Fly Fishing for Catfish / EC Davis

[Jim B]

Hello Catfisher's: I'm a new subscriber and first time posting to the forum. I must compliment the website with it's quality and organization.

I am a fly fisherman who enjoy's taking any fish that swims on a fly rod. Cold water, warm water or saltwater. I have inadvertently caught cat's when bass fishing, but don't really have the knowledge to specifically target catfish. I hope to gain some information from other forum members in regards to taking cat's by fly tackle.

I read in the Nov. 2005 issue of Wildlife in NC about Mr. EC Davis of Fayetteville, NC holding two state records of cats taken on the fly. I am the program chairman for Triangle Fly Fishers. does anyone know how I may contact him?

All of you be blessed and have a Merry Christmas.
Jim Burchette, Durham, NC

[Cataholic]

Welcome Jim!
Consider us your extended family and #1 source for Kitty information.
Fly rods eh? Sounds like fun to me, though some of the fishes we catch would ruin a good fly rod given the chance. Merry Christmas to you too Brother!

[Jim B]

Thank you Cataholic for the welcome. I know it sounds strange to fly fish for cats. Fly tackle can vary from ultra light for mountain trout to off shore big game. I have taken pacific sailfish on the fly and numerous species of salmon, so I figure why not catfish? Tight lines, Jim B

[Katmaster Jr.]

Welcome Jim, lot's of great info and people on here bud. :)

And flyfishing for cats.....that sounds like fun to me. I dont know anything about it though. If you find out anything let me know.

Good luck, Zakk :)

[Mutt]

Welcome to the BOC Jim.
I flyfish for trout but never heard of doing that for cats. hmm may be something new for me to look into. looking forward to posts from you on flyfishing. Once again Welcome to the BOC and Merry CHristmas to you and yours.

[Jim B]

Thank you for the welcome. I look forward to learning from everyone.

Here in central NC, we have Jordan, Falls, and Kerr Lakes as well as some nice rivers like the Haw and Deep. There is the Roanoke in northeast NC, my favorite.

I have though of chumming Mr. Whiskers in and casting a fast sinking fly line with a scented streamer. What do you think?

Best Regards, JB

[Katmaster Jr.]

Hey Jim, I live close to the Roanoke in ne NC, I fish there sometimes. Mostly fish Gaston Lake though which is the lake right above the roanoke and right under kerr lake. Chumming sound's like a great idea to get them close to you. I chum for cats alot and it really can help draw them close to you. :)

good luck :)

[joe0580]

congrats for finding ones of the greatest place for catfishing. i hate to inform you but ed davis died this year. i meet him and learned a lot from him wheni did talk to him. i know that he did a lot of his fly fishing in spring when the shad run and made a fly that looked like a piece of cut shad or small fry shad. hope this helps. i know of a guy that may know more. call me or email me and i get you his number ok. hope this helps and you should come down towards me when the shad run. a lot of people fy fish for them and a lot are caught. in the 4 to 5 lb range and on a fly rod these boys seem to fight great.

[Jim B]

Joe0580, Thank you for your reply. I was afraid Mr. Davis had passed away. A Google search showed a death record for him. What river are you speaking of for shad? The Cape Fear, the Roanoke? I've fished the Roanoke many times, but believe it or not, I have never fished the Cape Fear. Thanks for your welcome. As I have previously said, the BOC is one awesome group! Tight Lines, Jim B

[jim]

I had met Mr Davis before and knew he flyfished for cats in the Cape Fear.He and I shared the same dentist in Fayetteville and last I had heard he was in very bad health.I'm truly sorry to hear of his passing and had intended to go up and see him and try and record some of his fishing wisdom.I remember some articles that appeared in NCSPORTSMAN magazine and you may find them at their website.If I'm not mistaken he held many line class records for catfish and all of the flyfishng records at least here in NC.I'll try and do a little research through all my back copies so you can find them.

[joe0580]

he fished a lot between fayettville and lock #2 here in elizabethtown. he liked to fish for 3 or 4 days to get that one huge cat. he wouold use a fly rod near the locks where the shad couldn't go through and caught some nice. i think the record is a 38 lb flattie on it. i look and see ok. tallk to you more soon.

[Mark J]

If I'm not mistaken , he has held or still does hold 5 state and IGFA records combined. One of those being an IGFA. Flathead 30 pounds or so on 2 pound test.
Who needs braid?

I'm still trying to master live crickets on a flyrod.

[Jim B]

Gentlemen:

Thank you for your responses. I wish I could have met Mr. Davis. We all know someone who has been instrumental in our fishing life. It could be a young kid who you have seen the fishing excitement in their eye or the old timer who lives through his memories. Make 2006 the year to let them know how much they have meant to you. Take them fishing!

I'll let you know how I fare this year with cats on the fly rod.
Happy New Year to all.

