I always thought it was too cold and the growing season not long enough for them to reproduce, but the two I caught yesterday were both females stuffed to the gills with eggs. It was my impression that the WDFW had stocked channels in these lakes twice, once about 10 years ago, and again a couple years ago. In addition to the two larger ones, I also caught a smaller one about 12 inches which I gave away. Does this mean that they're reproducing in the lake?

[ 07-16-2001: Message edited by: Arklier ]

I believe the need a constant temperature of 65F or above during their spawning season. If they have that, then they certainly can reproduce. Were these bullheads or channels?

What lake did you catch them in?

I caught them in Gissberg Ponds (Twin Lakes) in Snohomish county. They were definitely channels. The larger ones were far too big to be bullheads, and they all had a slaty blue color on top, and a creamy white belly with a speckling of small black spots. I don't know what temperature the water was, but I remember it being quite warm.

Channel catfish have pointy tails, bullheads rounded ends. Channels tend to have smaller mouths in relation to body size than bullheads. Bullheads, of equal size are a chunkier body shape than channels.

I used to use crappies for bait for channel catfish. I'd catch one about 8 inches or larger and cut it into thirds. That made a bait that was big enough to where fish smaller than 20 inches could get it in their mouths.

Back in Maryland I used to fish below the Conawingo dam in the slack water. My outfit was loaded with 20 lb line. I remember this one time my sinker was snagged on the bottom and I figured if I got a bite the fish might get the sinker loose. All of a sudden I got a hit that dragged my rod tip down to the water and when the tip came up, the fish had broke 20 pound line on the strike. My rod was a 9 foot Shakespeare surf rod. I used it out here for sturgeon until it met it's untimely end in a car door.