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Well, I would never say I'm much of a
Catfish angler, with my chances of catching them limited to a couple of (unanimously
unsuccessful) awaydays at the likes of Claydon and Tiddenfoot Pit- both as close to
angling hell as I reckon you could get- and a slightly more successful sortie down to
Jimmy's Lake in Essex. These were followed by a couple of dabbles at Northey Park- until
the Catfish lake became a syndicate anyway, and finally, as luck would have it, I somehow
wangled the opportunity to fish on a large Norfolk gravel pit which was neither a.
overcrowded or b. over noisy, and (bonus!) at the same time held some cracking
Silures.
Now obviously pretty they aren't, in the
classic sense, but they have a charm (if you could call it that) all of their own... but
hell, above all, they pull your bloody arms off! Which is always a big plus in my book.
Being attached to something in the pitch black which is going absolutely nuts around your
swim is an experience out on it's own... I do wish they were more widespread, cos I would
dearly love to get strapped into a few more of them. As long as I don't have to share a
swim with 3 other people...
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Paul Woodford
brings a tube full of Tiddenfoot Catfish ashore in the morning.
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Make-up session over...
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...and ready for the camera.
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Jimmy's
Lake in Essex and an 18lb 13oz Cat taken on legered livebait. It took me on a right dance
all around the bay I was fishing. My first one bigger than a kitten and awesome! Gotta get
a few more of these...
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A
15lb Cat on a hot sweaty, mozzie soaked night from Elliot Symak's Northey Park fishery.
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Ahhh.
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The
big Cat sulks in the margins.
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A
17 pounder from Northey again- taken on method-feedered plastic sweetcorn in 3 feet of gin
clear water in the middle of the day- after I had wound in the Catfish rods... Nocturnal
mister? Me no understand!
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24lb 6oz Cat taken on a big home made boilie (Liquidised
squid & mussels mixed with eggs and a GLM boilie mix) on a wet, wild and windy night.
Always well chuffed when a half-baked, ill conceived plan comes together! I also caught a
near 20lb Carp that night on the same bait. How it got the boilie in it's mouth I'll never
know!
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Catfisher's Dawn.
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24lb 14oz Cat which took a Rudd livebait within minutes of
casting it out. Some days your luck is just in.
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Never pretty.
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Slipping
one back home.
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A
pleasant little Catfish swim at packing up time.
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Ian
in Mid-Summer grappling with a 30 plus Catfish from Yateley
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17 pounds from a gravel pit on stuffed squid.
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Personal best 47lb 2oz Cat taken at first light on popped up
squid stuffed with balsa (a great cat attractor!!) & Greenshell mussel. An
arm-acher
of a scrap, but least it behaved for the photo.
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Just
about managed to hold on long enough to this 28 pounder! I think that was what the 'surprised' expression was
all about. Mind you, I can't see the bankstick I used to focus on for the self take
picture anywhere!
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A small cat that went on to smash my camera off the tripod
straight after this shot was taken. A lively little sucker.
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