A surprising behavior for the catfish
The wels catfish has always made men fantasize. It has often been treated à wrong as an ogre devouring everything in its path. Nevertheless, you must know that catfish are real detection machines.
Of course, many fishermen know that the barbels they have play an important role in detecting prey. But what many don't know is that the catfish has something in common with the shark.
No, alas, for its detractors, it is not its teeth, nor its appetite and even less its danger, but this similarity is in the pores of its skin. These are the ampoules of Lorenzini. Like rays and sharks, the catfish has these electroreceptors. These are sensory organs that give a lot of information to the catfish on its environment and its preys, which it can thus locate from very far.
A history of vibrations
Among the multitude of lures, only a few are really effective on catfish. I'm not talking about those days when even a little bit of nothing will catch a catfish. No, I'm talking about those days when nothing seems to work. It is in these difficult moments of fishing that we can judge the effectiveness of some artificial lures.
- Paddle lures
Paddle lures are one of those must-haves. Whether it's a spinning spoon, or a shad with an additional paddle, both give excellent results on difficult fish.
But what is the main purpose of the lure? The lure must irritate the predator, excite it and make it angry until it decides to take a big bite.
The paddles really find their effectiveness on the marked positions. It is advisable to use them on precise zones, where we know that the catfish are there. It is when fishing in linear cast that the paddles are the most effective. The right rod in the axis of recovery of the line, the fish will make itself during the attack. Do not hesitate to vary the depths of prospection by always throwing close to the surface and by going down gradually towards the bottom.
- The lipless
Another very interesting lure is the lipless . This swimming fish is perfect for prospecting deep areas. It is intended more for fishing prospecting, drifting. Avoid to use this type of lure from the shore, because the risk of snagging is too great.
The lipless must be animated vertically by fast strokes of scion, of about one meter of amplitude. Prospect the zones close to the bottom, so as to trigger the aggressiveness of the catfish which are covered there. The hits are then violent, because they arrive very frequently at the descent of the lure.
- The waving spoons
Finally, there remains of course, the timeless wobbling spoon that seems to have been designed for fishing our catfish. This lure, which is several decades old, is still a formidable weapon to track down the moustachioed fish. Choose the heavy models from 70 to 120 grams to fish the big deep pools. This lure is intended more for fishing on areas, when we know that catfish are there in groups.
It's best to retrieve this spoon slowly in a straight line. Adding a teaser on the treble hook adds effectiveness to this lure. A soft lure such as a grub or octopus increases the vibrations and the lift in the water. This allows us to reduce the speed of the retrieve and gain in attractiveness.
For all these lures, it is possible to know the depth of exploration. Count the number of seconds it takes the lure to hit the bottom. For example, if you hit the bottom in 8 seconds, you're fishing the middle layer in 4 seconds.
