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Learn 2 Catch More Fish Then You Ever Thought Possible!
I normally only write articles about how to catch loads of catfish while cat fishing with proven techniques from the pros, this time I’ve decided to educate my readers more on the anatomy of the catfish species. How does this help you while cat fishing you ask? Would it benefit you to know how catfish find your bait and decided to bite it? I thought so. I’ll keep this article relevant to cat anglers and promise not to use to much scientific jargon that puts you to sleep.
Would it surprise you to know that catfish have remarkably developed senses? It’s surprised me when I started studying it. The catfish’s senses are renowned and trump those of most other fresh water fish. In this article we’ll go through all the catfish’s senses including, taste, smell, touch, sight, and even a seemingly science fiction ability called electro sensitivity. If we understand the anatomy of the catfish it will help us catch more of them.
Hey Mr. Whisker Where’s Your Sniffer?
Do catfish have noses? They actually have four! The catfish’s sense of smell is superior compared to other fish. This helps them to detect food from a distance. You know when you’re out on that nice spring morning cat fishing, you baiting the hook with the smelliest thing you can find, because that scent trail travels, hopefully right up a big trophy cat’s nose!
I mentioned cats have four noses; well they really have four nostrils also known as olfactory pits. The nostrils are set in groups of two that work together. Water is sucked into one nostril and blown out the other. As the water is being sucked in it goes into the olfactory sac where there are sensitive folds that tell Mr. Whiskers if there is food nearby. Cat fish have more folds in their olfactory sacs then any other fish, for example large mouth bass, small mouth bass, bluegill, rainbow trout and crappie have 12-24 sensitivity folds, but cat fish have 140 plus! That means they can out sniff the best of em. A catfish can detect scents of food at 1 part per 10 billion part of water. Can you imaging being out cat fishing and smelling a single french fry 100 yards away in the woods?
Catfish are extra sensitive to amino acids in water. The best source of amino acids is blood. If you want to get a cats attention blood will do it! They can follow a blood trail like a shark. Is there any doubt why cut baits work so well? The more saturated the area is with blood and amino acids the better. Many cat fishing anglers use this knowledge when chumming. Here fishy, fishy!
When catfish are searching for a food they swim in an “S” shaped pattern, to the right then to the left or visa versa. If they smell a higher concentration of something edible in their left nostrils compared to their right, they will veer to the left. A hungry cat is always moving in the direction its senses are picking up something edible. Catfish can’t rely on smell alone to survive; fantastic hearing is also an important ability that catfish possess in their arsenal of hunting gear.
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Mr. Whiskers Says: “I hear voices in my bladder...”
My bladder speaks to me sometimes, but only when I’ve had too many beers and have to run to the bathroom to pee every five minutes.
This is a good section to know and apply when you’re out cat fishing. Catfish hear two ways, the first through their swim bladder and the second through their lateral line.
Catfish are more sensitive to sound and can hear at high frequencies then most other fish. In comparison bass and trout hear 20-1000 cycles per second, but catfish at 13000 cycles per second. The frequency range is unique because catfish have what is called a Weberian Apparatus. This connects a chain of vertebral bones from the swim bladder to the inner ear, which amplifies sound and sends it to the brain to be analyzed. Catfish do have ears, but they’re not exposed, instead they take in sound wave through their skin. The swim bladder picks up vibrations.
The lateral line handles low frequency vibrations. Tiny canals with lots of nerve ending follow the lateral line and detect vibrations that aren’t heard by the inner ear. Examples of low frequency noise are animals walking on the river bank, critters scampering the bottom of the lake, or cat fisherman banging around in their boat. The lateral line helps the catfish to be familiar with their surroundings and helps them locate what I call the three “F”s, friends, foes, and food.
Since cats are extra sensitive to sounds and more alert then other fish it is a good idea to not stomp around on shore. I recommend padding the inside of your boat, both the bottom and sides; this can greatly assist you in not scaring the fish when you’re moving stuff around.
Eye Balls, does Size Really Matter?
Jeepers Creepers, What Small Peepers!
Learn to fish like a pro!
Some people think that cat fish have poor eye sight. Catfish do have small beady eyes, but does size really matter, well not in this case. Their eyes contain light reflecting crystals called tapetum lucidum to help them see better in muddy waters. Often times it’s far to muddy and dark for any light to reflect back making eye sight only useful in clearer waters. Cats take full advantage of this ability when catching live bait and searching for live forage in visible waters. Catfish have an equal amount of rods and cones in their eyes. Rods assist in helping the catfish to see in black and white when light is dim or non existent, and cones allow color vision in the light (in theory), scientist haven’t studied whether they can actually see in color or not. Yeah, nice lesson, but why is it important when cat fishing?
Its important when cat fishing to not let shadows scare Mr. Whiskers, he can see them and takes them very seriously! Those little beady eyes are watching you…well sometimes. If a cat sees a shadow he’s likely to stop feeding for a couple of hours and may hide, we don’t want that. If you’re fishing in clearer waters live baits may work better because fish are use to using their “peepers” to feed on minnows, drum, carp, or one of their other tasty treats that live in that area. Fish also have another highly developed sense that helps them find food.
Electroreception
Catfish have an amazing ability called electroreception. This ability, that is similar a sharks, allows them to pick up on small changes in electrical currents. Catfish can detect other living creatures by swimming close and sensing the electrical currents they emit. This helps them to identify who their swimming with. However, it’s most useful when foraging the bottom of the river bed in the mud and sand looking for insect larva. They can detect it without seeing it or smelling it! It’s a momma insect’s worst nightmare! Nobody’s sure how much older catfish use this ability; however an ability they definitely couldn’t live without is taste.
Taste
When I first heard this I imagined myself holding a delectable double fudge brownie in my hand and being able to taste it through my fingers. Wouldn’t that be weird? Well catfish are use to it. Catfish have a highly developed sense of taste. Some have jokingly referred to the catfish as a swimming tongue. It’s no wonder why, because its body is covered in taste buds from mouth to fin! The highest concentration of taste buds is on the cats whiskers
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Contributor's Note
There are secrets and techniques to catching loads of fish. I hope you will visit the link above to learn from the pros. All your friends will be amazed when they see a picture of you holding a giant catfish! http://www.zoglot.com/A1/fishing1.php
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