Fly Fishing For Catfish

The largest catfish I have caught on a fly.  This whiskered devil tipped the scales at seven pounds, three ounces.

Did you know that you can catch catfish on a fly rod?  Of course you did because you are an attractive person with an above average IQ that understands the complexities of fly fishing in Missouri.  But what if you posed the same question to someone that was of a lower intelligence with a lesser understanding of fly fishing in the mighty Mo?  Well I bet they would first be shocked.  Then they might go through denial of such a horrific fact and anger because fly fishing is supposed to be for tout and that’s that darn it!  Then they might try to bargain with you to get you to say fly fishing for cats couldn’t or shouldn’t be done.  Such horrific things just shouldn’t happen to harmless fly fishermen for Pete’s sake!  After a short period of depression where they realize that fly fishing extends beyond their known boundaries, that person might even come to accepting the fact that catfish CAN and SHOULD be caught on a fly rod.  Good luck to any western trout fishermen that are reading this and were raised to think you must only fish dries during annual hatches.  This post might not be for you, so it is understandable if you excuse yourself and go tie some size 18 parachute blue wing olives.  

Don’t get me wrong, I have never targeted catfish on a fishing trip and thought, “Oh yeah baby, this is the trip that I land an eight pound channel cat!”  (I don’t know anyone who does that, but if YOU actually do this, email me because we need to talk about how awesome you are).  Instead, all of the catfish I have caught on a fly have been landed while fishing for other species such as bass and bluegill.  However, it becomes pretty obvious in a quick way when you have hooked a catfish.  Bass shake their heads and make a run or two.  Bluegill love doing donuts and swim in circles like they are at Bristol.  Hybrids pull and pull and pull.  Green sunfish do, well, whatever green sunfish do.  Rainbows can be acrobatic and make spectacular leaps.  Catfish are different.  Sometimes it feels like they are trying to burrow their way to the land of China.  They use their weight to their advantage during the fight and will make some great runs when they are first hooked or start to get close to the bank.  While they will not jump, they will make some pretty incredible swirls at the surface of the water.  They will also stick their forked tails out of the water during a fight and slap the water violently while trying to gain leverage but it can also be interpreted as an obscene gesture.  Jerks!  A curse upon their families!

Okay, maybe that is going too far but catching catfish is a blast.  It is unexpected and it is a fight!  You can catch catfish on bass streamers or small mini jigs when you are targeting bluegill.  I even know a guy that sometimes catches catfish on hopper patterns.  I once fished with a guy that hooked a five pound channel cat in a thunderstorm on an olive wooly bugger.  (The same guy killed a ten point buck on his first deer hunt too so take that for what it is worth).  I also fished with a gentlemen that had caught 20 straight bluegill on a jig under an indicator and then landed a four pound, eight ounce channel cat using the same setup.  While you can catch them on a variety of flies, you are chasing a ghost if you think you can target these fish in most of the muddy water we have here in northwest Missouri.  Instead, just keep targeting other fish and hit the water when you can.  Eventually you will hook into something that has a dogged personality and puts a heck of a bend in your fly rod.  You will think you have a bass or bluegill at first and then you will have your rod doubled over in an instant with two feet of your fly rod below the surface of the water.  Just enjoy the ride (literally if you are in a small boat) and remember every detail of the epic fight.  You will want to be able to describe every second to a snooty dry fly fisherman from Colorado one day that was raised to fly fish for trout.  He might need to understand the five stages of grief so be a buddy and help get him through the process.  Who knows, maybe you can convert him to a muddy water guy!