**Cats are fun…and a lot more of a challenge than most people know enough to admit. Like teenage humans they seem driven by about three main motivators…food, sex and personal comfort…not necessarily in that order and often in different orders at different seasons.
You didn’t mention any specific water. The main channel cat waters in Utah are Utah Lake, Willard Bay and the Bear River…and Cutler. While all of these are essentially “lower elevation” waters, they vary widely in terms of depths, flows, food resources, competition from other cats and other species, etc.
Throughout the year the cats are greatly affected by water temperatures and weather conditions. The shallower the waters in which they hang out, the more they are turned on or off by fluctuations.
During cooler months, look for the cats wherever there are slightly warmer temperatures…caused by warmer water inflows or by additional sun warming in protected waters. A few degrees difference can make a lot of difference to a warmth-oriented cat. You can sometimes find big cats in only a couple of feet of water in the cold waters of early spring.
Once spring temps warm the water to over 60 degrees, the cats move shallower to spawn. Males look for protected holes in rocks or brush and lay claim to them for several weeks. They coax in the females to lay eggs…a few from each female. The male stays with the eggs and newborn until they disperse into the open lake…if the male hasn’t eaten them all first.
When water temps are above 65 the cats will spawn. They they often remain in shoreline rocks and brush…if the water levels are high enough…to dine on all of the young of other spawning species, as well as their own. During that time you can often do well casting lures in close…or soaking a bait a couple of feet below a bobber.
The cats will remain around the shoreline as long as the water temps stay warm, the food holds out and the water levels stay at least about 3’ deep. If the water drops and/or high winds create big waves the cats will move out into deeper water…but will move back in when things settle down.
About Labor Day each year there is a cooling period that starts water temps dropping. This usually triggers a fall feeding period for almost all species. Cats are especially active…as water temps drop from above 70 to below 60. As they go lower, the cats usually pull away from the shoreline areas and set up feeding in deeper water. In Utah Lake that will usually be about 5-7 feet. In Willard it may be 12 to 15 feet. You usually have to look for them.
By late October, the water temps have dropped to 55 degrees…or less. That’s when fishing slower…in deeper water…will catch more cats than fishing fast and shallow. Look for 8 feet or more in Utah Lake. And at least 15 to 20 feet at Willard.
There will be exceptions. During a prolonged warm period in the fall you might find cats aggressively foraging in fairly shallow water. I sometimes catch some of my best cats of the year in late fall by fishing in only 4-5 feet of water at Utah Lake. And I have had banner days on Willard…for cats…while casting small jigs for crappies in less than 10 feet of water in October and November.
Some of the biggest cats of the year can be caught during daylight hours in spring and fall. In the summer the biggest fish tend to be more nocturnal and night fishing will score more bigguns. But the big fish also come in shallow to forage at night so it is good to know where they will be feeding and set up with a night-glow bobber.
Does that help?
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