Catfish fishing in August: heat and mosquitoes

Catfish fishing in August: heat, mosquitoes and the hunt for large catfish

August is considered a challenging month among catfish anglers. The fish are biting, but catching big ones is a lottery. The big catfish seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth at times - a phenomenon that I observe year after year in many of the rivers I fish.
It was the year 2009...

My friend Wadim and I knew about the "calm" from online reports and from Koen, the "spirit of the rivers", who knows every current here. But our thirst for adventure won out over common sense. With four days to spare, we gave it a try.

Our first catch was a catfish with a split lower lip - probably an injury from a laying line, or perhaps from a boat propeller. A bizarre start to an equally bizarre tour.

On the second day, Sebastijan, a colleague of Vadim's, joined us. A novice catfish angler, he was bitten by the "catfish virus" within three days. You could see how his fascination was taking over him more and more. In total, we landed nine catfish, including Vadim's new personal record: a 1.84-meter catfish!

But the little catfish made life difficult for us. Their attacks on the bait fish were bold and persistent. One of the tiny creatures hung on the guyed rig for hours - at first we thought the bait fish was just that active! When we looked, instead of the 15 cm crucian carp, a 35 cm baby catfish was dangling on the hook.

The conditions were extreme: brutal 35 degrees during the day, damp cold at 8 degrees at night and swarms of mosquitoes. But that's exactly what makes such fishing trips unforgettable - the mixture of fish fights, adrenaline and the triumph when the catfish reel finally gives way to the whirring fishing line.

Words can hardly capture what such nights on the river mean. The photos, however, speak for themselves: sweaty faces, laughing eyes and the proud presentation of the caught catfish.

August catfish are fickle, but not invincible. The key? Patience, adapted tactics and the belief that even in the "dead month" the river has a trump card up its sleeve. And let's be honest: without the heat, mosquitoes and the hunt for the unknown, it would be half as exciting!