Catfish are not pretty by any standards. In fact, they're ugly.
A catfish's mouth is too big, its whiskers look like worms and its head is as flat as a saucer. Its eyes are too small, and too far apart, its skin feels like an old innertube and its body like cold mashed potatoes.The very food it eats is unappealing. It will eat anything, no matter how rank, living or dead. Even its living standards are low. A catfish will swim in waters most fish wouldn't be caught putting through their gills.
Still, there are fishermen who would sooner hook into a 3-pound channel cat than a 20-pound trout.
Overlooking their appearance, the catfish has a certain charm with some fishermen. Fishing for them is different, hooking them is an experience, and so is unhooking them. It takes certain know-how to remove a hook, and to the unknowing novice it can be a painful learning experience. Catfish are not without defenses that include sharp spikes on their fins, strong jaws and rows of small teeth.
They are ugly, though, and this turns a lot of fishermen off. Many would sooner catch a cold than a catfish. Even carp get more respect. Looks to some are everything.
The catfish, and there are two species in Utah, channel and bullhead, is not native to Utah. It was introduced into some of Utah's larger rivers in 1888 and later into some lakes, most notably, Utah Lake.
The channel catfish is a bluish-olive color with spots over much of its body. It has a deeply forked tail and because it has no scales, it is referred to as being naked. The state record is 32 pounds, 5 ounces and was pulled from Utah Lake in 1979.
The black bullhead, too, is dark olive or brown. The most distinguishing feature is the more rounded tail. The bullhead is smaller than its cousin and it, too, has no scales. The state record is 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
Best fishing for the cats is now. Yesterday preferably, but within the next couple of weeks definitely. Catfish are spawning. The fish have moved into shallow areas where the female will drop the eggs and the male will watch over them, anywhere from six to 10 days.
Good fishing spots include Utah Lake, Willard Bay, Bear River, lower Green River and the upper reaches of Lake Powell near where the Colorado and San Juan enters.
What make the fish so appealing to some cat fishermen is their size, fight and taste.
Catfish like warmer waters, and therefore enjoy year-round growth. Studies of catfish in Utah Lake, for example, show they will grow about 3 inches a year through age 5. At this point the cats average about 15 inches and weigh between 2 and 3 pounds. Or, they are big enough to put a good bend in the fishing rod and a stiff drag on the reel.
The fishing part is possibly the easiest part in the catfish experience. Anything of a solid nature appeals to catfish. Best baits are those that smell the worst . . . old shrimp turned dark with age; a glob of night crawler twisted around a hook; pork rhine dripping with fatty juices; a hunk of oily carp meat on a No. 2 or 3 hook. But then the catfish isn't opposed to taking a black jig or a gold spinner or a motor oil grub in clearer waters, either.
Baits are best left sitting on the bottom on a slip sinker, or left hanging off the bottom from a bubble.
There is, too, a difference in the hit by a cat and other fish. Cats will sometime nibble and then pick up the bait and run. Pull too soon and bait and fish could be separated. Also, pull too hard and lighter lines can break. Best method is to let the fish run, tighten up the line and then set the hook with a firm tug.
It is advisable that after each catch the line above the hook is checked. Catfish have rows of small teeth that can damage line enough that a good tug on the line on next fish could break it.
Avid fishermen find nighttime fishing good. Both channel catfish and bullheads do most of their feeding at night.
As with almost any species, day or night, a key to any success is in finding the fish. Catfish tend to move about - one day shallow, the next deep, and the next somewhere in between. when the right depth is found, though, the catching is almost guaranteed.
On windy days, catfish seem to like to say around calmer waters where structure is evident.
A popular fishing method among many fishermen these days, cat anglers included, is to fish with lighter tackle. The lighter line and rods can make landing one a real test.
The ultimate reward is, of course, in the eating. Catfish in many parts of the country are preferred to other fish. Properly prepared the meat is considered among the best.
But there is a trick to preparing catfish. The popular way is to cut through the skin near the head and then, with a pair of pliers or skinning tool, pull the skin off like peeling a banana. Like other warmwater fish, catfish have few bones.
The limit on channel cat is eight and on bullhead, or mud cats, it's 24.
The ultimate test, though, is overlooking the looks. They are, without question, ugly.