[Sentry Dog Man]

Hi Guys,

Have a question to pose here. In catching a catfish and/or a carp, have you noticed a difference in the feel?? I seem to notice that the carp just runs like crazy but that the catfish will run and maybe pause and shake his head, in an attempt to throw the hook, somewhat like a bass. Maybe its just me but I do think there is a difference in feel between the catfish and the carp, once you get them hooked up.

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

I think there is a big difference. Carp dart around everywhere and never seem to stop. Cats, especially big cats, just seem to head out in one direction and they dont seem stop for anything. I have NEVER felt a carp shake its head, and I dunno if I ever recall and descent sized cat not shaking its head.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, definate difference. Those carp are great fighters. Those big tails are powerful and you can feel the difference in my opinion.

 

[HOPPY4]

They are very different! The Carp will run in one direction first and try to find a place to hide or tangle your line. While on the other hand, the Cat will go stright for the deeper water and then hide. The movement of a fishes head is more apparent when fishing a braided line. I have used lighter braid and find that it has allowed me to feel more of what the fish is doing. When a 12-20lb. fish is on a Feeder rod, you are feeling everthing. I do not know what it feels like to have a Larg Catfish of any species on one of these rods, but look forward to doing so.

HOPPY4

 

[Bacardipr05]

There is a diffrence like said earlier you will know when you hooked on too a good size carp they put up a diffrent type of fight as they will generally try and zig zag and they can be easilly snap a line with their powerful tail. In my opinion they are harder to bring to the surface but then again i never caught a big flathead. They are both great fighters.

 

[maddcatter]

I personally think cats fight harder. Carp are really tough, but cats are tougher.

 

[98custom]

i dont know about carp, but i love the fight of a cat.

 

[CJ21]

I think cats fight a little harder.

 

[Catcaller]

The difference between the fight a catfish puts out and that of a carp is a large one. A carp, buffalo, and a gar fight very much the same...long and fast sustained runs. A catfish is much more deliberate...and tends to stay down during most of the fight...while a carp or gar is likely to breach the water and jump at one time or another...or at the very least come to the top and show itself more often than a cat will. I cant say I've ever had a catfish "shake" its head...but have had plenty of them roll continously. The walleye I catch while white bassing shake their head alot...so do the wiper. We sometimes catch those hybrid stripers/whitebass while catfishing...and you talk about a fight!! Those things are pound for pound the toughest fighters I have ever encountered. They are long winded...and FAST!!! While wade fishing one morning in 1994 in the Neosho river here in SE Kansas for catfish, I one time had one on that I fought for over 30 minutes...it would take drag going away from me, and then switch directions and come towards me...I could barely keep up with it until it whizzed past me and started taking drag in the opposite direction....this continued for what seemed like forever...I managed to wear it down and got it close and it kept trying to tangle with my stringer of bluecats or around my legs....I had to step over the fish a dozen times I bet. I finally got a glimpse of it in the muddy river water...a freaking wiper that was 3 feet long if it was an inch. It made me take in a breath as soon as I saw it. I fumbled around in the hip deep water and grabbed for it a few times when it was on top of the water right in front of me...and finally it jerked its head downward when I had the drag palmed...and tore the hook out of its lip...and ever so gently with a gleam in its eye...swam between my legs and hit me hard in the calf with its tail as we parted ways. It left me shaking and talking to myself. At first I wanted to cry...then I wanted to puke. I manged to pull myself together and caught a few more cats and a couple more wiper that ended up weighing 10 and 13 lb....the biggest of the two was roughly half the size of the one I lost. I wish I had just waded it to the shore...but as they say...hindsight is 20/20. Sorry...its kinda off the subject...but I had to share that. I've caught many catfish over 20 lb in my lifetime...and no 20 lb cat will fight as hard as a 10 lb wiper will.

 

[Dreadnaught]

As I was reading your tale of the big wiper I was thinking, Why isn't he going to the bank over and over in my head . And then you said that you sould have gone to the bank and landed it. While wade fishing is a great deal of fun, I think that it would only be to your advantage to go to the bank while a big one is on. Like you said, "hindsight is 20/20" and we all learn from our experiences. I am sorry that you lost it, and now that you have that one under your belt, you know what to do next time. Maybe you will get the chance to catch it again in the future :cross: !!!

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

Either way you look at it....they both are an awesome fight.

 

[vlparrish]

Cats and carp have a different feel, but both are an equally fun fish to catch. IMO though the hybrid stripe is the hardest fighting freshwater fish that I have ever encountered pound for pound. The best running fish that I have ever encountered is a 36 inch long king mackerel. there is no doubt that a king could outrun a striper and "never break sweat". I'm yet to salmon fish, but would love to sometime. Vern

 

[MUDHOLE KID]

If you ever hook up with a 40lb ''Flathead Locomotive",I think it'll tell the tale.Flatheads are are by far the strongest.They never give up.They're built like a train.

 

[bigpapa15206]

I think channels give a tougher fight that a flathead of equal size. I havent caught a carp i a while and may start trying on one of my cat rods. I saw a guy hook a 10# wiper two days ago while has was walleye fishing and man did that thing give him a hell of a fight! And yes carp get over 40#, the pa state record is 59#, i bet that was fun!