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Spanish Catfish - Trip #3


FishDr
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I'm addicted to throwing swimbaits at wels catfish in Spain, because it's fast paced, it's technical, and the rewards can be substantial, the penalties severe!  Sometimes you get skunked, sometimes you get decent sized fish, and sometimes, just sometimes, you get absolute beasts!  This was trip #3 and I was hoping that my friend and I could match the success we had on trip #2, but it wasn't quite as spectacular.  Fun?  Heck yes - we ended up with wels catfish to 5' long and around 50 lbs - nothing quite like the 7'6", 165-lb giant my friend caught last time but still a blast to catch from a drifting boat.  This time we even ran one river on our own and picked up a few catfish without even flipping in the rapids!

 

Here's my best of the trip!

IMG_2883_zpshan5g5wu.jpg

 

Here's my friend's best of the trip - he had the big fish this time.

Jons%20150-cm%2050-lb%20wels_zpsc5karltq

 

Now I'm starting to plan the next return trip - more time (at least 7 days of fishing) and more exploring!

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They were eating 6.5" Big Hammers on 10/0 Slayer heads. I tried throwing a weedless RS but the weighted beast hook wasn't heavy enough to get it down into the strike zone quickly.

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The Wells Catfish is similar to the Sharptooth Catfish here in Southern Africa. Try pitching a glide into the reeds/overhangs on the sides of your slower pools. I often get smashed by cats doing that on my local river. Not sure if they are cruising along the structure or waiting in ambush but they are often there like bass.

I watched a video on a local flyfisherman casting in the same spot and he gets hit on the 3rd or 4th cast. Theory is the catfish fish by 'sound' and swim over to investigate. Something I'm going try with a glide next time I'm in cat territory.

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The Wells Catfish is similar to the Sharptooth Catfish here in Southern Africa. Try pitching a glide into the reeds/overhangs on the sides of your slower pools. I often get smashed by cats doing that on my local river. Not sure if they are cruising along the structure or waiting in ambush but they are often there like bass.

I watched a video on a local flyfisherman casting in the same spot and he gets hit on the 3rd or 4th cast. Theory is the catfish fish by 'sound' and swim over to investigate. Something I'm going try with a glide next time I'm in cat territory.

 

 

You can peg a tungsten bullet weight to the nose and get those things really deep.

Thanks for the suggestions guys - I'd try them, except I'm already back in the USA - I was only over there for 6 days or so.   :cry:   Definitely not long enough to really experiment with things, so when I go back (and I will be going back), I'll have to bring more gear and do a bit more experimenting.  The Big Hammer + Slayer Head combo worked pretty well! 8-)

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