Official "YellowCat" Day- May 15th

Sorry I was not able to get on earlier today, but as per me & Justin "millertimeonthelake", we have declared a few years ago that May 15th should be the official "YellowCat Day" of each year for "Lynn's Catfish Calendar". This year, as to the *Lynn's Catfish Calendar* [LCC], the days of 14th/15th & 23rd/24th are shown as YC (YellowCat Days). And they are also my PYC (my Personal YellowCat Days according to their (YCs) Roam-Feed pattern that I discovered back in 1981/1982.

Remember if you are still out fishing this evening (Saturday), or in the morning, that Bleedover can run up to about 12 hours, so you still have about thru Noon Sunday the 16th. Make it count. The 11th is New Moon & the 19th is 1st Qtr, as to Moon phases. Over the years, I have found that The Yellows have hit better on the darkest of nights.

Next week, the pattern( window) will be from Saturday Noon (22nd) thru Tuesday Noon (25th), with Bleedover figured in.

So get out there & catch those Yellows!!!

Sadly for me, my monetary & readiness window does not come until next month (in June), as I target the 11th/12th (Fri/Sat) & 23/24th (Sun/Mon). If'n I don't catch *The Giant* by then, then I will map out my next attack plan for July or August.

I went bank fishing out at Grapevine Lake Saturday with some live bluegill but didn't have any luck. Ended up catching a few decent size channels but the only thing they would eat is nightcrawlers. Had a couple hits on the bluegill but no takers. They could have been gar for all I know. I've still yet to ever catch a flathead, even by accident.

Official “get your tail handed to ya” Day for me and my son. We fished hard and came up empty handed. We did catch a bunch of Blues in the 5-10 lb range on 3-4” live bluegills and we did hang a monster Yella but got worked and broke off in timber. We’ll be back after em this weekend...

El Gato, be sure & go for the big one in the same area within a 10' range. That is what I was taught by one of my YC teachers. But you did tango with a big one on the 15th. Most Yellows will dive. At least you didn't get almost taken out of the boat like me with "Big'Un". I was totally unprepared.

spazm, never, ever give up. I had two YC teachers teach me everything they knew. And guess what? I still rarely caught a Yellow, and I recall one of those rare ones at a whopping 2#s. That is, until 1982. My new days off schedule changed everything. That is how I found the pattern & calendar, of the Yellows. I think I recall Tiny here on the TFF mention if they don't mess with your BlueGills, rough them up some to mimic "injured". Yes, Gator Gars run just ahead of the Yellows. They almost mimic a Yellow, except for the deep dive that a Yellow will do most of the time. With bank fishing, it's a little tougher as you are more constricted (confined/limited), but not impossible. One who follows the PYC days on Lake Conroe, uses spoons to catch Yellows on R-n-R. He said he quit going for Yellows on any other days, other than YC on the Calendar & PYC days.

Thanks Lynn. I'll never give up. But like you said, it's harder from shore. Hoping to get my first boat this year and that will change things for sure.

It's not impossible from bank, but getting out to certain areas, especially finding their habitat or paths (trails) does assist. They are definitely out there. While some people will tell you they only feed at night. While they may feed more at night, that is not the total say.

I recall one time were baiting up one trotline I was trying to catch "Big'Un" on. This was the first or 2nd week in June 1984. I was off for a week vacation on the Trinity River. I had 12 humongous perch that I baited that side of the river with. It was my first wife & one brother-in-law with me in a 12 foot Elgin flat bottom with a 15 HP Sea King by Chrysler short & stocky shoal motor (it weighed only 47 pounds). We were about 2/3rd baited out (so about 20 or so of 35 hooks). Then all of a sudden I felt a big tug. I knew it was "Big'Un" on the opposite side. It kept on pulling the line, so I figured I finally had it. I stopped baiting up any further and started heading back across the river on the main line. Once we crossed the center weight, the main line was going back & forth, up & downstream. Then it was trying to dive as we got a little closer. It literally was boiling the water trying to dive, as the water was stirring up top. And somewhere about then, the line went limp. Sadly, I had known this tale a few times already. It had gotten off when I was so close to catching it.

Out of my 12 humongous perch, it had worked its way out to get a total of 9. Only 3 remained as it had gotten caught for a short period. Even though I think that was the furthest out that it may or may not have ventured out from near the bank on that side, it normally was or stayed right around 15 or so feet away from the bank in about 15 to 18 feet of water.

If you fish a river, when it slowly starts to rise, they will be running their escape route, which mostly is running along the bank, as too much current could open or shut their pliable mouth or gills enough to drown them or suffocate them.

The calendar or cycle of flatheads is intriguing. It makes sense, but I do have a question. I always did well setting lines right before a front or a little rise in the river. In your experience how does this affect the cycle? As in, if flatheads are on their 'days off' and a front comes in, do they still feed or remain off? If they do feed, does it affect their next scheduled days 'on'?

Thanks again for sharing all your experience!

In my experience, the front triggers a feeding spree. So I usually try to bait out just before it hits. A Yellow is very methodical, in other words it runs its regular patterns & is very cautious. But thenn at times, it seems they throw caution to the wind & go for it. But the pattern still runs, unless something deters or reroutes them.

When they make their "roam-feed" run, they will use their paths or trails as others call it. Usually these are hardened bottoms, in other words not soft or muddy. I think it might be according to their bellies./ The Yellows have an extremely sensitive belly. No whether they scarpe their belly along, they probably don't as it puts them to sleep by rubbing their belly (by hand). You can look at their breathing pattern afterwards, as well as their eyes. Usually they won't create a ruckus (flounce) while in that "purring" situation. But when they snap out of it, they may tear the bottom of your boat up.

In my experiences, Yellows as well as others (Blues & Channels), as the river rises slowly, they will feed, I guess they sense it changing & maybe decide to stock up on food. But a Yellow is slightly different in build as to the mouth, jaw, and gills. They can actually drown if they stay in strong current facing downstream. The current opens their gill flaps. You would think that they should not drown, as they live in the water, but my YC teachers explained that it forces too much air into their system. And in a sense, they could suffocate by the current gluing their mouth shut facing strong current upriver.

Due to this, in rivers, the Yellows will run their escape routes to hunker down in some place out of the fast current, but may be feeding due to the slowly rising waters. Most of the time they might run close to the shore if the current is less there. I have caught some nice Yellows on the side as the river rises slowly, instead of out in some hole or trench further out in the main portion of the river.

Low & High Pressure can affect Yellows. Usually Low is good, but high is bad. One guy I ran into a few years back (OK, maybe 10 or 11 years ago), as I was telling him about my Catfish Calendar, he said it made sense to him. He had made some sort of apparatus with jugs, that somehow showed when certain low pressure was present. When it did that, the Yellows were feeding, as per him. So he went fishing for Yellows. That was the first time I had heard of that. But it makes sense.

I recall once on Lake Limestone, I was there for a BC (BlueCat) weekend, but barely catching any. At time to go, I mentioned it was most odd, to Darrell at Running Branch. He noted that they were dumping major amounts out the dam. It occurred to me that they either sensed the extreme pressure changes obviously, or perhaps even the roar of that release might be affecting them.

Also, lightning seems to make some hit the lines, meaning perhaps making them bite. I recall my dog when I was young, would go over to a corner in the room & start panting once she started hearing lightning. So certain factors influence everything accordingly.

Anyway, I think the pattern of "roam-feed" pretty well stays the same (intact), but may vary a few hours due to certain items affecting them.