Sharp Hooks Needed For Catfish
A catfish has a very tough mouth and your hook will need to be very sharp. If it is not you will miss a lot of fish and lose a lot of bait. Those hooks you bought may feel sharp but they are probably not sharp enough. To find out if they are sharp enough simply let them slide down your fingernail and if it grabs without you putting pressure on it, it is sharp enough.
What Size Hook For the Beginning Catfish Angler
What size hook you should use depends basically on what size fish you want to catch. The size breakdown from smallest to largest looks like this:
I haven’t really told you what to use yet. There are so many choices as those above are just the sizes. There are also several different types depending on the bait you use, the water conditions and the setup of your rig.
If you are just starting catfish fishing I would suggest a number 2 to 1/0 bait holder. They are good for the smaller catfish and can still catch the big ones. This gives you much more opportunity than the larger hooks. Once you have become a better angler you can move up in size.
Also after you get used to using a regular hook, you can go fancy with a treble hook (three pronged hook) or a circle hook. These are popular ways of catching cats, and they make it easier to put the bait on there. Circle hooks are good for catching big cats, because they’re bigger and heavier.
White Catfish Facts
Common Names – forked-tail cat, catfish
Description – The sides are blue-gray to blue-black and may be mottled. The tail is moderately forked, and the anal fin is shorter and rounder than that of channel or blue catfish. Whites have only 19-22 anal fin rays. The chin barbels are white or yellow. They have a blunt, more-rounded head, and they lack black spots on their body.
Subspecies – None
Habitat – Usually found in slow-moving streams, river backwaters, reservoirs and ponds. They will tolerate a siltier bottom and higher salinity, and prefer water temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees.
Spawning Habits – As with other members of its family, they are nest builders, and the male guards the young for some time after they hatch. Both parents help excavate the large nest, usually on a sand or gravel bar. Spawning occurs in the early summer when waters reach about 70 degrees.
Feeding Habits – Although fish are their major food, whites also eat larval aquatic insects, small crustaceans, fish eggs and aquatic plants. They may feed at night, but are not as nocturnal as other catfish.
Age and Growth – Whites grow more slowly than other catfish species. Fish as old as 11 years have been documented. They seldom exceed a weight of three pounds.
Sporting Qualities – Among the catfishes found in Florida, the white is second only to the channel catfish in popularity. Live bait, especially minnows and worms, accounts for most caught whites, but they also will take cut and prepared baits.
Eating Quality – An excellent food fish, whites are prized for their firm, white flesh.
Records – World and 18.88 lbs, caught in the
Withlacoochee River, Marion County, Florida, in 1991.
Courtesy of floridaconservation.org
