What's Luck Got to Do With It???

Do you believe in lucky poles, magic baits, or lucky hats? If so, this one might hit a little close to home!  Ask a good fisherman and they will often tell you that you make your own luck. In other words, luck is the result of preparation, planning, location, and timing. 

First let's deal with a few common superstitions:

Magic baits

 

Read about catfishing and you'll frequently see people that favor one bait over others. If there was ONE magic bait, would there be a thousand different prepared baits on the market for channel catfisherman? I don't think so! Not to mention how everyone has their own favored natural baits. Cats are attracted to specific baits based on scent/taste, vibration, etc; and cats can become conditioned to accept baits often fished in an area. However, most of the best catfishermen I know believe bait placement is a more important factor than bait selection.    

 Lucky pole

Okay, there might be a bit truth to this one; if you're more comfortable and have a better feel with a certain rod, it might work better for you. On a regular basis, I do see certain rods being hit a lot. Maybe it's because I like the rod so they're the first baits out. Whatever the reason, I can't totally rule this one out. 

The big ones come when there's no camera in the boat!

With the advent of cell phone cameras, there's really no excuse any more on this one. However, for years I've been a believer in always having a camera in the boat and still live by that rule. So this one has been a non-issue for me for years. Sometimes the camera strap accidentally gets in the picture or the flash goes off at the wrong time.

 

Lucky hats

Come on, let's get serious now. How does the fish know what hat you've got on? I have a confession to make on this one...I have two catfishing hats and I ALWAYS have one of them one. When I recently misplaced my favorite fishing hat, my old Procats hat, you would think I lost my wallet with all my credits cards. Actually, wallets and credit cards can be replaced. Fortunately, the missing hat turned up and all is right with my world again!

Hit came when I wasn't watching!

This one perplexes me. It does seem to happen a lot where a rod goes down and I'm tying a knot, checking my phone, snapping a few pictures, taking a whizz, whatever. But how do the fish know?!? Maybe I'm just tinkering around with stuff a lot some nights. Again, I can't rule this one out because sometimes I've joked around saying I'll start rigging another pole to get some action going and it's happened. Crazy.

Okay, enough about superstitions.

I do feel that as fishermen become more experienced, they naturally become less superstitious (hopefully). I do think it's somehow an integral part catfishing lore to talk about superstitions and good luck/bad luck. I also think the best catfisherman don't spend a lot of time worrying about luck and superstition. Other factors are much more relevant.  

Confidence 

Confidence is highly underrated. He who hesitates may miss the hook-up... a habit of successful fishermen is to remain focused when things get exciting. Become overexcited when the big fish finally hits your less likely to land the big fish. Human error inevitably raises its ugly head! When you keep your cool, stay focused, and confidently wait for the right time and set that hook assuredly and confidently - without hesitation - you increase your chances of landing that fish.   

Discipline 

Most of the best fishermen I've talked to about fishing for catfish, especially big catfish, reiterate the same message - you have to be prepared to NOT catch fish, in order to catch fish. This means knowing you will go out and spend some time when the fish either aren't home, or aren't cooperative. You may need to wait very patiently several minutes or more for the right time to set that hook, after the initial signal you received. Most importantly, discipline is sticking with your plan and not switching to worms or cheese bait because the flathead bite is slow fishing with bluegills. Or breaking out the oars to get to the next spot when you had engine trouble but still want to fish. You have to stick with the plan, because you don't know when that big cat is going for a take-down. If you switch to cheese bait because the flathead bite was slow, you'll never find out.

Discipline is having your gear organized and knowing where all the important stuff is in the boat at night. And having the right gear and tools in your catfish bag every time out. For those of us with a short attention span, waiting for that next hit definitely requires concentration and focus. Staying focused when the bite is slow can be a real challenge some nights and the ability to maintain concentration is often the difference between getting that next catfish in the boat and getting skunked. 

Experience

Experience really is the best teacher. The best way to learn it to be out on the water. Successful fisherman may talk about luck, but it's more likely they are successful because they've taken the time to search out prime fishing spots and learned how to present their offerings in the right place at the right time to catch fish. Most importantly, time on the water leads to success. Night after night every summer the better catfishermen are out there searching for the next big cat. One thing that's guaranteed - you won't catch fish sitting at home.

