish are opportunistic predators and will eat any species of fish they can catch, along with crayfish, freshwater mussels, frogs, and other readily available aquatic food sources (some blue catfish have reportedly attacked scuba divers.) Catching their prey becomes all the more easy if it is already wounded or dead, and blue cats are noted for feeding beneath marauding schools of striped bass in open water in reservoirs or feeding on wounded baitfish that have been washed through dam spillways or power generation turbines.
Due to their opportunistic nature, blue catfish will usually take advantage of readily accessible food in a variety of situations, which from the angler's perspective makes cutbaits, deadbaits, and even stinkbaits an excellent choice to target these fish. Blue cats will also respond well to livebaits, with live river herring and shad usually a top choice followed by large shiner minnows, sunfish, suckers, and carp. All of the above baits can be used as fresh cutbaits with good success and freshwater drum also work well in this capacity. Generally a fairly large piece of cutbait (4-12 inches long) on a fairly large hook (3/0 to 9/0) is a good choice in rivers or reservoirs where large blue cats (20 pounds and up) are a possibility. Depending on current conditions sinkers ranging from 1/2 to 6 or 8 oz. may be required with 1-2 oz. a good choice for many situations. To catch large blue catfish in rivers the more current the better usually, although fishing along current edges and breaks is often a good option. Blue catfish tend to favor deeper water in larger rivers and reservoirs, but will make feeding and spawning forays into relatively shallow water.
WHERE FLATHEADS RULE
In the northern portion of the state, another species of catfish is king. The flathead catfish has been at home for eons in some of the older lakes of north Louisiana. One of the more popular flathead fishing lakes is Lake Bistineau southeast of Shreveport. While anglers on the Mississippi might utilize rods and reels to haul out oversized blue catfish, the profusion of trees and brush makes it practically impossible to consider using the same type of equipment on Lake Bistineau. Thus, Bistineau catfishermen generally set out limb lines baited with live bream to entice bites from Bistineau's big Ops.
Last edited by Ictalurus_furcatus : 12-17-2007 at 01:49 PM.
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