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Nice cat! I had a fish about that size break my 8wt in a sudden rush once. Came in like a kitten and right at my feet made the strongest run I've ever experience. Top 18" of the rod exploded and the fish ran out 50 yards of line in one sustained run. Catfish are definitely a strong contender. I can't imagine 8lbs on a 3 wt. Your lucky to have landed it!

Joe C.

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How do rig for catfish, do you use a strike indicator and let it sit on the bottom?

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Absolutely not. Catfish are not some sluggish bottom feeder sucking up rotted flesh from the muck. Bullheads fill that description, but flatheads (shovelhead catfish), channel cats, blues and whites are aggressive sight predators. From an evolutionary point of view, they are well advanced. They have the ability to detect minute traces of chemicals and even electrical fields - much like sharks.

To catch catfish on a fly first you have to fish where they are and then you have to fish when they feed. This is usually gnarly wooded holes or areas with large boulders and big scours. Current is always important - flatheads and blues will hold in water that would scare a striper! Be there at dark or when it's overcast.

I like a large Mickey Finn- red and yellow are excellent colors for channel cats. My only flatheads have come on simple shad flies fished on 250 grain sink-tips in the wash of a point - my best was 11lbs and an 8wt rod wasn't enough. A fishing partner took a 23lb fish on a 10wt and told me it was the strongest animal he's ever hooked (this is a guy who regularly takes 30lb chinook on a fly).

The best time to fly fish for cats is pre-spawn. June and early July. They get very aggressive then. Also, they can really come around in the autumn. I've taken channels on a popper when they were busting shad on top! I've seen this many, many times on Lake Fork in Texas. The guides won't let me cast to them because those 5 to 10lb channels "mess up the boat" when you land them.

Joe C.