Understanding The Seasonal Movements of Catfish

The 10 In-Fisherman Calendar Periods of fish response vary in length from year to year. Unusually warm or cool weather affects

Winter or Frozen Water Period

Water Temperature: Coldest Water for an Extended Period

General Fish Mood: Negative

This extended period can’t be defined by precise environmental markers since channel catfish are found in a variety of geographic areas. The Winter Period includes two In-Fisherman Calendar Periods: Coldwater and Frozen Water or Winter. In the southern half of the catfish range, ice-up doesn’t occur.

The Winter Period is characterized by almost constant cold temperatures. How cold depends on geographic location and the severity of the winter. In Minnesota and Manitoba, water on lakes and parts of most rivers is under 3 feet of ice. Water temperatures in winter range from about 32°F to 39°F. In southern states, water temperatures usually are in the 40°F range, 50°F in Florida and southern California.

We define this period by catfish activity, which is basically the same no matter the location. In winter, catfish face a long period of temperatures much colder than during the rest of the year. They often continue to feed though not so actively as they do in warmer water. Fish in rivers tend to hold in deep holes or pockets away from the main current flow. In small rivers, a holding hole might be 6 feet deep or less. In bigger rivers, holes may be 20 to 40 feet deep. Lake and reservoir fish hold in deep water, too.

In rivers, scuba divers report seeing catfish behind boulders that break current. Where enough boulders aren’t available, catfish appear to snug behind anything that reduces current. To reduce water resistance, other catfish then line up behind the first one, nose to tail in a chainlike formation.

In the middle and southern regions of the country, catfish don’t completely stop moving and feeding during winter. A radio tagging study on the Missouri River showed catfish almost completely dormant during a bitterly cold winter. But during a mild winter, they moved short distances. An extended period of warm weather in January or February may stimulate catfish activity near deeper river holes that are easy to locate because the water’s usually low. Since fish are highly concentrated in predictable locations, good catches are possible.

During midwinter when cats mostly are inactive, it’s often possible to catch them by vertical jigging. It’s also possible to snag them, though, which is illegal in most areas.

Spring Coldwater Period

Water Temperature: Rising

General Fish Mood: Neutral to Positive

When ice leaves or early spring weather arrives, walleyes, pike, and sauger move quickly through the Prespawn Period and into the Spawn Period. It’s a time of rapid transition. Not so with channel catfish that probably won’t spawn for months, even in far northern waters where the prespawn-spawn transition is compressed.

In rivers, early spring usually means continued cold and turbid water. Northern areas experience snow melt and cold spring rains. Southern areas receive cold spring rains. As the water begins to warm gradually, catfish activity increases.

In early spring, catfish might still spend most of their time in deep holes. Eventually, rising water temperatures stimulate catfish metabolism. No distinct temperature marks this point. In southern regions, where water temperatures have been in the 50s, catfish might start feeding when water temperatures reach the low 60°F range. In northern regions, 45°F usually means cats will prowl, but temperatures in the upper 50°F range are better.

Mostly, we sense when the first good run of cats will begin aggressively feeding. Spring weather will have whipsawed from nasty to nice, when suddenly the weather’s nice for several days in a row. A spring thundershower scents the air, and as you walk across your lawn, it bounces with a give in the soil. The ground is about to come alive at night with the first nightcrawlers. Trees are budding; frogs are beginning their evening chorus; and ducks, geese, grouse, and most of the rest of the animal world are active.

Catfish are moving, but still avoiding direct current. And current is stronger now than during any other time of year. Fish are concentrated in areas of reduced current—the core of a hole, the deepest spot, but more likely shoreline holding areas.

This is the season for livebaits or sourbaits. Cats can find plenty of fish that have died over winter and are beginning to decompose as water temperatures rise.

Prespawn Period

Water Conditions: Rising Temperatures and Stabilizing River Flows

General Fish Mood: Positive

What river walleyes do in fall, channel catfish do in spring. They move, usually upstream, sometimes into smaller feeder rivers, searching first for food and second for spawning habitat.

No sharp demarcation is present between the preceding period and this one. They blend naturally as water temperatures continue to rise into the 60°F range and river flows stabilize. The main difference is catfish behavior. Their metabolic rate is much higher, so they need more food and are better able to search for it. Higher water also offers a variety of areas.

The earliest upriver movements are motivated more by the need to feed than by a spawning urge. Because more areas are available than earlier in the year, cats no longer must accept the limited forage in holes where they spent the winter.

Barriers such as big dams and low-head dams temporarily concentrate cats. This period compares somewhat to the prespawn movement of steelhead in rivers, with fish constantly moving, stopping to hold in spots offering food and protection from current, then moving again to better feeding opportunities.

Catch a fish or two from a small spot and return in a day or two and catch three more. The spot is restocked by the restless movement of the fish.

In high water without impassable barriers, catfish may move 75 miles or more—channel cats have moved as far as 111 miles in 36 days. So long as the water’s high and fish are finding food, they keep moving. At times, however, they move only a few miles.

The area where catfish spawn is determined by their location when spawning time nears. Apparently, cats don’t always return to the same spawning locations, although this hasn’t been verified. They do return to general areas, however. Many catfish in the lower portion of the Red River in Manitoba, for example, return to the same slough off the main river each year, despite varying water levels. Catfish move upstream, looking for food and future spawning sites.

Prespawn movement often continues until cats reach an impassable barrier like a dam. They search the area for possible spawning locations like holes in riprap or rocky outcroppings near the dam. If the area below the dam is too silty, they drift downstream to look for spawning sites. Spawners may spread over a long stretch of river.