In a club that I belong to several of their lakes contain quite a lot of wels catfish. Talking to the club members the general opinion is that most of the roach have been eaten by the catfish. Am I actually wasting my time targeting the roach on these lakes? Can big roach coexist with catfish?
Roach Fishing and Catfish??
- Thread starter peterjg
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markcw
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I would say it depends on the size of the catfish,
A club I was in had a few waters stocked with them, on one water the silvers were added after the other two waters on the site were netted to thin the stocks.
The silver fishing was brilliant on the catfish water for some reason, Then the club imposed a minimum breaking strain of line on it,
The other two pools were still good fishing ,the larger silvers were left in them, along with a few small cats that evaded the nets.
I would have a go at targeting the silvers if I was you, You could have a good days fishing, if the cats are smallish, a standard waggler set up should suffice if you accidentally hook one. We used to catch them now and then in matches both on rod and pole.
A club I was in had a few waters stocked with them, on one water the silvers were added after the other two waters on the site were netted to thin the stocks.
The silver fishing was brilliant on the catfish water for some reason, Then the club imposed a minimum breaking strain of line on it,
The other two pools were still good fishing ,the larger silvers were left in them, along with a few small cats that evaded the nets.
I would have a go at targeting the silvers if I was you, You could have a good days fishing, if the cats are smallish, a standard waggler set up should suffice if you accidentally hook one. We used to catch them now and then in matches both on rod and pole.
steve2
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One of my clubs stocked catfish to control carp it failed but the tench disappeared and the carp numbers are greater than ever.
My old friend Matt is a bit of catfish expert and catches dozens over 100lbs every year in France. (in fact 151 over 100lbs) He uses nothing but tied off carp as bait.
A club lake I fished a lot for roach,it has a large population of roach from small to mid two's,it has a large population of catfish,from kittens to over 70lbs,with several 50's,it is one of the best all round fisheries I know,lots of pike to mid twenties,perch,tench,bream and carp,whilst roach fishing I had cats to over thirty,carp twenty five,tench seven,bream nine and perch two plus, best roach was 2-6,I wonder why left the club(it was the only water they had I liked to fish).
Thanks fellas for your replies and info. I will follow your advice and continue to target the roach on two or three of the lakes. A couple of the lakes have produced cats to over 80lbs and carp to over 55lbs. I seem to he the only member interested in roach?
I can remember a tv program where an angler bought a run down place in France to do up. The lake was supposed to be full of carp, roach and 'a catfish'. When they drained the lake to check stocks there was a couple of teens carp, a shoal of small roach and one huge catfish. I think the catfish had eaten most of the fish stocks!
There is one particular club lake where big roach were fairly common. Now there are lots of catfish in there, I and many other members have had multiple catfish catches. It's actually much easier there to catch a catfish there than a roach! Not my sort of venue.
We are now going to have a catfish match. Just from 4.00pm to 9.00pm. All bait will be provided for the fishermen. I say fishermen as no fisherwomen are interested. Also there will be a free BBQ and free beer. A local farmer will have any caught as he likes to eat them with sauce!!!!! Maybe with less catfish it will give the small carp, tench and bream a chance.
Roger Johnson 2
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Where are you old chap? I could be tempted,date, work and distance allowing, I’ve not never caught a catfish and there don’t seem to be any in my part of the river.
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markcw
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Silure is in France,
As for never catching a catfish, think yourself lucky unless you really want to go after the big ones.
The kittens are a bloody nuisance once the take hold in a water.
S-Kippy
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Dont half pull though. Never hooked anything that compares for sheer power. I dont mind the smaller ones but I wouldn't want to have to deal with a biggun.
The largest I have had was 86lbs and that pulled like heck.
I have no idea how my old friend Matt deals with those 200 pounders he catches in France . . . . . .
I have no idea how my old friend Matt deals with those 200 pounders he catches in France . . . . . .
I am not a fan but I have warmed slightly to them over the years. They are rather unfairly maligned at times, a little like Zander.
No doubt they are powerful but I find their fight quite dour compared to say a Carp or Barbel. I saw an angler land a large one with a Gaff once and as Barbaric as it may seem it was actually a very quick, clean and easy way to deal with it. ...I still use a net however.
No doubt they are powerful but I find their fight quite dour compared to say a Carp or Barbel. I saw an angler land a large one with a Gaff once and as Barbaric as it may seem it was actually a very quick, clean and easy way to deal with it. ...I still use a net however.