Post by yihunt on May 30, 2010 11:17:56 GMT -4
Anglers take a liking to channel catfish
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The approach of summer and consistently warm weather like that experienced this past week means something very specific is about to happen at Lake Somerset and similar waters around the region.
The channel catfish season - officially open year-round -- is about to turn serious.
"Oh yeah, channel cats, there's a definite following," said Emil Svetahor, manager of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's southwest region office in Somerset. "I know out here at Lake Somerset, especially once the summer starts, there are lots of guys who specifically fish for channel cats. We see that at all of our stocked lakes, and it's the same thing in the rivers."
That's not the way things always were. There was a time when catfish in general were something most anglers caught incidentally, while more particularly fishing for something else.
That's changed over the past decade.
"I think channel cats in particular are catching on in popularity," Svetahor said.
The Fish and Boat Commission is hoping to latch on to that, and boost the attraction.
The agency in recent years revised its walleye and musky management plans. Now, it's in the midst of designing a new channel catfish management plan that has as one of its main goals pushing the species as a prime game fish, said Rick Lorson, the commission's area 8 biologist in Somerset and the person heading up the revision.
"Of course, we're always pushing fishing. We're in that business. But this is going to be a matter of concentrating those efforts," Lorson said.
"This sort of comes on the heels of those other plans because we do spend a lot of time and effort on supplemental (channel catfish) stockings."
That's especially true locally. The commission has asked for 241,000 channel cat fingerlings to plant in 56 lakes statewide this year. Twenty of those lakes are in the 10-county southwest region. Another 13 are found in the commission's area 1 and 2 management units, which lie in part in the northwestern corner of the state.
Anglers are already following those fish. A 2005 study done by the commission determined that 41 percent of all catfishing trips taken by fishermen were to stocked lakes. Those fishermen spent $14 million annually along the way.
But channel cats remain an "underutilized" species, despite the fact they can be caught throughout summer - when other species become reluctant to bite - without requiring a lot of specialized equipment, Lorson said.
The commission is looking for ways to let fishermen know about the opportunities out there, and to improve its management to put more channel catfish out there to be caught, Lorson said. That may mean handling the species differently when it comes to rivers versus lakes, for example.
One change already has been settled upon. In the past, the commission has stocked channel catfish fingerlings when they were 1 to 4 inches long. The results have been questionable.
Biologists looked at four area lakes this spring that had been stocked with catfish fingerlings in the past - Acme Dam, Mammoth Dam, Lower Twin Lake and Peters Township Reservoir #2 - and found no cats.
That might be a reflection of timing, Lorson said. Those surveys are always done in early spring, but because channel cats spawn later than other species, they're harder to find. It could be that they exist in those lakes, but don't show up in surveys, Lorson said.
The commission will resample two of those four lakes in June, when water temperatures climb, to see if that's true.
It's a certainty, though, that a lot of the small catfish fingerlings stocked are indeed long gone, having been eaten by hungry bass after being stocked, he added.
To combat that, starting this year and from now on, the commission will stock catfish fingerlings that are at least 6 to 8 inches long.
"That way, instead of having all of the adult bass in a lake capable of preying on them, only the largest bass will be a factor in terms of predation. I'm predicting that in itself should make for a higher survival rate and should lead to better fishing down the road," Lorson said.
Lorson may pick up a few more tips next month. He'll be attending the International Catfish Symposium in St. Louis in June to get a look at the nation's most state-of-the-art catfish management.
The result could be better fishing for a species that fights hard and is just plain fun to catch, Svetahor said.
"What's nice about them, too, is that they get pretty big and are good to eat," Svetahor added.
Fisherman's guide to catching channel cats
Interested in trying to catch channel cats? Now is the time to get started.
According to information in the state's existing channel cat management plan, written by Elizabeth native Bob Lorantas, head of the Fish and Boat Commission's warmwater unit, June is the second-best month of the year for catches of channel cats per hour in Pennsylvania's rivers. Only September is more productive. August and July rank third and fourth, respectively, as the best times to fish.
The top months in reservoirs greater than 50 acres but less than 500 are, in order, July, September, October, June and August. On larger reservoirs bigger than 500 acres, the top months are August, February, July and June.
Wherever you go, remember that channel cats feed by sight and taste, Lorantas said. Large, powerful-smelling baits work well.
"All you need is some chicken livers," the Fish and Boat Commission's southwest regional manager Emil Svetahor said.
Prepared stink baits and cut bait work, too, though, as do nightcrawlers and, in situations, artificial like jigs.
Remember that channel cats can get big - the state record is a 35-pound, 2-ounce fish, and those reaching 30 inches and 13 or so pounds aren't uncommon - and use heavy gear. If you're specifically targeting big fish, 30-pound test line, 1 1/2-ounce sinkers and size 1/0 hooks aren't too big. Otherwise, 10-pound line with size 4 hooks are adequate.
Some stocked waters to consider fishing are Lower, Middle and Upper Deer Lakes, Crooked Creek Lake, Keystone Lake, Mahoning Creek Lake, Lake Somerset, Dunlap Creek Lake, Greenlick Reservoir, Canonsburg Lake, Cross Creek Lake, Lake Arthur, Loyalhanna Dam, Keystone State Park Lake and Bridgeport Dam. Of course, Pittsburgh's three rivers and the Beaver and Yough are worth trying, too.
