I caught my first catfish on a fly rod. Little sucker tried to clamp down on my thumb. With all the water this year the bass were biting as well! Pound for pound smallmouth fight better than trout!
About 10 years ago after Putah had flooded out I fished Berryessa for bass, mostly smallmouths and an occasional largemouth. I was float tubing at Oak Shores using a woolly bugger. After letting my fly sink to the bottom and making one short pull, I felt a heavy weight at the end of my line. At first, I thought I had snagged something, but it was moving! After a long battle I landed a catfish that weighed between 6 and 7 pounds. It's the only catfish I've every caught on a fly, but a very memorable one.
I was float tubing. At Oak Shores there is an old concrete boat ramp that goes out into the water. Most of my fish have been caught to the left of the ramp. However, for this catfish I was fishing to the right of the ramp. I think the underwater ramp provides structure for the fish and that's why the fish tend to stay fairly close to it. I was using a yellow Seal Bugger (Denny Rickards fly similar to a woolly bugger).
