Back out on the James to go looking for big Blue Catfish. Some fairly serious wind was making life difficult, but I stuck it out and was fortunate enough to connect with a BIG FISH.
I went to grad school at VCU and spent lots of time fishing the James. My favorite was catching cats on fly gear. I was addicted to fly fishing then. Miss that River and VA. I think it would be to jig big swimbaits for blues.
Nice! Streamers then? That sounds like the weirdest (and probably coolest) way to catch a catfish! I would definitely like to try and jig them as well, it would be rad to feel one hit while holding the rod for a change. I get down there once in a while because my folks live there.
@@rem_fishingyup, I think I was using a 7wt to fish marabou and rabbit fur streamers; medium sized offerings I'd say. I was wet wading pocket water and working areas for small mouth. Sometimes I'd see smaller blues and channel cats laid up in deeper (3 feet or so) slack water adjacent to rapids. I would sight fish for them by tossing streamers in front of them. Bit of a dead drift of the fly combined with a few strips. The cats would slowly go after the fly and slurp it down. It was a blast! These were younger cat fish in the 5 to 8 pound range. I caught gar and hooked (but never landed) bow fins thus way. Wet wading those areas was tricky, so you gotta exercise caution. I never stepped into water above my knees. There was another scenario where flathead were stacked up among rock piles. A couple of other fly anglers showed me these areas, but my casting wasn't good enough. They would cast big black bunny leeches with weighted cone heads along the rocks, and hop the fly around. Sure enough, they caught a couple of flathead in the 10-15 pound range. It was fun to see. I just didn't yet have the skills or right setup to cast the heavy streamers. When it comes to jigging for catfish, I wonder if you could take the same approach you use for lake trout. Staying vertical may be a bit tricky given the river current. But if you mark some fish and put a swimbait in front if their face, I bet there's a catfish or two that will take a whack at it.
That sounds like a ton of fun man! Wow. And yeah I bet some blues would go for a big paddle tail for sure. I'd probably just yoyo the bottom with something really heavy, maybe when the tide isn't cranking too hard.
Hi! Started following after watching some of your lake trout videos as I was trying to figure them out on Lake Michigan. Love your videos! What a big beauty!! Nice catch :)
@@rem_fishing Yes, some luck! I am fishing blind out here with no electronics so it has been tough, but makes it that much more special when I finally do get a fish! Ha!
Good fish buddy! Can't wait to get back down there!
Yeah I love that river. Thanks!
I went to grad school at VCU and spent lots of time fishing the James. My favorite was catching cats on fly gear. I was addicted to fly fishing then. Miss that River and VA.
I think it would be to jig big swimbaits for blues.
Nice! Streamers then? That sounds like the weirdest (and probably coolest) way to catch a catfish! I would definitely like to try and jig them as well, it would be rad to feel one hit while holding the rod for a change. I get down there once in a while because my folks live there.
@@rem_fishingyup, I think I was using a 7wt to fish marabou and rabbit fur streamers; medium sized offerings I'd say. I was wet wading pocket water and working areas for small mouth. Sometimes I'd see smaller blues and channel cats laid up in deeper (3 feet or so) slack water adjacent to rapids. I would sight fish for them by tossing streamers in front of them. Bit of a dead drift of the fly combined with a few strips. The cats would slowly go after the fly and slurp it down. It was a blast! These were younger cat fish in the 5 to 8 pound range. I caught gar and hooked (but never landed) bow fins thus way. Wet wading those areas was tricky, so you gotta exercise caution. I never stepped into water above my knees.
There was another scenario where flathead were stacked up among rock piles. A couple of other fly anglers showed me these areas, but my casting wasn't good enough. They would cast big black bunny leeches with weighted cone heads along the rocks, and hop the fly around. Sure enough, they caught a couple of flathead in the 10-15 pound range. It was fun to see. I just didn't yet have the skills or right setup to cast the heavy streamers.
When it comes to jigging for catfish, I wonder if you could take the same approach you use for lake trout. Staying vertical may be a bit tricky given the river current. But if you mark some fish and put a swimbait in front if their face, I bet there's a catfish or two that will take a whack at it.
That sounds like a ton of fun man! Wow. And yeah I bet some blues would go for a big paddle tail for sure. I'd probably just yoyo the bottom with something really heavy, maybe when the tide isn't cranking too hard.
@@rem_fishingI think a yoyo technique would work great.
Hi! Started following after watching some of your lake trout videos as I was trying to figure them out on Lake Michigan. Love your videos! What a big beauty!! Nice catch :)
Thanks Daniel - I really appreciate that! Any luck with them on Lake Michigan so far? I've never been there.
@@rem_fishing Yes, some luck! I am fishing blind out here with no electronics so it has been tough, but makes it that much more special when I finally do get a fish! Ha!