Catfish fishing
Catfish fishing is a powerful and exciting style of angling focused on targeting one of the strongest freshwater fish in the world. Often underestimated, catfish are true game fish known for their size, strength, and long, hard fights.
Equipment required for Catfish fishing
The technique usually involves strong tackle and heavy braided line, combined with live bait or high-attraction baits such as shad, minnows, or pellets. Baits are presented on the bottom using simple, reliable rigs, allowing the catfish time to fully take the bait before the hook sets—often using circle hooks for safe catch and release.
Catfish are commonly found near structure and cover such as rocks, fallen trees, drop-offs, and current breaks in rivers, or deep holes in lakes. Patience is key, as bites often start with a slow, steady take before the fish commits.
Whether fishing by day or night, catfish fishing is all about waiting for that moment when a true giant picks up the bait—and the battle begins.
Species to target when Catfish fishing
The Catfish (Siluriformes) are powerful, scaleless freshwater fish named for their whisker-like barbels. The world-famous Wels Catfish thrives in the Ebro (Spain), Rhône, Po, and Danube—one of Europe’s largest predators, reaching over 1.6 m and 140 kg.
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Carp (Cyprinus carpio) originally come from Asia, but since ages they are native to Europe. In the Middle Ages, monks introduced carp into ponds and lakes for food. Carp thrive in virtually any environment and can grow up to 80lb! Carp fishing is extremely popular in the U.K. and in Western Europe.
MORE INFO >Carp
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Catfish are a diverse group of fish which have one thing in common: their barbels. They exist in all kinds of colours and sizes, ranging from the Mekong giant catfish in Asia, the wels catfish in Eurasia to the piraiba in South America. Catfish are the largest freshwater fish and they can grow up to 5m and weigh over 300kg!!
MORE INFO >Catfish
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Pike (Esox) are a fresh water predator found in the Northern Hemisphere. Several subspecies are distributed in Canada, North America, Europe and Asia. Pike can grow up to 1,5m (59 inch) and weigh over 25kg (55lbs). Trolling, spinfishing, life or dead bait fishing and fly fishing are the best techniques to fish for this fish.
MORE INFO >Pike
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There are 27 species that belong to the sturgeon family. Virtually unchanged for 200 million years, Sturgeon are true living dinosaurs that can reach upwards of 15 feet in length and weigh up to 1800 pounds.
MORE INFO >Sturgeon
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The zander (Sander lucioperca) is a sought after game fish in Europe and western Asia. It's a common fresh water fish distributed from Spain to Finland and from Britain to Kazakhstan. They can be caught with spinfishing, dead bait and live bait fishing. Zander can grow bigger than 1 meter and weigh up to 15kg.
MORE INFO >Zander
Best Places to try Catfish fishing
The Wels catfish is native to a vast area of central, southern, and eastern Europe, historically inhabiting the river basins of the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas, but its distribution has been dramatically expanded through human introduction. Prized as a large sport fish, it has been introduced into waterways across Western Europe, and it is now found from the United Kingdom in the west all the way to Kazakhstan and China in the east, and from the northern reaches of its new territory south to countries like Greece and Turkey, making it one of the most widely distributed freshwater fish giants across the European and western Asian continents.