    Blazing a new trail

Another habit of successful fisherman is exploring new spots each time out, instead of only visiting their favorite "honey holes" over and over. The fishermen who aren't out there exploring new territory won't learning nearly as much about the body of water they're fishing as the guys who consistently search out and fish new spots (another confession, I don't do nearly enough of this myself). We've all been told over and over not to just keep going to the same spot you've caught fish before. As Denny Halgren says, "A spot has to prove itself to you over time." So while it is good to have a catalogue of "top shelf" spots in your mind, don't be afraid to explore and learn about new places. Even if you've found the best catfish habitat ever, just remember there was that first time you anchored there not knowing what would happen...   

So the next time you're feeling superstitious because you can't find your lucky hat, just forget about it. Luck is being in the right place, at the right time, with the right bait. That's all it is. 

A fond farewell to all the cats in the pond

This week marked the end of my fishing privileges at the pond where my mom lived for over 20 years. In that time, we had a LOT of fun rowing the boat around, watching turtles, catching bass, catching sunfish, and catching channel cats. 

I don't really have a lot of deep thoughts to share about all this, but it did seem appropriate to do a blog post this week and share some pictures and a little video. While I'll miss fishing at the pond, more than anything I'm just grateful for all the time spent during family trips down there. Nothing beats a nice home in a quiet setting away from all the noises of the city with a pond full of catfish.

I hear the new property owner has already been scoping things out in his kayak, which I think is pretty awesome. Sounds like the right people moved in!

 

 

 

 

a little video featuring one of the sloppiest hooksets you will ever see...

Spring Training

I was out collecting some worms the other morning...that got me to thinking about the annual ritual of getting ready for that first time out. It's not terribly involved, but there's a handful of basic things that comprise my process of getting ready for the upcoming season.

Inventory
Simply put, this is making sure there's enough hooks, sinkers, line, etc. This spring I'm re-spooling a few reels with 80 pound Power Pro and some more heavy mono, which I already have on hand. I haven't gone through my terminal tackle yet, but I'll be doing that very soon. I should be in pretty good shape, maybe some more 2-3 oz sinkers for this season.Maybe a little oil or grease for some reels and I usually get the tackle boxes and bags organized along the way too.

Maintenance
I tend to do the minimum in this area. With a small boat and trailer and mostly local trips, I haven't had to repack bearings in a while. I'll put some more varnish on the wood decking in the boat this spring, might try to clean up the wiring a bit more. And I'm always looking to maximize space a little better. Other than that, I'll check my trailer lights and tire pressure, squirt a little grease in the hubs, and I'm about ready to go with the boat and trailer. I store my outboard in the garage during the winter, so it doesn't take too much to have it ready to go. I'll drop the motor in the water for a tank test before heading out the first time, just to make sure it's running good.   

Worms
When the nightcrawlers come out the first few times, I'll try to collect a couple dozen to keep in the refrigerator. It takes bait to catch live baits, plus you can also use nightcrawlers for channel cats or just fishing with the kids. I try to keep them on hand throughout the season so I don't have to run out to the bait store at the last minute when I'm about to head for the river.











Warming up
As the days start getting longer in the springtime, the temperatures are also (hopefully) climbing. Once you get into mid-May, the water temps are generally pretty steady above the 60 degree mark. Typically, they say flathead can be caught when the water is above 50 degrees. That may be true, but one thing I've noticed is when the water reaches 60 degrees a more reliable active bait occurs. I like a more active bite, so I start to get really enthusiastic when the water temps get into the 60s and above.

The wind-up
Basically, all these activities lead up to getting out on the water for that first trip. Once everything is checked out, it doesn't take much to get out on the water. Batteries and lights need to get charged and tested, gear needs to get packed and loaded, and you're off to the launch.  Or the bank.
(I did a previous blog post about catching baits, but I'll I try to have at least a dozen baits for a few hours of fishing. If I'm fishing 5-6 hours, I probably take along 16-18. When I'm going out with another angler, around two dozen). 

