2023 catfishing

[gliebig]

Caught a few this size the other day. 20230416_121939.jpg

[paxmule]

Caught a few this size the other day. 20230416_121939.jpg

Fun size fish! Always a good time. Today i went out in my normal area and had a pretty decent day. Didnt take any pics because i was mostly just trying to put my neighbor on some fish. We got some decent ones in the teens for most of the day. It was a little tough to establish a pattern. The water was actually 69 degrees, up considerably from last week. If this trend continues they'll be on the spawn within the next couple weeks and the catfishing will be dead for a month after.

[paxmule]

Tough evening last night on the Patuxent. With the near full moon tide, a front having moved through, and a 10 degree water temp drop, there were lots of catfish hunkered down deep in the main channel with lockjaw. It was also pretty tough to get the kayak to anchor anywhere. All I could muster up in 4 hours was 2 small dink female blue cats full of eggs. The guys on the pier said they hadn't had a bite in hours either. Next weekend, hopefully will be better. Would like to get at least one good day in before the spawn takes effect.

[paxmule]

I'd say today is the last good day before spawn takes full effect. Every fish was a pregnant female full of eggs and they all had purple areas in their skin showing they are ready to spawn. Water was 72 degrees. We caught 25 fish. Biggest was 22 and the 2nd biggest was 12 and was the fattest catfish with the smallest head ive seen. Spawn should keep them busy for a month and in late June they will be out in force again. received_1200087917352860.jpg received_259413499793689.jpg

[paxmule]

There are still some sporadic Blues that haven't gone completely on the nest yet. Caught 9 fish in 4 hrs today. Still mostly females that haven't dropped eggs yet. Biggest was a male at 14 lbs with a broken dorsal fin and a lot of fresh nesting marks on his head. Water was 72 degrees. Bait was fresh cut menhaden.
*edit, this was not the biggest. This was the 2nd biggest

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[paxmule]

I braved the patuxent on sunday. There was more boat traffic than I even anticipated with it being a cloudy and drizzly day. With the sign at the clyde watson ramp stating "no fishing from pier on weekends" being thoroughly ignored, I made my way through the large group of people fishing on the dock and the shoreline and put in at high tide. The spawn is in full swing now. What I consider a pretty slow day saw 4 blues with the biggest a pretty beat up male at 10 lbs. Around 4pm, the jetskis and pleasure boats became too much so I made my way back to the ramp and was greeted by yet another large group on the pier and shoreline, several blue cat carcasses dead and bloating on the bank, someone's pile of gizzard shad they decided to throw out ON the ramp, and an SUV with a jetski trailer that someone parked right next to a sign that said " kayak/SUP loading area" right in front of the ramp. Long story short, the holiday weekend crowd is to be avoided.

[Jigsup]

Lol

[Slackdaddy]

We hit the LM Pax Sunday evening 5/28 , Wife and sister did "Bait and wait", I worked up a creek with a chatter bait.
They landed a few small 1-2# cats, I got a 2-3# cat and a 8.5# Snek.
We went out Sun afternoon 6/4,, very high tide,, fish were tight lipped. we fished the mouth of a feeder creek.
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[paxmule]

Nice looking snakehead. I'm going out of town for a few weeks tomorrow. I'll be back out in force later in the month.

[Slackdaddy]

Nice looking snakehead. I'm going out of town for a few weeks tomorrow. I'll be back out in force later in the month.

Yeah,, we have been wanting to hook up with you and Jigs for some LM cat fishing. Unfortunately I have Knee surgery next week and will be down for a few weeks.
When you are cat fishing LM,, what depth are you fishing?
is it possible to anchor in shallow off the channel and cast into the channel? I imagine the current would sweep it out?
What is your kayak anchor set up ?

