Catfish anyone???

[gator gar]

Went out on Lake Livingston this morning and caught 25 blue cats in 1 hour and 10 minutes of being on the water, drifting jugs. What could you do with a pile of fillets???

[Dan_Shade]

what is "drifting jugs"?

[fishpharmer]

Nice catch Gator!  The fish sure are consistent in size.

Dan, jug fishing is a common method for taking catfish in the south.  Its simply some kind of jug (rules vary by state) with a line and baited hook attached.  I think gators pic of the blue cooler contains the jugs.  Once baited you throw them out in the water.  The baited hook dangles a short distance below. Soon the fun begins and you chase them in a boat when a fish bites.  They are self setting, the harder the fish pulls the better the hook sets.  The jugs drift around until the fish bites, then they are pulled around by the fish. Its fun.  Gator thanks for sharing.

[Tom]

Florida doesn't allow jug fishing, but we can 'Bush hook' in most waters.

I'll bet Texas Ranger would love to have a bunch of those dressed fish.

[Mooseherder]

Looks like you need to invite all yer friends and relatives over for a Fishfry.
Really nice looking fillets.

[WildDog]

Nice fish there,

'Bush hook'

???

[Texas Ranger]

Mmmmmmm,  fryer's.

[Tom]

Wilddog,
A bush hook is a piece of line with a sinker and a hook that you tie on a small limb hanging over the creek and bait with anything from cut bait to live shiners or bream.   The bait is submerged to the bottom sometimes, or is hung so that a live bait will cause a bit  of ruckus at the surface.  The catfish eats the bait and the limb acts as the pole.  You set them out, visit them regularly throughout the day/night to get the fish and re-bait them.  Then, when you finish, you pick them up and take them home.

The problem that wild-life officers have is that some people won't pick them up.

[Dan_Shade]

sounds like 'gator huntin' to me, tom!

[WDH]

Very similar but the bait is in the water instead of being suspended above it.  In the big rivers near me, limb lining (bush hooks) result in some very large flathead catfish being caught.

[Dan_Shade]

i may rig up my bathtub and see what I catch....


;D

[LeeB]

Them are just the right size for frying whole. I have got to get out and do some trotlining. I haven't caught any catfish in far far too long. It's been years.
I like the sink set up for cleaning. Is it yours or at the dock?

[gator gar]

Yes, the sink set-up is mine,here at the house. This time of year, when you are drifting jugs, you catch alot of what we call market sized catfish.They look like they are all cut from the same mold. In the winter time, when I anchor a different type of jug, or use trotlines, you catch a variety of sized fish. Mostly bigger fish. Depends on the school of fish you happen to be over.

My buddy, who owns a fish market, fished the same morning as I did, but went farther out in the main lake and said he was catching plenty of 2-4 pounders. He had 36 in his boat when I called him at 8;40 in the morning as I was rolling my last jug up. The limit is 50 fish per day here on Lake Livingston.

I used to commercial fish for catfish and am usually pretty good at it. We like to have our limit in the boat by at least 10 am. Earlier if possible. Now days, I like to go out, hit them hard, catch all that I want to clean in this heat and come home as early as possible.

There is an art to drifting jugs. I learned from the guys that make a living off of doing it, day in and day out. On average I may have a loss rate of 1%. That's one fish per 100 that comes off my hook, when I try to get it in the boat. The way these jugs are designed is simple, but deadly.

[Chris Burchfield]

We set trot lines and Yo Yo's tied to limbs hanging over the water around here.  That is a fine looking catch.

[WildDog]

Wilddog,
A bush hook is a piece of line with a sinker and a hook that you tie on a small limb hanging over the creek and bait with anything from cut bait to live shiners or bream.   The bait is submerged to the bottom sometimes, or is hung so that a live bait will cause a bit  of ruckus at the surface.  The catfish eats the bait and the limb acts as the pole.  You set them out, visit them regularly throughout the day/night to get the fish and re-bait them.  Then, when you finish, you pick them up and take them home.

Ah, now if you just called em "springers" I'd know what you mean :D Thanks for the explanation Tom.

[Buck]

Fine catch Mark! 8)

[LOGDOG]

I love deep fried, whole catfish about that size. Have any of you ever tried pickling catfish? I can't imagine that it would be bad. Nice white meat. I used to think walleye was tops until I moved South and started eating catfish. I'd eat catfish before I'd eat walleye now.

[Buck]

Try hitting em with McCormick seasonall and smoking em...guys, thats fine eating.

[jdtuttle]

Beer batter & deep fried 

jim

[gator gar]

Went out this morning and put a hurt on them pretty quick. Caught 24 in just over an hour.

[Texas Ranger]

DanG it, your gonna make make me buy a boat.

[Coon]

Looks like you had fun before the work began.  :D

[Coon]

LOGDOG, the key for the best tasting walleye is to catch them in the coldest water you can find.  Even around here during the summer in the warmer weather and shallower lakes the walleye get kinda soft and the meat isn't as white as in the deeper colder waters.  Wished we had cats around here as I'd love to try them. 

[Raider Bill]

I do love a good Walleye! We used to drift fish them up north.

We also used to catch river/crick Bullhead which to me is the same as a small catfish.

[Raider Bill]

What's the difference between a catfish of this size and a Bullhead?

[Texas Ranger]

Different species (dont ask, I dont know) and very different taste.

[Raider Bill]

This is the one I'm talking about

http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/64172.html

It maybe me but I never could tell the difference in taste compared to a farm raised cat of the same size.

[DanG]

There are many, many species of catfish, and the bullhead is one of them.  Those appear to be blue cats that G-Gar is catching.  They can grow up to near 100 pounds.  They are very similar to the channel cats that are raised commecially.

[Texas Ranger]

Growing up bullheads were little creek catfish, small and not particularly thought of as food.  They would. however, punch your ticket if you were not real careful. the creek breed we had,  the spines were needles.

[LOGDOG]

LOGDOG, the key for the best tasting walleye is to catch them in the coldest water you can find.  Even around here during the summer in the warmer weather and shallower lakes the walleye get kinda soft and the meat isn't as white as in the deeper colder waters.  Wished we had cats around here as I'd love to try them. 

Coon,

   There are big, big catfish up in the Winnipeg river system in Manitoba. That's the only place anywhere near you that comes to mind. I grew up fishing in Ontario. We spent a lot of time on the water just after ice out at the fishing opener usually end of May and then late in the season, end of September. The walleyes definitely taste better those times of the year. The Jumbo Yellow Perch were my favorite up there. I even like Pike as long as the Y-bones are filleted out and the water temps are cold when they're caught. Caught in winter through the ice they were great. Still, these catfish are pretty darn good.

   This thread made me want to go down to the bayou and catch some cats myself. Maybe in the morning. It's over a 100 degrees right now. Too hot for fishing.

[DanG]

Just FYI, a new world record blue catfish was caught yesterday in Kerr Lake, Va.   143 pounds!

[LOGDOG]

Wow, that's a hoss DanG!

[Mooseherder]

Catfish, in the South considered da udder White Meat. ;)