SUM
Where to find the sum?
The range of catfish occurrence is limited to the warmer ones, lowland waters. It occurs in oxbow lakes and rags. It is usually well-established in non-trout dam reservoirs and larger clay pits, sand and gravel. Permanent places of his stay are sinks and bays with a slightly silted bottom, deeper moguls in the bottom of things, washed out edges, river mouths, the bottom with numerous obstacles and hiding places. In spring we are looking for a catfish in permanent positions, later he wanders further, penetrating water in search of food. We can find him at the bottom of deeper watercourses (if we know the routes of his travels), in cavities with slowly flowing water; In the evening and late in the evening it often stays near the surface, where he reveals his presence with gentle splashes. During the day it is usually hidden - under the roots, large boulders and a strip of water vegetation. In Poland, it lives in some lakes, most often of the bream type. It is a normal component of ichthyofauna in low-lying, larger-area dam reservoirs.
When to catch catfish?
Catfish takes from the first perceptible warming of the water to the autumn cooling, i.e.. at a water temperature close to 10 °C. Most catfish are caught from mid-June to the end of August, then successful catches become rarer and more random. Favorable conditions for effective catfish fishing are heat, stuffy and slightly cloudy weather, light rain, stormy weather; in the dam reservoirs, the fishing is favored by light wind, rippling the surface of the water. In warm times, on bright and sunny days, we are looking for the catfish in the main riverbed, in deep quiet places, which he penetrates in pursuit of food. During this period, the catfish move around their regions (often several hundred meters long), then they return to their hiding places, where they digest their food. Also, a rule can be applied to the sum, that the best times to catch it are early morning and late evening. The period of catching catfish is most often related to the local conditions of the aquatic environment and also depends on the age of the catfish caught; however, the period of good bites is always short during the day.
Equipment for catching catfish.
It should be heavy, depending on the fishing method used and the size of the specimen, which we expect to catch. Crossover and spinning rods can be shorter; to the method for the attachment with a high ground load and the method for the "gallows” - heavier and longer than 3 m. Line with a thickness of 0.40— 0,60 mm; then we use a thicker line, when we have a reel with a large spool, which can accommodate even over 100 m stronger line. In the appetizer method, we use the thicker one, stronger line. The float is bigger and heavier, medium and heavy load. Size 4 / 0-10 / 0 hooks. Spoons in length 6 — 10 cm (shuttle or Heintz type)- in the spinning method, you can use systemics and various constructions to arm a dead fish, swivels, eccentric weights. The most important thing, however, is the reel. A gaffer and a large landing net are necessary.
Methods of catching catfish.
The catfish can be caught by all fishing methods, except for the fly method. So you fish with a float (in flowing and stagnant water) or a buoy (only in stagnant water), using the "on the gallows" method, and also by raising and lowering the bait. You can fish with or without a float using the snap-on method, spinning with artificial lures (spinners, wobblers) or fresh or canned fish on systemics. The method of lowering and lifting the lure can be classified as a type of vertical spinning.
Catfish lures.
Catfish is an unrefined and voracious fish; eats everything, which is of animal origin and flows with water. We use earthworms in the spring months, later live and dead fish, pieces of crayfish, poultry intestines, cut into pieces (pasta) liver or spleen, large leeches, some terrestrial insects, mice, birds, cuts of eel and fish of other species.. In livestock it is good to use a sausage, ruffle, and even a large rope.
Other comments.
Catfish is so abundant in some dam reservoirs, that it is worth specializing in catching this fish. Who will know the places, where the catfish hides or where it wanders or comes out into the shallows behind small fish, this one is the master of the situation. If such an angler does not catch even a catfish on the first day, it has a real chance of catching him the next day. The recommended method of fishing with a lure (with a hen) on ours, Waters relatively intensively visited by anglers can only be used exceptionally, as very specific. Catfish in Poland has a protective dimension set at 50 cm, there is no grace period. In terms of quantity, its daily catch per one angler is limited to 4 pcs, including pike, zander and asp.