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The approach of summer and consistently warm weather like that experienced this past week means something very specific is about to happen at Lake Somerset and similar waters around the region.
The channel catfish season - officially open year-round -- is about to turn serious.
"Oh yeah, channel cats, there's a definite following," said Emil Svetahor, manager of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's southwest region office in Somerset. "I know out here at Lake Somerset, especially once the summer starts, there are lots of guys who specifically fish for channel cats. We see that at all of our stocked lakes, and it's the same thing in the rivers."
That's not the way things always were. There was a time when catfish in general were something most anglers caught incidentally, while more particularly fishing for something else.
That's changed over the past decade.
"I think channel cats in particular are catching on in popularity," Svetahor said.
The Fish and Boat Commission is hoping to latch on to that, and boost the attraction.
The agency in recent years revised its walleye and musky management plans. Now, it's in the midst of designing a new channel catfish management plan that has as one of its main goals pushing the species as a prime game fish, said Rick Lorson, the commission's area 8 biologist in Somerset and the person heading up the revision.
"Of course, we're always pushing fishing. We're in that business. But this is going to be a matter of concentrating those efforts," Lorson said.
"This sort of comes on the heels of those other plans because we do spend a lot of time and effort on supplemental (channel catfish) stockings."
That's especially true locally. The commission has asked for 241,000 channel cat fingerlings to plant in 56 lakes statewide this year. Twenty of those lakes are in the 10-county southwest region. Another 13 are found in the commission's area 1 and 2 management units, which lie in part in the northwestern corner of the state.
Anglers are already following those fish. A 2005 study done by the commission determined that 41 percent of all catfishing trips taken by fishermen were to stocked lakes. Those fishermen spent $14 million annually along the way.
But channel cats remain an "underutilized" species, despite the fact they can be caught throughout summer - when other species become reluctant to bite - without requiring a lot of specialized equipment, Lorson said.
The commission is looking for ways to let fishermen know about the opportunities out there, and to improve its management to put more channel catfish out there to be caught, Lorson said. That may mean handling the species differently when it comes to rivers versus lakes, for example.
One change already has been settled upon. In the past, the commission has stocked channel catfish fingerlings when they were 1 to 4 inches long. The results have been questionable.
Biologists looked at four area lakes this spring that had been stocked with catfish fingerlings in the past - Acme Dam, Mammoth Dam, Lower Twin Lake and Peters Township Reservoir #2 - and found no cats.
That might be a reflection of timing, Lorson said. Those surveys are always done in early spring, but because channel cats spawn later than other species, they're harder to find. It could be that they exist in those lakes, but don't show up in surveys, Lorson said.
The commission will resample two of those four lakes in June, when water temperatures climb, to see if that's true.
It's a certainty, though, that a lot of the small catfish fingerlings stocked are indeed long gone, having been eaten by hungry bass after being stocked, he added.
To combat that, starting this year and from now on, the commission will stock catfish fingerlings that are at least 6 to 8 inches long.
"That way, instead of having all of the adult bass in a lake capable of preying on them, only the largest bass will be a factor in terms of predation. I'm predicting that in itself should make for a higher survival rate and should lead to better fishing down the road," Lorson said.
Lorson may pick up a few more tips next month. He'll be attending the International Catfish Symposium in St. Louis in June to get a look at the nation's most state-of-the-art catfish management.
The result could be better fishing for a species that fights hard and is just plain fun to catch, Svetahor said.
"What's nice about them, too, is that they get pretty big and are good to eat," Svetahor added.
Fisherman's guide to catching channel cats
Interested in trying to catch channel cats? Now is the time to get started.
According to information in the state's existing channel cat management plan, written by Elizabeth native Bob Lorantas, head of the Fish and Boat Commission's warmwater unit, June is the second-best month of the year for catches of channel cats per hour in Pennsylvania's rivers. Only September is more productive. August and July rank third and fourth, respectively, as the best times to fish.
The top months in reservoirs greater than 50 acres but less than 500 are, in order, July, September, October, June and August. On larger reservoirs bigger than 500 acres, the top months are August, February, July and June.
Wherever you go, remember that channel cats feed by sight and taste, Lorantas said. Large, powerful-smelling baits work well.
"All you need is some chicken livers," the Fish and Boat Commission's southwest regional manager Emil Svetahor said.
Prepared stink baits and cut bait work, too, though, as do nightcrawlers and, in situations, artificial like jigs.
Remember that channel cats can get big - the state record is a 35-pound, 2-ounce fish, and those reaching 30 inches and 13 or so pounds aren't uncommon - and use heavy gear. If you're specifically targeting big fish, 30-pound test line, 1 1/2-ounce sinkers and size 1/0 hooks aren't too big. Otherwise, 10-pound line with size 4 hooks are adequate.
Some stocked waters to consider fishing are Lower, Middle and Upper Deer Lakes, Crooked Creek Lake, Keystone Lake, Mahoning Creek Lake, Lake Somerset, Dunlap Creek Lake, Greenlick Reservoir, Canonsburg Lake, Cross Creek Lake, Lake Arthur, Loyalhanna Dam, Keystone State Park Lake and Bridgeport Dam. Of course, Pittsburgh's three rivers and the Beaver and Yough are worth trying, too.