No doubt about it, the first 3-5 days after a fish stocking offer the best catch rates for catfish.  But it is a serious mistake to think that “all the fish have been caught out.”  Time after time, Game and Fish biologists witness, and get reports, of anglers catching limits of catfish from one week to three months since the last stocking.  Instead of catching a couple fish an hour, it may take a couple hours to catch a fish.  But persistence will pay off.  After a few days of leaving the easy life as a hatchery raised and heavily fed fish, catfish begin to develop “wild” behaviors in their new urban lake homes.  These wary fish have grown “street smart” and are not easily fooled by conventional methods, or overanxious anglers.  After monitoring catfish stockings for over 20 years, biologists have determined that 80% of stocked catfish are caught within the first week of stocking.  That leaves 20% of the fish to carry over into the weeks and months ahead.  On September 23, the day of the first fall catfish stocking, biologists encountered an angler with a limit of four catfish taken BEFORE the stocking truck arrived.  Those catfish had been in the lake at least 12 weeks since the final spring catfish stocking the end of June.  These reports are quite regular.

There are also many other species of fish waiting to be caught in the urban waters.  Bluegill and redear sunfish are abundant in most lakes and can provide rapid action for anglers that target them.  Try meal worms on a size 10 hook, fished under a small pencil bobber using 2-6 pound test line.  Largemouth bass are present in all the lakes, with the better populations found in the larger urban waters.  Specialized bass techniques and approaches have been developed by urban bass anglers.  This group of avid catch and release anglers tend to be rather tight lipped about their bass fishing tips.  In the past week, an angler reported excellent fishing for crappie up to 12 inches.  A couple of the urban lakes have yellow bass populations that peak and ebb from year to year.  Even the common carp can provide great sport for anglers fishing corn or dough balls and the smallest of sinkers to hold the bait in place.  Carp from 3-10 pounds provide quite a thrill.  So take up the challenge to modify your fishing strategies to catch some of the other, abundant fish found in the urban waters.