[Slackdaddy]

Hmm, I may have to turn my attention to the catfish in the PAX,, what are the best size to eat?

https://video.mpt.tv/video/eatin-blu...-style-ipzcai/

[nhunter344]

Hmm, I may have to turn my attention to the catfish in the PAX,, what are the best size to eat?

https://video.mpt.tv/video/eatin-blu...-style-ipzcai/

For me, under 24", which works out fine because I am under strict orders from the boss to not bring anything home that doesnt fit in her sink. Anything bigger than that tends to taste like fish flavored mud (to me anyway). The one thing I always make sure to do is to remove the blood line. The difference in taste is night and day.

[Jigsup]

Great catch! Seems like snakeheads are becoming more frequently caught. A lot of reports of people catching a snakehead for the first time. Majority of them are big. Still can’t wait to get my hands on one!
My kayak has be on stands since the winter electric motor install project started. It’s pretty much done but work and home is keeping me busy now. I plan to take it out in a few weeks Lord willing.
I’ve tried anchoring in shallow and casting into the deep. In my opinion it’s not as effective as the current will carry your bait out of the targeted area. I try to find a ledge and try to anchor on it. Most time it’s around 20ft coming up from a deep hole 25ft-30ft depending on area.
As for size to eat, 5-8lbs are good eating size. Not much red meat. 10-15lbs aren’t bad either. Anything over gets a little too much for me and will typically throw back. By time you trim the red meat (fat) you’d better off keeping something smaller. Trimming the fat off is a must if you want to impress someone with tasting blue catfish!
Friend of mine recommended me to make ceviche with blue catfish. I did and it was great eating!! Loved it.

[Slackdaddy]

Great catch! Seems like snakeheads are becoming more frequently caught. A lot of reports of people catching a snakehead for the first time. Majority of them are big. Still can’t wait to get my hands on one!
My kayak has be on stands since the winter electric motor install project started. It’s pretty much done but work and home is keeping me busy now. I plan to take it out in a few weeks Lord willing.
I’ve tried anchoring in shallow and casting into the deep. In my opinion it’s not as effective as the current will carry your bait out of the targeted area. I try to find a ledge and try to anchor on it. Most time it’s around 20ft coming up from a deep hole 25ft-30ft depending on area.
As for size to eat, 5-8lbs are good eating size. Not much red meat. 10-15lbs aren’t bad either. Anything over gets a little too much for me and will typically throw back. By time you trim the red meat (fat) you’d better off keeping something smaller. Trimming the fat off is a must if you want to impress someone with tasting blue catfish!
Friend of mine recommended me to make ceviche with blue catfish. I did and it was great eating!! Loved it.

I've seen the Snakeheads come and go in areas, depends if there are local "spot lighter boats" hitting the area hard.
I figured anything but dropping straight down, the current would sweep it out of the channel.
I was looking at 26' dog leashes for anchor management.
I am hesitant to put and anchor on my wifes kayak or her sisters,, they are experienced kayak fisherwomen,,, but they do not keep an eye out for dangers.
Anchoring a kayak in moving waters is one of the most dangerous things you can do (on a kayak),, The dog leash looks like it would keep any loose anchor line out of the picture.

In the video I posted above,, the blue cat fillets look like pure white meat,,, The video realy got me interested in targeting cats

[Jigsup]

You are correct on the dangers of anchoring in moving waters. I had installed a retractable clothesline system on my kayak to assist with anchoring but winded up removing it because I needed to be able to detach the kayak from the anchor if needed. With the retractable system I wasn’t able to do it. It did help with storing the anchor line. If I was fishing still waters it would have been a good idea.
Also I would add a swivel to one or two ends of the anchor line. That will keep the line from twisting as the anchor falls through the current. I noticed heavy current will cause the anchor to spiral and twist up much line. I use about 50ft of 550 paracord going through an anchor trolley. That is a great system to use as you can adjust the kayak to face the current flow or point with current flow if that makes sense. Easy to set up, takes a little practice to understand it’s function.
I wouldn’t advise anyone to try anchoring up in current if they didn’t feel comfortable. Spot lock would be the ideal way to go.

The meat is white and flaky. But trimming the filet is much needed depending on size.
Now I want to go catch some…