CatfishED.com

February 6, 2003

     It's still the same old story, very few anglers are trying for catfish and the few that are targeting them aren't talking.

Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 reports a few small catfish running from 2 to 4 lbs being caught at Edgewater Resort in Soda Bay with nightcrawlers.

     If I were to go catfishing this week I would try from Wheeler Point to Konocti Harbor using shad for bait. I haven't heard of anyone trying that area lately but last year at this time they were still catching a few big cats there. If you're going to give it a try, look for concentrations of birds and fish near them or if there aren't any birds then drift in 10 to 20 feet of water near the shoreline.

Rodman Slough is still kicking out a few big channel cats but it's a lot slower than last week. Nightcrawlers and shad are the preferred baits.

February 13, 2003

     The catfish action is only fair for the few anglers pursuing them. Most of the bigger catfish are being caught incidentally by bass fishermen.

Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 says they are still catching quite a few small catfish running from 2 to 4 lbs at Edgewater Resort in Soda Bay with nightcrawlers and clams.

     Rodman Slough is still producing some good catches but it seems to be hit or miss. Some anglers are taking nice strings of cats while others are blanking. Nightcrawlers and shad are the preferred baits.

     Jim Dickerson of Nice caught and released a 17.5 lb'er on Monday off Frasier Point with shad. Richard Pounds of Kelseyville caught and released an 18 lb catfish near the mouth of Adobe Creek while bass fishing with a live jumbo minnow on Tuesday.

     We had a business meeting at Konocti Harbor Inn yesterday morning and checked out the marina while I was there. There were lots of pelicans and hundreds of other birds feeding on shad right near the docks so there must be a lot of catfish feeding under them. Unfortunately there were no fishermen around to take advantage of the action. If you're planning on targeting cats, I strongly recommend starting out at the marina.

February 20, 2003

     The catfish are still feeding on shad in the Konocti Harbor area, Henderson Point and Horseshoe Bend so the best method is to look for feeding birds and fish near them.

     Ken Brown of Fair Oaks had a very successful day of catfishing on Monday February 17th. He caught and released 32 cats, 21 of them were channel cats including 20.8, 19.4 and 18 lb'ers. He had to move around quite a bit and had most of his success at Konocti Harbor, Horseshoe Bend and Henderson Point. Ken says the trick is to watch for feeding birds and fish right in the area they are feeding. Ken started with frozen shad for bait but changed to fresh ones that he caught at Konocti Harbor.

     Rodman Slough is still producing some decent stringers of catfish. Nightcrawlers and live minnows are the top baits. Several nice cats have been caught by crappie fishermen using live medium minnows under a bobber near the bridge.

February 27, 2003

     I didn't hear of any decent catfish action this week so I'm afraid this is going to be a very short catfish report.

     Evidently the hot action at Konocti cooled down. I received an email from someone who went out last weekend and tried Konocti, Henderson Point etc. but didn't get a bite. I haven't heard of anyone else giving it a try. I'm beginning to think that the "Konocti Bite" is all over for this winter even though it never really became consistent like the previous winter.

     As always, there are a few cats being caught here and there by shore and dock fishermen, especially those fishing at night but there are more fishermen than there are fish being caught and not that many of either.

     If I had to pick a spot to try for catfish right now I would give Rodman Slough a try with nightcrawlers and minnows but I would probably catch more crappie than catfish.

     Hopefully we will get some heavy rain to muddy up the creeks and drainage ditches that feed into the lake. This would improve the catfishing quite a bit.