Jim B

[Dwednuts]

Jim, You are a true sportsman. To ententionally go after a catfish with a flyrod would be an adventure to say the least.
Heck I might even try it myself..........NAAAA to scary for me, LOL!!!
You could always bait up with shad or skipjack from a boat and hang on tight!!! :D Of course you wouldn't be able to cast it like you normally would but you would still get the fight of your life if you hung a 30# blue, LOL!!!

[Jim B]

Fly fishing for catfish... yeh, it does sound, well, uh, different... I figure if I can land a 130 pound Pacific sailfish on a fly, a 30 pound Mr. Whiskers could be brought in. I've given some thought to putting a chunk of shad on a hook on my fly line leader, but why couldn't I use a fast sinking fly line with a streamer that has been marinated in some shad juice? Cat's are predators and go after baitfish, right?
Best fishes for 2006. Jim B

[Pogo]

Hi, JimB ...

I'm a newbie here and just stumbled accross your posts while exploring the forums. I, too, am a fly rod fanatic :)

Like you, if it swims, I'm going to try to catch it first on a fly line and have fly fished all over the world. People here in Sneads ferry thought I was nuts-O when I first arrived, but now several of them hint to be taken along :).

I don't do much cat fishing at all, but mostly go after Flounder at the New River mouth and along the Intracoastal. Doesn't mean I won't eventually get around to it, but am currently satisfied with the Specs, Flounder, and Drum that seem to hit no matter what I'm trying for.

And, yeah ... even a 2 pound Flounder is fun on a 3 lb tippet. They get sideways to you and it's like trying to land a Chevy truck hood.

I wish you luck this year and hope to meet you and swap some stories some day.

Take care ...

[Jim B]

Hello Pogo,
Yep, if it swims, it's fare game on the fly rod. I've picked up a few flounder when fishing for redfish and out at Cape lookout. They will hit a Clouser Minnow. Shad season will be here before we know it. Never been to Sneads Ferry. I live in the durham area. As you can see, I am a new member to the forum. Really neat site. Lots of information. Good bunch of folks. Tight lines to you. Jim B.
http://hometown.aol.com/jburch01/myhomepage/index.html

[Pogo]

Yep, Jim ... dunno what it is about that chartreuse and white clouser, but it sure works well.

After I started adding a small strip of white trailer, I saw a definite increase in hits, but even so, the clouser for Flounder whould be hard to improve on.

Sneads Ferry is South of Jacksonville and right where the New River and the ICW meet the Atlantic. Consequently, I mostly fish the shallow creeks and back waters off the ICW where the Flounder move to lay in the warm sun and feed.

Happy to meet you, Jim and I wish you a good catch, always.

[Fishing Fred]

Have a friend that uses fly rod in Jordan for cats. Uses a 4-5 foot flouracarbon leader with only a baithook and chicken liver. Does drop-shoting around the fish attractor areas. Has caught some channels and blues up to about 10 lbs. Will sometimes use cut shad. Bait sinks slow and if windy will add split shot.

[Salmonid]

Hey more fellow fly fishers, Cool, Hey I live in SW Ohio and target Channels quite often with the long rod, check out an article I wrote on Targeting Tailwater Catfish. This was based on experiences below roller dams on my local Great Miami River,
Article can be found at
http://www.flyfishohio.com
go to the Articles page, lots of good articles by folks who all trying to add to there Life List with the fly. I even recently posted a post on here( BOC) about targeting flatheads ont he fly, do a search for that and there are many good insightful replies, it was about 5 weeks ago.

Good luck and good fishin'!
Salmonid

[Beagle]

I think you will find that the sail on fly will look like a walk in the park compared to getting a big cat on a fly. Have more experience in the salt than I do the fresh. New to catfishing this year, but learning fast. All of mine have been from a kayak thus far.
That sail in the salt ain't got nothing to hang up on. Just water and the fish..no snags. And unless you fought that sail from a dead boat, there was that assist. That cat will be a different matter.
If I were asked to choose what would be the tougher feat, it would have to be a big cat on fly hands down. This is most certainly not in anyway saying your sail on fly is not to be proud of, it is. I worked a charter out of West Palm for sails in the winter before and had many who wanted one on a fly but few who closed the deal. Good work.
Go git 'em! That sinking line w/ a scented streamer will do the trick I bet.
I cannot wait to hear.

[Pogo]

Nice looking site, Salmonid ... informative as well.

I'm originally from Ohio, but didn't learn fly fishing (still learning, actually) until the early 60s. Since then I've tried the long rod first on anything that swam, all over the world and had a ton of fun doing it.

I currently live in Eastern NC at the juncture of the New River, the ICW and the Atlantic where Flounder have currently gotten my interest.

Although Flounder and Sea Trout are plentiful here, I must admit that my all time favorite is Largemouth Bass. After reading about all the fun these guys have, maybe this year I'll try my hand at Cats. Having caught lots of'em in Ms years ago, it should be even more enjoyable on a fly rod.

Thanks again for the link and good fishin'