CATFISH RIGS

[DOC]

The discussion on tench and resistance has moved on to cats. So here's a new thread.

The question was one of resistance, and is often discussed re: cats. But is it true ?

My comment was regarding the fishes perception of resistance and their reaction to it to consider. With catfish for example, I suspect that it's not so much that they are bothered about resistance, but more to do with the fact that the hook tends to just pull out of the mouth without taking hold as they swim off.

Hence catfish tend to give quite slow or jerky runs (usually anyway) because they are not frightened by being pricked (since they probably haven't even noticed the hook link in that cavernous indestructible bony mouth). They then quite often just fall out in the fight if you haven't hit them hard enough unless you are lucky with the hook hold in the scissors. You can of course increase your chances of a good hook hold as described by John "Colne Valley Cat Slayer" Prentice, by using pop-ups on a bolt rig.

It is possibly for this reason alone that cats "appear" to be sensitive to resistance when in fact it is, in a way, resistance that is sensitive to the catfish !

This is just my theory. Perhaps a real cat expert will tell me if its ********.

[jack]

Easy tiger!
nobody would love to tell you that your talking aload of old b******s more than me!
But then again im no slayer so you will have to excuse me for relating my own experiences.
Incidently i have used running ledgers for cats mainly with worms (popped up of course) and found the bites can be savage.When a cat takes its natural food say a 2lb carp theres bound to be some initial resistance before they move off this probably doesnt alarm them.When they find themselves towing a 3oz lead its usually to late .

[rhornegold]

Doc,
I can honestly say that all the cat runs I have had on live bait are screamers, they hit from below and dont stop until they are hooked or you pull the baits out of their mouths.
I always use baitrunners and no indicators as most of the time the winch rig would be used.
Hooking cats is another subject altogether, but I did improve this last year by using mustad chisel point hooks which are very sharp and will hold in the bony part of the mouth.
Bob

[DOC]

It seems that live baits and pop-ups give the best runs from what I've heard so far.

I think I will try and extract some tips from you this weekend Bob. I am determined to get that monster cat this year !

Matt

[rhornegold]

Ian,
It all seemed so much easier then, were they really 2/3inches long.
See you at the weekend.
Bob

[jack]

There does seem to be at least two different feeding patterns at work here the scavenging bottom feeder that takes advantage of anything laying on or near the bottom (static baits) Conversly the active predator prepared to search out baits working any where from the bottom to the surface.What affects these feeding patterns most?Could it be light, temperature or just the most available food source?

[scorpio]

I don't know a great deal about Catfish but if I remember rightly their eyesight aint all that good and that is probably why they have whiskers. For them to take a livebait if most certainly must be a distressed fish and in fact that is what a livebait is, just that, I would imagine that 90% of their food intake is on static food. but if a distressed fish is detected they will go for it.

Tony

[DOC]

Tony,

When the cats are on the feed on a warm summer night, the surface seems to be boiling with attacking moggies sometimes. The prey can't all be distressed fish (until they're in the cat's gob of course).

I think the cat's eyes are so small because they simply don't need them ! They have much more advanced techniques for hunting at night that are better than eyesight ! Such as, as you say, those whiskers, which don't just feel the prey, but also their movements and sounds from some distance.

In evolutionary terms, I reckon' the whiskers grew before the eyes went.

Another crazy DOC theory probably !

Matt

[scorpio]

In evolutionary terms Doc you are probably right... like the blind moles that live in the sand, used to have eyes without a doubt but lost them coz they never needed them. It is a known fact that the most successful predators have a very keen eyesight, big cats, owls, pike..... I think the catfish was designed as more of a scavenger than an out and out predator but if the bait fish are there for the taking it will go for them.

Interesting is this but we are off the subject a bit.... sorry.

Tony

[DOC]

A "Scientific Anglers" seminar may be required on this.

I'll bring some port next time then !

DOC

[rhornegold]

Ian,
I really dont mind how I catch them, on the bottom when they are scavenging or up in the up in the water on lives as the water heats up.
Do you think they become preoccupied with boilies/ pellets as carp do,or are they cold and just mouching around the bottom until thier body temperature rises and they go onto live bait feeding.
In the 60s I fished Woburn, our tackle was really stepped up carp gear, the rigs were simple light freerunning or weightless type set ups.
As a group we had quite a few runs but due to the inadiquate tackle not many fish were landed.
The use of brightly coloured live baits came in from the Pike fishing lads and on some waters produced some stunning results.
If cats are nearly blind why would this make a difference over the use of silver fish?
I think I'll just sit and wait for the Doc and Ian sort this one out, roll on the catfish fishin.
Bob

[DOC]

Perhaps Bob, if these brightly coloured live baits were orange (I'll say no more than that) then they would also behave differently to silver fish e.g. a lot more lively (vibrations) and tougher (much more movement over a long period). That's all I can think of anyway. A controlled experiment over many fishing hours (with common carp as the comparison bait) would be the only scientific way to answer this question with certainty. Unless Ian knows the answer already ... ?

Matt

[jack]

People seem to equate small eyes with bad eyesight yet roach have small eyes but most matchmen use extremely fine tackle.The jury is still out on cats having bad eyesight.I dont know enough about it but having such a long lateral line must help.