Spring Catfish

[ipjrobson]

Slinky weights look interesting. I was thinking of using a slip sinker set up.

Do you have any rig suggestions for cats other than slip sinkers? Assuming we fish in the ottawa river.

Awesome feedback here guys.

[FLOATFISHIN]

I'll ad here. I have fished cats in the Ottawa area, never the Rideau. I've fished feeder creeks into the Ottawa, many of the shore spots mentioned. Brown Bullheads or Yellow Bellies I have found are more caught earlier, than the "Channel Cats" and a simple worm rig is the best for them. At Creek mouths, and "FrogWater" Back bays and so on. My "Goto" rig for me, is as I posted on page 2, is the liver, garlic, or vanilla extract. Simply on a 1/2 to 1oz jig head (My preference is pink) And adjacent to current. So any breaks or just away from the main flow of the river. The weight pends on the current I am casting to. People say color is no factor, I beg to differ with my jig heads. I have taken my wife, daughter and son out, 4 of us with same weight, bait, but four different colored jig heads, and 1 has surpassed the other all outings together. Some days it's a simple black jig head, others an orange. I have always done the best, with pink. Do I loose jig heads to the rocks? Yes. Is it a simple tie, say other than a drop shot rig, or cheaper than to loose slinkies bought at the store? Yes. And in expensive to the family who want's to go have a picnic,and catch fish, or mom and dad who want their kids to feel a great fight from a fish from shore? Cats are a blast, could be a 1lb'er, could be a 10lb'er. Could be 1 fish caught, 20 fish caught, but for the price of a chunk of liver, some minced garlic, a tupper ware container, and a pack of jig heads (Which is the same price as a pack of hooks, sinkers and 2 dozen worms) for an afternoon, whether fish are caught or not...... PRICELESS!

Tight lines:

Float.

[scarkner]

Love your comments about costs.

I have found some setups that last longer, for example I have had great success with a fairly complex setup as follows:
Rod with 50lb braid.
Pickerel rigged (or Jackfish rig is even better, much stronger, but more expensive still)
Large sinker tied to bottom of pickerel rig using 4lb test line.
Hooks on the arms of the rig tied with 20lb test line.

Now if the weight or even the hooks get hung up they just break off (20lb or 4lb line breaks before the 50lb braid) and I can tie on a new one.

BUT - Occasionally I lose the whole rig. Especially with a fish on, I have found that the cats sometimes dive under rocks so you can feel them fighting but as you pull them in they come up hard agaisnt... something... I presume a rock. Sometimes close enough to shore that I can see them hung up and can go get em by hand!

So basically the rig is about $3-4 worth of "stuff" that you can lose compared to just a heavy weighted $0.25 jig head which you lose more often, but costs much less.

I do find that having the hooks slightly off bottom helps a lot with reducing the number of snags.

It's a toss up!

[smitty55]

One spot not mentioned so far is the Miss in Galetta. Caught them there before with a float and minnow in the current. A bunch of us also used to Barbotte fish up Mohrs Rd. for a few years. There was even a daytime bite. I think we had eight guys there one time. And Eels? It was strange if we didn't catch one or more. When was the last time you heard of that? You could usually tell if there was an eel around because the bite would die off. Just like Crappie fishing on the Rideau and a pike cruises thru.

Shirley's has a very healthy Channel population, from early summer spawning areas until well into July. Caught some nice ones in the lagoon off the causeway using those fat pink hot dog chunks sitting in a liquid. I doubt if they even make them anymore but they sure worked.

For summer Catfish action in Ottawa again I'll put a vote for Shirley's. Boat required. Basically troll from the launch to the point. I was fishing for Pickerel hopefully but the Cats were always hungry it seemed and give a damn fine fight when you get down to it. Weapon of choice that worked best for me? Either a Flatfish or Brooks Reefer, both "banana" style baits that vibrate great at low speeds. But not the ones with those flimsy hooks. Like Float said, you never know when when you'll nail a biggun.

If there's one person who has the Cats nailed on the east Ottawa, its Yannick. A great quantity fish for kids and new fishermen to have a riot catching. They're a good part of his business. I'd bet he has his big fish spots too if that's what a client wants.

Cheers

[Yannick Loranger]

Pickerel rig and worms are my go-to. Nothing like fighting two chunky cats simultaneously. Tributaries are best for me early in the spring. After walleye opener big cats seem to congregate on structure before sliding deep for the summer. Mid-summer it's not uncommon for us to fish for cats to fill limits of walleye. One fish in 5 is an eye but action is constant for our guests.

[ipjrobson]

A quick question about cutbait. Are you allowed to use cutbait? i.e. fish that you caught and cut up to use. Does it fall under the baitfish rules ?

From what I remember, I thought you could only use non edible parts of a fish.

I checked the Ontario fishing guide and didn't find anything specific about it.

[scarkner]

You are not allowed to use the edible parts of a "sportfish" for bait. Any fish with a defined season covered in the regs is considered a sportfish. For example, Pumpkinseed fish are open all year, but the fact that their season is stated makes them a sportfish and therefore you can't use the whole fish or edible parts of the fish as bait. Note that Catfish would be considered a sportfish.

You can use the non-edible parts (eyes of a perch for example) provided it is in-season and you don't waste the edible part of the fish.

You can use non-sportfish as bait, whole or in part (suckers for example) provided they can be caught and kept (for example, you can't use eels, not because they are a sportfish, but because they are endangered and therefore you are NEVER allowed to keep them or if they are invasive such as Gobies). A very specific list of allowed baitfish is included in the regs, it's a long list that includes all the suckers, minnows, etc.

You also need to be aware that there are exceptions to the regs on the use of any bait in some areas such as fish sanctuaries, etc. For example, in Zone 2 you can't use Smelt, but you can use other baitfish.

The above is my understanding of the regs. I think they are actually pretty clear on bait. Page 10 of the 2016 regs is well written.

[ipjrobson]

You are not allowed to use the edible parts of a "sportfish" for bait. Any fish with a defined season covered in the regs is considered a sportfish. For example, Pumpkinseed fish are open all year, but the fact that their season is stated makes them a sportfish and therefore you can't use the whole fish or edible parts of the fish as bait. Note that Catfish would be considered a sportfish.

You can use the non-edible parts (eyes of a perch for example) provided it is in-season and you don't waste the edible part of the fish.

You can use non-sportfish as bait, whole or in part (suckers for example) provided they can be caught and kept (for example, you can't use eels, not because they are a sportfish, but because they are endangered and therefore you are NEVER allowed to keep them or if they are invasive such as Gobies). A very specific list of allowed baitfish is included in the regs, it's a long list that includes all the suckers, minnows, etc.

You also need to be aware that there are exceptions to the regs on the use of any bait in some areas such as fish sanctuaries, etc. For example, in Zone 2 you can't use Smelt, but you can use other baitfish.

The above is my understanding of the regs. I think they are actually pretty clear on bait. Page 10 of the 2016 regs is well written.

Thanks for the clarification. I re-read that section again and it is pretty clear. I just missed a couple of things. Now it seems I need to find some suckers for cutbait lol