Catfish Pipes - Pros/Cons
 

Does anyone have any experience with catching catfish in pipes? I am looking to get started and give it a shot, but was wondering if anyone had any pointers or failure experiences? Size of pipe used (diameter, length, thickness), material of pipe used, location of pipe (canal, bayou, marsh, lake), # of pipes tried, duration pipes were tried, size of fish caught, time of year tried, water depth tried, type of bottom where tried ( sand, mud, clay, silt), technique used to set/pick up pipes, ect...

A guy I used to work with used old A/C duct and stapled one end together. I never got any more info from him than that though.

We use stove pipes. crush one end and screw closed. Tie a rope on the open end. We keep about 6 around our warf. We catch a few. Slat trap is better.

PVC capped on end 4" & up. Have to leave them in water for a while so alge will grow in them then they'll come. Usually April-May is best time.

I collect old freon cans. A friend owns a Heat and Cooling company and saves them for me. I take a torch and cut a hole a the top side big enough to get my hand in and put three or four 1" holes in the sides about 1/3 up from the bottom to help drain and fill. The bigger the hole the bigger the fish that can get in the can. You would be surprised how small a hole a catfish can get in. Also a smaller hole makes it harder for the fish to get out when you pull up the jug. Next, I tie the finished jug to a main line made of 3/16" black poly rope on drops like a trout line and put them out. You could also use heavy tared line it's up to you. Usually, I put 15 or 20 cans to a line. You could do more but where I put them that is plenty. When you put them out make sure you are in a place with good water movement not to fast but fast enought to ensure you have lots of oxygen otherwise the fish won't use them. I look for a harder bottom a little soft mud is ok but to much and they sink in it. I leave them out year round. There is nothing in that can hurt the fish unlike old trout lines. In fact jugs help the fish. I probably have 2 or 3 hundred out. The problem is remembering where I have them all at I don't mark the lines to keep other people from stealing them. I have them marked on my GPS and have a book with land marks to help me to remember. To get them up I throw a weighted grapple and pull up my lead line. The thing about jugs is the bigger the pipe the bigger the fish you will catch usually. I personally prefer smaller catfish for eating. Big fish are fun to catch but not as good for eating. Many times when you pull up a pipe it will have two fish in it. Be careful when pulling up the can if you bump it against the boat many times the fish will leave other times you can't get them to leave and they will try to bite you when you reach in.

Imakeoil - Thanks for the advice; You sound like a veteran. What size are those freon bottles? Is there anyway I could get a few from your friend?

i got a good buddie that's got a truck load of AC duct hes looking to unload if you are insterested..:*****:

Did any of you stop and realize how many catfish are not hatched because of those pipes or cans? Just look at the number of eggs that fall out of the cans and pipes when you pick them out of the water.

Never used the cans but I don't see a shortage of catfish anywhere

Its legal, and there are thousands of other catfish spawning out there that are not caught in cans, catfish populations aint hurting

GDSD - I know a guy that has been piping for 12 years in the same area and the # of catfish he sees/catches grows each year. The pipes give the catfish a protected place to spawn/lay eggs. It only takes 5-7 days for catfish eggs to hatch after layed; so the chances of hendering the catfish eggs from hatching are low unless you go every week and/or multiple times a week. If you miss a week you may have just allowed all of your pipes to become a safe haven for a complete catfish spawn/protect cycle. I don't think it hurts the spawn or else it would be illegal.

GDSD seriously?! Dude every single catfish that is caught and eaten.does not spawn! Duh! I can't believe you actually posted that. Do you think we check these things every day? I might run my pipes two three times a year. The rest of the year fish use then to nest in. Seems to me like I'm actually HELPING the fish.

I guess the bottles are about 3 gallons. There are very common every AC place uses them. It's the green tanks they get Freon in. They just throw them away when their empty. Go in to a local place and ask for some or for them to save you some.

Thats called chuming, after you check the pipes you perch fish