The pitch
Everything finally culminates in that most optimistic moment of the season - anchoring on the first spot and tossing out the first bait!
(the waiting begins...)

A game of tag...

Haven't posted anything in a while. Not intentional. Just got to be a busy time with family stuff. And work at the end of the year. Also, flathead catfishing is really my main thing and the off-season is fairly long from November through April.

In October, my last trip to the river involved a little early morning fishing. Got one small flathead. The rest of the day was spent tagging flathead catfish with the ILDNR. Basically this involved following them around as they did low voltage shocking to bring up catfish. The fish were then tagged and released. An angler catfishing a tagged fish calls in the number and the DNR will record the size and location. They can also provide the angler with data regarding when the fish was last captured. Pretty cool stuff, especially if you're a catch and release enthusiast like me. 

I took pictures of all this. Lots of pictures. And I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. It started out as a beautiful fall morning. The pictures don't really do justice to how nice the fall foliage was.

When Lights Are Low

 When asked about my favorite month for catfishing, I'm not sure I could really offer a concrete answer. As quickly as flathead season goes by, I've caught fish from May to October. That's nearly half the year! Looking at peak fishing times, there's just so many variables to consider - weather, water temperatures, river flow, etc. But, when it comes to the time of day, for me the choice is easy. I love those twilight hours that occur around sunrise and sunset! More often than not, I try to get launched so that I can anchor up on that first spot as close to sunrise or sunset as possible.  

 

In my Making the Day Successful entry, I quoted Tim Scott talking about how catfish go through different periods of activity throughout the day. There's absolutely something to this, how many times have you been fishing and you're out maybe 4-5 hours...but most of the activity occurred within a 60-90 minute window? It's precisely because of experiences like this that old axiom that luck is "being in the right place, with the right bait at the right time" holds true. It's certainly been well documented that catfish activity increases during the low light hours. In the next sections, we'll look at some of the possible reasons for this.


How many times have you been for a drive at sunset or around dusk and seen deer out wandering around along the road or in a cornfield? There's something about those twilight hours, a lot of different animal and fish species seem to be more active. For sight-feeding fish, there's a flurry of activity where they are feeding while they can still see their prey. I also think it's entirely possible that the activity of other species during those twilight hours presents an opportunity that catfish are taking advantage of. Catfish species are very adept at feeding in low light conditions giving them the upper hand in low light situations. For an ambush predator like the flathead catfish, the lower light is an opportunity to roam for food undetected. In low light hours, the flathead has a distinct advantage because it locates prey using other senses like detecting vibration using their lateral line. Channel catfish are going to locate prey using scent as well, which also works day or night.  

Is the night time the right time? Whether you're Ray Charles, or a catfisherman, absolutely!
So, there's a spot that I like to fish fish and a couple times I'm sitting there and at some house along the river the guy is out in his backyard with Ray Charles and other soul music classics just blasting away on the stereo. I don't know who this guy is, but his taste in music is impeccable! Back to the topic, I went with a different focus here because there's been so much written about catfishing at night. And catfishing at night absolutely works, don't get me wrong. For me, if I'm going night fishing which is what I do most of the time, I just try to get out for some of of that twilight action. That way you cover both periods of activity.



Fishing in the morning, I like to get out as early as possible. If you can get the boat launched before sunrise, you'll often have the entire river to yourself. Just to enjoy the calm and peaceful experience of watching rods in the early morning light with some hot coffee is a reward in itself. And when things are going right, hooking up with a few catfish along the way. 

 

Undoubtedly, I've had some great times fishing during daylight hours. Even mid-day, when the water is deep enough to mitigate light penetration, you can get flathead action. And channel cats, well they feed anytime of day. Fishing with more daylight actually offers a number of advantages - navigation is easier, knot tying for sure, you can see where you are casting better, trying to find things in the boat is easier...early or late in the catfish season, there may be some advantages as well. 














Considering all the factors, maybe the best measure of all this is success. Overall, I've just been more successful fishing in lower light situations and have taken bigger fish at night than during the daytime, at least the places I'm fishing. It's also nice when you can get away from that daytime traffic and enjoy the river "after-hours" when it's quieter out there. Which also happens to be a great time to catfish. And for taking pictures. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?!?