# Big cats and lakes?



## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

Where in a lake should i be looking for big cats,what kind of water.I'm catching cats,sometimes nice ones but still the biggest i've caught is a little over 10# range.Wondering if i'm looking in the wrong spots.Evenings i fish back in coves,in toward the banks and after that bite quits i'll fish one shallow and one deeper as the nite goes on and switch around.For bigger cats should i be going to deeper waters .I'll also ask that question for carp,are the big carp in deeper water.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Large catfish will spend the night roaming where they know is their best chance to get food. That&#8217;s typically on shallower flats and near structure. &#8220;Deeper&#8221; channels leading to a flat can also be good areas if you are able to find those channels with a depth finder. The difference in depth may be only a foot or less, but many fish will use them as travel ways. One thing to keep in mind is that catching larger catfish on a consistent basis usually requires a lot more time spent catching nothing than catching fish. We&#8217;ve gone weeks without a large fish. That would be fishing 12+ hour stretches at a time, twice a week. Sometimes you can find certain areas of a lake that hold more flatheads than other similar parts of the lake and catch fish on a more consistent basis, but those areas to me, are almost impossible to &#8220;see&#8221;. The reasons they hold more fish just aren&#8217;t clear. Those areas typically won&#8217;t hold the largest fish, but may provide a lot of 10-25lb fish and the occasional 40+. Those are just my experiences


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

I agree with Magis on this one. Couldn't explain why some areas are just better than other similar areas. I have fished days and days this year for nothing so far. Not because I didn't have opportunities....long story. Either way, big catfish are time consuming...kind of like muskie fishing! I have been targeting lake channels for some time now but flatheads I have only just started targeting in lakes during the past few years. You will find them where their food sources are and sometimes they are shallow, sometimes they're deep, sometimes they're roaming open water. The open water pattern is the tough one for me! Be observant and watch the baitfish on/near the surface in the shallows. If no activity is observed, I will fish deeper generally. Catfish patterns will change from lake to lake and all fish are not doing the same things all of the time. Find good habitat = best structure in/adjacent to deep water and shallow water feeding areas. Good luck!


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

I'm thinking i need to get away from the bank (i'm fishing from a boat) covering the shore from 1 to 2ft out to 30ft and and change to start fishing in the original creek channels and start working from the shallow end of the coves and work my way out to some deeper water.And speaking of deeper water i was wondering how deep of water can you consistantly catch cats in.Like would it do any good in a lake to fish in 40 - 50ft?Or how about hanging some bait around the dam in 80 - 90ft.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Thermoclines in local lakes can be found on the Army Corps of engineers website, this where the saturated oxygen levels make the water devoid of fish for very long and bigger fish need more oxygen so to answer your question, this time of year, i am guessing teh thermocline at CC or EF would be around 15-17 ft deep, any deeper and for the most part, youll be wasting your time, there are some exceptions to this rule but genearally speaking Id still stay close to shore and fish waterways from deep to shallow water. 

Salmonid


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

per this website, you can see the major oxygen drops at both 10 and then at 15 ft deep. 

http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/wc/wq/ccktext.html

Salmonid


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

> 40 - 50ft?Or how about hanging some bait around the dam in 80 - 90ft.


I would just add that most lakes will stratify at 15-20 foot and water below the thermocline won't have enough dissolved oxygen to support fish. I think this helps me concentrate flathead into the shallow bays.

I am hard pressed to remember lakes in Ohio with 50 ft of water much less 80-90. 

The nature of population pyramids is that the top sized fish represents the peak of the pyramid. There are 1000 ten pound fish for every 50 pound fish.
Think about how rare the big fish are and you can understand why it takes a while to get one.



















Thought I would show you that even Shortdrift and Misfit can catch them so they are available.


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

eastfork is around 90ft the last time i passed by, before the spillway.That was just a thought,not any real intent to fish there,just courious.I think i'm on the right track,just got to find the right hole.Thanks for the tips.I'm going out tonight after work,off tomorrow, and try a new sopt.Nice pics
Checked out the oxygen level at the army corps site.At what level do you start to lose fish.


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

I wanted to ask about the oxygen level chart.At what level do you lose fish or at what level(s) hold fish.I noticed this morning that the highest level was at 5ft.And how consistent is this throught the lake.If the level like this morn. is higher at 5ft and lower at 1-2 ft,will it be lower in the 1-2 ft that's back in the coves next to the shore line.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

Stampede said:


> I wanted to ask about the oxygen level chart.At what level do you lose fish or at what level(s) hold fish.I noticed this morning that the highest level was at 5ft.And how consistent is this throught the lake.If the level like this morn. is higher at 5ft and lower at 1-2 ft,will it be lower in the 1-2 ft that's back in the coves next to the shore line.


Well, 4ppm or mg/L is threshold for most species where they will become stressed and succumb to disease or a host of other problems. This time of year, you will find that 7-10ppm oxygen is going to hold most of the fish. The warmer the water the less oxygen it can hold. Surface water down to 10 foot or so tends to hold more oxygen because it is a layer that receives disturbance/agitation from wind and rain plus it is where most of the oxygen producing phytoplankton exist. Surface oxygen can fluctuate drastically depending on weather conditions and water clarity. Look into the oxygen cycle...oxygen will be highest later in the day and bottom out late at night. This is a function of photosynthesis and respiration by the phytoplankton which produce oxygen through photosynthesis during the day and use oxygen at night during respiration. The only time this does not apply is during turnover when the lakes equalize temp and oxygen from top to bottom in fall and spring. 5-10 feet of water this time of year should hold most of the fish. This is the range in most lakes where temp and oxygen is best during the hot summer months.

ppm is parts per million and mg/L is milligrams per liter which is the same measurement in case anyone was wondering.


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

Thanks,that helps.


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