[Angling Nomad]

I live in the south metro area (Centennial, just north of where Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch meet), and I'm on a mission to catch a catfish. I don't have a boat, so I'll be fishing from shore. Here's my plan:

1 light action spinning rod with 6lb test, a bobber, a fluoro leader, and a small hook for bluegill or any volunteer trout.
1 medium/heavy spinning rod with 17lb test and a fishfinder rig with a 3/0 circle hook.

Starting off with worms on the bobber and some store bought salted shad on the bottom rig. Hopefully switching to fresh cut bluegill pretty quickly.

I'm trying to stay mobile, so I want to keep everything in my pockets or maybe a small backpack. I think with this setup I can just carry a spare bobber, a few hooks and sinkers, and a couple spools of fluoro for re-rigs.

Looking at the Fish-n-Map for Chatfield (great buy, thanks for the recommendation!), I plan to take one of two approaches: 1. Work the eastern shoreline of the western leg from the Lakeview Parking area north to the marina area pier. OR 2. Work the southern shore of the eastern leg, starting in Roxborough Cove and to / through Plum Creek.

Any suggestions are welcome, especially thoughts on plans 1 or 2. Also, if there's a more reliable catfish hole I'd love to hear about it.

Tight lines - James

 

[littlemac]

first suggestion is dont use trout for bait pretty sure thats illegal.

 

[Angling Nomad]

That sounds like solid advice littlemac. Note to self: Bluegill goes on the big hook, trout goes on a stringer. 😁

Also want to clarify that what I'm calling a fishfinder seems to be more commonly called a Carolina rig. Basically an egg sinker on the mainline, then swivel, leader and hook. I always heard that called a fishfinder, but youtube seems to disagree...

 

[Angling Nomad]

Well, what a bust. Probably first time in my life that I fished for 5+ hours without losing a nightcrawler...

Finally made it out Friday, but no luck at all. Fished the northeastern bank of the western leg, starting just south of the marina and moving 50 yards south every hour and a half or so. Seems like the only structure that would likely hold bluegill was a pier way up in the air just north of where I started. There were a couple guys fishing it, so I just started south of there. Never had a nibble on the bobber, or on the bottom rig. A LOT of PWC and boat activity, and they were all running up to that area full speed and then dropping off plane to go into the no wake zone. I imagine all the fish in the area were pretty terrified. Will definitely be trying the flat area on the eastern leg next time.

On the bright side, what a sunset!

 

[Angling Nomad]

So, assuming the weather holds out Friday, I'm going to make an attempt at plan B.

I have two questions:

1. Would you recommend fishing the deep flat at Roxborough Cove, or would the shallower Plum Creek area be better?
2. Anyone have a recommendation for a store bought catfish bait? I tried these: Magic Preserved Baby Shad Baits | Bass Pro Shops in natural and red, and didn't have any luck. Doesn't mean they don't work, but I'd like to hear any thoughts.

My primary bait will be nightcrawlers, and I'll once again start off trying to catch some bluegill under a bobber.

 

[kleomuttdog]

So, assuming the weather holds out Friday, I'm going to make an attempt at plan B.

I have two questions:

1. Would you recommend fishing the deep flat at Roxborough Cove, or would the shallower Plum Creek area be better?
2. Anyone have a recommendation for a store bought catfish bait? I tried these: Magic Preserved Baby Shad Baits | Bass Pro Shops in natural and red, and didn't have any luck. Doesn't mean they don't work, but I'd like to hear any thoughts.

My primary bait will be nightcrawlers, and I'll once again start off trying to catch some bluegill under a bobber.

So here's how I normally catch them. Catfish is not usually on my list of fish to catch but when I go after them I use a few tricks. Hit the shallow areas as the sun sets. I use peeled live crawdad tails or shrimp that has been left out for a day. A #2 hook and a 3 ft leader to a swivel with an egg sinker fished off the bottom will kill it. Good luck!

 

[Pancake70]

So I’ve been following some of these forums for a while but just registered so I could post up on my cat fishing experience a Chatfield.

I’ll take my two kids out early in the evening and they will catch a boatload of 3 to 4 inch bluegills. I throw them in the bait bucket and the wife will take the kids back home or I’ll run them home and come back out and try my luck cat fishing for several hours. I’ve tried to Flats by Plum Creek several nights at no bites.

I fished catfish Flatts For about two hours with no bites. I want farther up between catfish flats and the north boat docks and Fish for about an hour and a half with no luck.

I use a Santee rig and/or a slip bobber with a cut gill or worm or punch bait. I have not got a hit on anything on any of the nights that I’ve been out there.

if someone is willing to show me a good spot where I could catch a couple cats I’m more than willing to bring out a bucket full of bluegill and a couple beverages 😉

 

[Angling Nomad]

So here's how I normally catch them. Catfish is not usually on my list of fish to catch but when I go after them I use a few tricks. Hit the shallow areas as the sun sets. I use peeled live crawdad tails or shrimp that has been left out for a day. A #2 hook and a 3 ft leader to a swivel with an egg sinker fished off the bottom will kill it. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip Kleo. I'll downsize my terminal tackle and see if that helps.

So I’ve been following some of these forums for a while but just registered so I could post up on my cat fishing experience a Chatfield.

I’ll take my two kids out early in the evening and they will catch a boatload of 3 to 4 inch bluegills. I throw them in the bait bucket and the wife I’ll take the kids back home or I’ll run them home and come back out and try my luck cat fishing for several hours. I’ve tried to Flats by Plum Creek several nights at no bites.

I fished catfish Flatts For about two hours with no bites. I want farther up between catfish flats and the north boat docks and Fish for about an hour and a half with no luckFor about two hours with no bites. I want farther up between catfish flats and the north boat docks and Fish for about an hour and a half with no bites.

I use a Santee rig and/or a slip bobber with a cut gill or worm or punch bait. I have not got a hit on anything on any of the nights that I’ve been out there.

if someone is willing to show me a good spot where I could catch a couple cats I’m more than willing to bring out a bucket full of bluegill and a couple beverages 😉

Thank you for sharing your experiences Pancake. Sorry you're not having any luck, but glad to learn it's not just me!

 

[roberts2727]

If you ever get a chance to get out of the city go check this place out. I caught/released 6 10+ lb cats Friday night on an overnight trip.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

 

[Angling Nomad]

If you ever get a chance to get out of the city go check this place out. I caught/released 6 10+ lb cats Friday night on an overnight trip.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

Thank you for sharing Roberts. That's about 2.5 hours out for me, so maybe I'll plan an overnight campout. Safe to assume you were fishing from a boat?

 

[Pancake70]

Any luck this year? I’m Going to Chatfield next weekend to try again.