I�ve heard many times over the years that bluecats stop biting during the spawn. June is typically when water hits the 80s around here and this is usually the time the spawn occurs on lake Lewisville.

I was coordinating my next fishing trip last night with my uncle and the subject of bluecat spawn came up. He asked if we were wasting our time by targeting blues during the spawn. He stated that the guides on his lake (Texoma) wont even target blues during the spawn cuz they don�t bite. I told him they don�t all spawn at once and plenty of blues bite all year long. June and July can be excellent bluecat fishing if the wind is right.

Now for my theoretical on why...
Adult bluecats spawn in cavities. It is to my understanding that bluecats are not sexually mature until 24�....while the giants go looking for the best cavities to spawn in, the vast majority of fish under 24� do not spawn. Sure some go through the motion but many of these adolescent bluecats follow the sandbass schools around picking off injured Shad all summer. Most of the fish I catch this time of year are in the 2-10 lb range with the occasional 15-20lbr. When I do catch a slot fish this time of year they are running with the hybrids nearly every time.

I�d like to know what some other guys think that chase blues year round no matter what month It is. Also why do most guides not target them in the summer except good ol Tom..

I've had some of best blue cat trips during the heat of the summer. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said they don't all spawn at the same time. While it could be true that they don't bite while they're spawning (I have no idea if this is true or not), there are still plenty to catch at any given point during the summer.

As to why guides might not target them, I would think it has to do with the fact that the bigger blues that guides are targeting are much more scattered during the heat of the summer. In the winter, the shad are all consolidated into huge schools in the deep water, the blues follow the shad. That's why during winter you see all the ads for "Trophy Blue Catfish" trips. But in the summer, the bait is scattered so the big blues scatter. You can still find the big ones, but not nearly as consistently as in the winter.



This was a few years ago. Caught these on my kayak in late June. The blues definitely DO NOT stop biting in June.

I feel like the big ones here have already hit the holes. It's been a while since we've seen anything much over 10lbs and we've covered a lot of water! I wish I knew for sure. It's been quite frustrating.
Had a good pattern shallow which seemed to end around the last weekend of March. Since then, it's just been plenty of eaters shallow and around 20-26' drifting. Anything in-between seems dead. I'm still scratching my head, but not giving up. I don't care to chase anything else, so maybe I'll piece it all together one of these days

El Gato hit the nail in head when he said when the wind is right. I can catch them anytime of year but a 100 degree summer day with no wind can be a miserable bite. In the other hand sandbass and hybrids love hot weather so it�s much easier to go catch a limit in a few hours and get off the water before cooking everyone. I usually run mixed bag trips through the summer if I get good wind I will defiantly go drift up some blues.

You're spot on...channels, blues, and flatheads all spawn over a big time period not all at once. Sometimes the channel cat spawn lasts from mid May to mid July....... Catfish just like all the others have their metabolism fired on high cause of the warmer water so they need to eat more. They are simply spread out as compared to the winter along with a % of them not available to bite while doing the wild thing.

Eric

OK, I am going to do this in two parts. As most of you know, I am a setliner. Yes, it does seem that the biggest Blues somehow turn "off" during the summer. First let's look at the Catfish Calendar to see what occurs for June & July & August. Take notes.

There are only 5 BC days in June ...
10 Sun
18/19 Mon/Tues
25/26 Mon/Tues

As to July, there are 4 BC days ...
7/8 Sat/Sun
15/16 Sun/Mon

And in August, there are 6 BC days ...
3/4 Fri/Sat
21/22 Tues/Wed
28/29 Tues/Wed

As to September, there are 7 BC days. For October, there are 8 BC days. And November, 12 BC days. And ending in December, 7 BC days.

Backing up, May has 11 BC days. April had 9 BC days. So, the Calendar (at least for 2018), shows lesser amounts for the 3 summer months, as to BC days showing up on the radar as the strongest for those days.

But as noted in my KEY, the Blues also bite very good during the YC days.

Yes, they do not all spawn at the same time. But what else happens on the lakes as June comes into play. The first holiday (Memorial Day), the lake is hit hard by much traffic. After that, then Water Sports goes into abundance on lakes the next 3 months. And what else happens at this time?- yes, thermocline has become active. And that changes things below the surface.


I recall an article I read some time back (probably between 2000 & 2004). Not sure what magazine it was in, but I think it was in the local BTU electrical monthly magazine. The guy shared about hunting big Blues & where they were located during the hot summer months. He would R-N-R with goldfish, and I think maybe circle hooks. He explained that the thermocline caused the lack of oxygen from mid depth to the bottom. So that in 25 feet of water, the thermocline top level was at about 12.5 feet from the surface, or the bottom. He explained that big Blues suspend themselves there at mid level. If food goes just below, they will chase it, then return. So that might be something a few of you may want to try out. If you do, be sure to share your results.

I�ve caught a few decent toad blue cat up in the 30�s during or right after they have spawned before on a tough bluecat fishery and I�ll tell ya this pardnas...

When you catch one of those rare spawnin blue toads thats been sittin in a cavity or wallerin around in a reproduction hole for a while, boy can they staynk!!!!!!!!!! But they�re still fun and real feisty!!!! I�ve often wondered about some of the smells those noodlers run into every now and then...