I learned something about cats when I went to the fishery at Athens, in that tank. When they would come up to feed, if you touched their whiskers, that triggered them to snap at your finger. So maybe they use their whiskers alot too to detect motion?

rrhyne56-
yeah, i think kelley &/or fishbrain jumped in on that post. that's just too durn funny! i can see & hear this happening in my head.

wwwWWWaaaAAAuuuUUUgggGGGGhhhhHHHH!!!



ccabal-
hey, now there's a good point! do their whiskers detect vibration in the water? hmmm....

here's info from gamefish magazine...

Understanding Catfish Senses
Perhaps the most amazing thing about catfish is their astounding sensory abilities. No fish have more finely honed senses of taste, touch, smell and hearing to keep them attuned to their environment.

The mouth and gill rakers are packed with taste buds, and the sensory organs cover the outside of the catfish as well - the whiskers, fins, back, belly, sides and even the tail.

"The catfish's sense of smell is equally keen," says Caprio. "Catfish can smell some compounds at one part to 10 billion parts of water." Water flows over folds of highly sensitive tissue inside the catfish's nostrils, allowing the fish to detect certain substances in its environment.

This 'vibrational' sense is very well developed in catfish," Caprio notes. "The Chinese have used catfish for centuries to warn of earthquakes. Catfish can detect days in advance a lot of earthquakes because they have an ultra-sensitivity to low frequency vibrations."

Most extraordinary of all, perhaps, is a sense called electroreception. Catfish don't have to see prey or smell it or taste it. Tiny clusters of special cells on the head and along the lateral line detect electrical fields in living organisms. A catfish can find its prey through electroreception, just like sharks.

If a catfish tastes or smells certain compounds in the water or on your bait, feeding activities may cease. These compounds include such things as gasoline and certain ingredients in sunscreen, tobacco, insect repellent and other items commonly used by fishermen. You'll catch more cats if you avoid contact with such materials as much as possible.

Vision, however, is the sense most likely to cause fright in a catfish, Caprio says.

"If a bird flies overhead, or someone casts a shadow that moves across the water, all feeding may cease," he says. "We have fouled up lab experiments for weeks just by having someone put their hand over the top of a tank. If you tape the silhouette of a bird predator to the top of a fish's tank, that cat won't come out to eat, no matter how hungry it gets. The fish will die before he goes out and gets food right in front of it, unless you turn the lights off; then he'll come out and get it. That's one reason many catfishermen are more successful when fishing at night."

Good info Bass_Lady. Thanks.

Bass_Lady,
Thanks, that's pretty amazing stuff there. So, catfish are a little harder to fool than most folks think. This sounds like a great challenge.

J from A,
Yep, when those locust looking grass hoppers get involved it's a different world. Used to wade behind Lavon Dam and cast green glitter wooly worms back toward the bank against the grass. WHAM. Had one that took me to the backing before it spat the hook. bummer

Wow!

I've been taught by some good old ones, and I've almost always, without exception, been taught that catfish rely nearly exclusively on smell... and not on eyesight, presumed to be poorer.

Thanks!

-TXFly.

to hop in and moderate a tad bit; I am thinking that perhaps the case might be that here in the murky waters of Texas (there are exceptions but by and large visibility is not great) that catfish, while possessed of great ocular powers simply don't get to or have to rely on it nearly as much due to the water visibility qualities. So smell would be used more? I have seen cats in small clear creeks and they were spooky rascals indeed.

I have a sneaky suspicion that as with most critters and situations, the task skills they use fit the job these survivors are trying to tackle.
Sometimes they have to whiff out their quarry, sometimes it is more prudent for them to depend on sight.

I just realized something, its not really flyfishing if you are trying to catch catfish! Unless you are fishing dry flies upstream and wearing a tie

oh no Robin... here we go again!

Robin,
Don't forget the hound's tooth hat, twill jacket (with optional elbow patch) and smoking an aromatic gooseneck pipe.

I caught a 5 pound catfish a couple of days ago on a wholly buger with a small spinner on it. I was surprised until I caught alot of smaller ones on the identical fly. Of course it was at the Fishery Center in Athens which makes it easier.

Gator, I think that fly is a Sneaky Pete. I tied a dozen up for a friend, size 4, a few years ago for Sand Bass & Crappie and he caught several Channel Cats on them. He cussed me for tying "Cat Flies" for months. LOL. Ralph

this is a sneaky pete



I think you might mean a pistol pete. This is the closest thing I could find on the web

Actually, a pistol pete is basicaly a small wooly bugger with a propeller spinner head in front.