If you’re a fisherman, odds are you have caught one of these guys before. In seemingly every river, creek, and lake in southeast South Dakota and beyond. Whether it’s the Sioux river, the Missouri, or the Jim River, these guys have a hefty presence. And catching one can be a treat. As well as simple. After all, it doesn’t take fancy equipment to catch one. Simple tackle, bait, and patience, is really all you need.
I’m of course talking about the Catfish. These guys can be a merciless eating machine. And a ton of fun to fight on a rod and reel. Are they easy to catch though?
When I was young, I have fond memories of hunting for these beast’s in the Jim River. Right away in the spring, we would get our poles and tackle ready. And head straight down to one of our spots. In early spring the Catfish were not nearly as aggressive and took some patience. They had a tendency to bite real light. Making you wonder if it was a bite, or if the current had it.
Suddenly, the rod tip would curve straight down to the water. It must be huge! You fight the monster. Pulling drag viciously, hearing the scream of your pole. Then you see a fin appear from the water. You would have sworn you had jaws on the line. But it is an amazing fish. As you pull it in closer, a lot of times the fish in a last ditch effort would do a barrel roll. You fought the beast in.
Fishing for them could be real simple. It could also be very difficult as well. Let’s start with simple. A medium weight rod, hooks, sinkers,with some worms or night crawlers for bait. Sit and wait. Simple. You could literally talk with friends. Hang out and drink an adult beverage. Or mess around on your phone. When you get a bite, set the hook. And reel away.
Now the difficult. For the ones that want the challenge of the big ones there are a ton of secrets, tips and tricks. Lets start with the basics. A heavy rod with at least 20 lbs test. And a strong fishing net are a must. At this point the bait starts to get really wild. Chicken liver is a tried and true bait. Cut up or whole giant chubs or shad. Blood and cheese baits that stink so bad, you dare not get any on you. As well as dough baits that can be a combination of all of the above. At this point you are also looking for deep holes that can get a bit dangerous. Or you can fish overnight which is when they come in shallow and feed.
There are three different species of Catfish in South Dakota you can catch. The Flathead Catfish is one of them. These guy’s mostly hang out in the rivers and a hand full of lakes and prefer slower water in deep holes. The current record in the state is 63 lbs.
The Blue Catfish is the giant of the state and sticks almost exclusively to the deep reservoirs and not as common in the state. But this guy could really make it worth your effort. Since the state record is 99 lbs.
The most abundant is the Channel Catfish. With these being a bit smaller size of Catfish, they are no less fun to catch.
There are tournaments based around catching these big guys. And as of 2020 the state record Channel Catfish was erased as well. As of this article, the current state record is only 30 lbs. Which is a very reachable size record to be broken. And the Game Fish and Parks does predict it to be.
This is truly one thing to enjoy in South Dakota. For myself though, it was about the memories I made while I was fishing them. My family and friends and the river. While sitting and patiently waiting for the fish to bite. Amazing conversations. Lots of laughs. And the gentle roll of the water.
As a kid one of the biggest fish I caught was a Catfish at a river access by Olivet, SD. It was a 6 lb Channel Catfish. Thinking back on it now, I probably could have caught the current state record. Maybe?
Until next time.