wow.. even still… to catch a monster catfish.. It would feed us for a week… mmmm.. cajun catfish.
If it were me I would release the ones over 24" and keep the smaller ones for the fish fry. I almost got in trouble once fishing there. I was in a float tube before the lake opened for boats. I was right on the edge of the 200 yard mark. I was using a GPS to keep in the range. When the sheriff came to talk to me I showed him the GPS and all was good. Ron
Yeah, those bigger ones have a “mud” flavor anyways. Still a ten lb’er would probably come home with me. I guess I just don’t understand the whole 200 yd thing. Just bothers me a little bit and I’ve never been there. I just go where the fish are. Hope they are close enough. I don’t want to get into trouble [:/] or get skunked fishing.
a ten pound channel cat is a big fish and should be well over that 24 inch mark they are no good when they get that big i caught one a couple years ago at strike that went 19.2 pounds and i had to keep it because i was at a derby and didn’t have a live well it tasted like rubber worst tasting fish i have ever had i like the small ones up to 3 or 4 pounds
I think someone needs to take me catfishing to catch some of these huge catfish so I can get my dimensions down [bobhappy]
So for catfish in general, is it better towards Idaho Falls or Boise?
i would say yes cj to steck park
Thanks bud!
Deepest water I’ve ever found at Lowell is 40 ft in front of the nampa city ramp when the lake was full. Caught lots of big catfish on crank baits at brownlee early in the year while bass fishing. The gubment is screwing us at Lowell. It’s an artificial ecosystem.
artificial?
It didn’t exist until they built the New York canal, before that it was sagebrush. It is a shock absorber for the irrigation system. Nothing about the place is native.
Interesting, I bet that makes for a really muddy bottom
Brownlee has some big cats and the cool thing about their is it has flatheads I would say if you want to catch a really big cat in Idaho Brownlee is your best bet I just never make it up that far
Interesting.. I might have to make a camping trip.
The government didn’t build the lake, they just declared the surrounding land to be a refuge, which is managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.. The NY canal was built with private money to feed the water to Lake Lowell. The dams, and the water, were built by and are managed by the irrigators through the Bureau of Reclamation. Living on the S shore of the lake, I own a share of that water. The Idaho Fish & Game Department manages the hunting and fishing on the lake. With three different agencies managing the area, it is somewhat of a mess.
I agree with dtayboyz that it is artificial, but what is artificial is the refuge, not the lake. The Idaho F&G Dept has done a great job with the fisheries. The USFWS is now more interested in grebes and “endangered” species than recreation and is the main problem here.
There is a lot of bare ground out there, however there is a tremendous amount of good fishing cover during high water.
Well thank you the history of the lake. And now I know [bobwink]
lake lowell is awsome in the spring when the water is up in the trees but once the water starts dropping i quit and go to the snake i will say i haven’t tried for cats much out at lowell but i have seen alot caught off of the bank and some huge ones i mostly go after bass out their
I’ve not caught a cat thru the ice, but I wonder -bait on the bottom, or dangling a bit?
I would think a tip-up would come in handy, give em a chance to eat and run with it…
I’ve done it with what people around here call a walleye jig with some cut bait. Leave the skin on for strength.
I’ve already decided to plan a trip. [bobwink] can’t wait to get out there with everyones advice