fishing planet rod and reel guide channel catr

There's nothing folks fishing a walleye tourney hate more than catching catfish, and they were upset about it. Optimal conditions and active fishing tactics have resulted in giant channel catfish from certain lakes and reservoirs in the northern half of the country. When the year's hottest weather arrives in July and August, successful anglers head toward the center and lower reaches of these shallow impoundments, drifting and trolling with unusual catfish rigs. Yet the current climate at places like Calamus is drought-like, with low water levels and crops thirsty for moisture. New vegetation that sprouts on exposed slopes provides sanctuary for baitfish and spurs invertebrate growth when water eventually inundates it.Įverything trickles down from there, benefiting fish of all species and sizes. Ironically, the radical fluctuations in water level recharge these reservoirs when heavy rains arrive. Last August, Darrin Meseke and Arian Miller won the tournament with 128.4 pounds, including a 33.45-pound whale.Īt Calamus and other reservoirs across the Great Plains - from Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska into Iowa, Kansas, and beyond - the water nearly boils with massive populations of gizzard shad. During each of the first three events, all held during August, this 5,123-acre impoundment produced catfish from 20 to 33 pounds.Īt the 2012 event, Josh Koll and Matt Helm weighed five fish for 118.75 pounds, nearly a 24-pound average. For the fourth year in a row, the Cabela's King Kat circuit will visit Calamus Reservoir near Burwell, Nebraska. Moreover, new techniques, in some cases adopted from the pursuit of other species, have proven highly efficient at putting cats in the boat. Perhaps the fertile prairie farmland? Or could it be healthy Midwest living that cultivates corn and channel catfish of corpulent proportions? Whatever the case, a handful of lakes and reservoirs have lately been coughing up 20s and even 30-pound channel catfish with regularity.

You have to wonder if there's something in the water.

Fishing planet rod and reel guide channel catr