Fishing for Catfish with Lures

When you think of catfish you don’t normally think of artificial lures. After all, catfish are not like largemouth bass. They don’t roam around the water column looking for shiny spinnerbaits or flashy plugs to pounce on.

No, catfish are bottom feeders who use their distinctive whiskers to search for food. Catfish are well known (and loved) for their sense of smell. That’s why most anglers go after them with live bait, cut bait, or what can only affectionately be called stink bait.

However, I can tell you from personal experience that catfish will hit lures. Some of my favorite farm pond memories are of fishing with beetlespins and jigs for crappie and having a feisty channel catfish grab my lure and give me a thrill by putting a real bend my ultra-light rod.

Catfish have better eyesight than anglers give them credit for, and they can react surprisingly quickly to a lure flashing in front of them. Many catfish are caught on lures by accident when anglers are fishing for other species. The experience shows fishermen that catfish can be caught on lures, although few catfish aficionados use them.

If you are fishing at an area where catfish roam there is nothing wrong with trying to entice them with lures, the same way you would bass or crappie. You can catch channel cats, blues and even flatheads with artificial lures.

Catfish will hit many of the same lures as bass, crappie, and striped bass.

Here are three choices for you:

Spinners

Spinners flash in the water and can bring a hungry catfish out of its hiding place. You can use in-line spinners, retrieving them with a jerking motion to get them noticed.

Spinners work much better in clear water than muddy water, where your lure might not get noticed. You want the flash to attract the attention of a catfish.

A popular spinner maker is Mepps.

Spoons

Spoons work on the same principals as spinners. They are flashy and create a shine and movement that can get catfish to reflexively hit them. Like spinners, spoons work much better in clear water.

Cabela’s sells a wide variety of spoons.

Jigs

Jigs work for catfish because they can be fished right on the bottom where catfish lurk, and they can be fished very slowly. Catfish are not largemouth bass and you shouldn’t retrieve the lure with super speed if you are trying to catch them.

You can fish a jig by bumping it on the bottom and attract catfish. In fact, you can cheat a little by adding cut bait or synthetic bait to a jig to help you attract catfish.

You can get some excellent fishing jigs that can be used for catfish at Tourney Jigs.

Although catfish are usually caught on live or natural bait you can use these lures to catch them. If you do you should feel proud of yourself as an angler for accomplishing something a bit out of the ordinary in the angling world.
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For more fishing tips see Jeffrey’s blog A Dash Of Salty.