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A Few Words About Our Catfish

Whilst not every carp angler likes catfish, I’m a big fan. I’ve always enjoyed the fight when fishing and love targeting fish that are renowned fighters. Catfish are certainly in this category. I think this applies to all species of catfish and whilst fishing at Gillhams Lake in Thailand I have been lucky enough to land Amazon Red Tail and Silver Catfish both of which fight very hard. I also hooked two Mekong Catfish, losing both including one after more than three hours! Mekong’s are undoubtedly the strongest fish I have ever hooked. The European Wels Catfish is, however, no slouch when it comes to fighting, particularly when they get to 70lbs or more.


We have a few catfish in our lake. These were stocked by the previous owner. We removed several of the largest ones when we drained the lake with these being relocated to a nearby dedicated Cat lake. We currently have one which was 104lbs when last caught. This is the lake record although it hasn’t been caught for now for several seasons so its current weight is anyone’s guess. The next biggest that we know of is a more regularly caught fish that in recent captures has been an upper 70. There are also a few smaller fish which are typically in the 20-45lbs range at the moment.


Lake Record Catfish (104lbs)


I think that they serve an important function at the lake. They keep the populations of smaller fish in check and also keep the numbers of crayfish down. Certainly, you have to keep an eye on the numbers in a lake but then they have a value and its relatively easy to find a lake that will take some off you. We know a French guy with his own lakes who loves predator fishing with small lures and he is happy to take any small ones. There is also a dedicated catfish lake nearby which is always happy to have any larger ones.


78lb 4oz (September 2020)


We have a dedicated cat rod/reel available for hire at the lake. The majority, however, get hooked/caught when carp fishing. There doesn’t seem to be much logic as to when they turn up and in some weeks they are very active and others not at all. The big ones are a real handful and you need a lot of luck landing them on standard carp gear. If they head towards the chimney the big ones can’t really be stopped and the line will inevitably be snapped on the concrete. Depending upon where the hook hold is, most carp hook lengths will wear through on the crushing pads after 10-20 minutes which gives little time to land a real big one.


If anyone wanted to specifically target the record fish I would recommend hiring the cat rod/reel. The rod has the extra power to help to stop a big fish more quickly whilst the reel is a Shimano 12000 Baitrunner loaded with 80lb Catmaster Cat Braid. Catmaster Tackle is also worth checking out for any specific end tackle or special cat rigs that you may want to try. They also do a variety of large glugged pellets. Other good end tackle includes Kryston Ton-up in 85lbs for hook links. The Korda Wide Gape XX and Kurv Shank XX are also super strong hooks.

In terms of tactics, whilst I think that many of the fish will lie up in the deeper part of the lake near to the chimney, I think they will often do a circuit of the lake margins shortly after dark. A good tactic for targeting the record fish would be to fish fairly close in at the house end of the lake at night with a deadbait or fishmeal based boilies/pellets, possibly over a bed of pellets. This is a long way from the chimney and on the right gear there would be every chance of landing the fish.

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