Catfish at Lake Chabot in November?

[Fatcartmon]

Is it possible to catch catfish at Lake Chabot now in November? My family requested catfish as part of Thanksgiving If so any tips on which part of the lake I can catch it and the rig for it? Thank you in advance.

 

[Red Fish]

Is it possible to catch catfish at Lake Chabot now in November? My family requested catfish as part of Thanksgiving If so any tips on which part of the lake I can catch it and the rig for it? Thank you in advance.

The simple answer is yes. Catfishing can be slower feeding close to winter, but there are still some around. I had my luck there years ago in Honkers Bay but that is a far walk. I am assuming you mean from shore. One thing there is to find a spot with some cover (tules or dead logs) as they hang out in these areas during the daytime. Early morning before the sun is up (before 10am) can be promising or at sunset. I try to throw right in front of the tules which can be scattered around at Chabot and a bit of walk to reach. This is really trout time...

 

[Red Fish]

I'll add a rig too:

1. Put a plastic slider on the end of your line.
2. Tie on a snap-swivel
3. clip on a hi/lo 2-hook rig (either 2 dropper loops hand-tied from 20# mono) or a wire lear leader from the store)
4. Use 2 to 2/0 circle hooks - like Owner or Hayabusa light-circle.
5. Chicken livers and/or raw store shrimp (put either or on the hook; I don't combo it, but I don't think that would have any adverse effect).
6. thread -doesn't need to be any fancy Miracle Thread for catfish. Regular old sewing thread is just fine when you finish it up with a couple half-hitches on the end. I like the invisible thread from Jo-Ann's Fabrics; skinnier than Miracle Thread and way, way more of a bargain for the 300 feet you get. Wrap the bait up before you toss it out!
7. Use a one-ounce weight or even a half-ounce if you can get away with it. If you need to cast to the middle of the lake, go higher if you must.

The rig is 2 rigs in one. You can fish the 2-hook high low if the area is very weedy and shallow where the slight elevation helps the fish to find the bait (works with trout too). If the area is clear, and you want the sliding sinker, just unclip the hi/lo at the snap-swivel and add some 20# mono and a single circle hook. Cast near tules, sunken logs or boat docks. Sometimes you can cast out 40-50 yards to hit a channel (I like to fish 100' in front of me). At night or early morning, the catfish will come out of the tules and holes looking for food and could be anywhere. I always look at the fish picture board at the recreation center/food area for ideas of where fish are based on current photos.

Good Luck!

 

[TheFrood]

We used to go night fishing for cats at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont all the time... Chicken Livers with a 1/0 hook on Carolina rig. I used to use the magic-wrap (elastic thread) to loosely secure it to the hook. Only needed to cast out about 10-15 feet from the snack bar area. Not sure if that's too far out of your area or not.

I've heard there are good catfish in the ponds up at Niles community park too, although I've never fished them myself.

 

[Fatcartmon]

Thank you. I appreciate the replies and tips.