Catfish. general information

Catfish is a large freshwater fish that lives in the rivers and lakes of our country. Adult individuals grow to a length of up to 3 meters, and the weight reaches 150 kg.

Depending on the season and habitat, the catfish, which can be found in large numbers on the Internet, has a different color, from black to bright yellow. Sometimes you manage to meet the albino.

Fish catfish has a large and wide head. Large jaws contain many small sharp teeth. Near the mouth of the fish are two long white mustaches, and a little lower, on the chin, four more small ones. The eyes of the catfish are large and lowered. The skin does not have scales.

The small fin of the fish on the back is not at all similar to the anal - longer, wider. The tail occupies a large part of the body.

Catfish is a fish that lives on the bottom of the reservoir, its body is fully adapted to such a life. It rarely rises to the surface of the water. Usually a catfish finds a deep hole and settles in it. Also, the place should be quiet, without strong currents, and the bottom hard. He likes snags and fallen trees. Catfish - thermophilic fish. Already in the beginning of autumn, with the appearance of the first cold weather, it ceases to feed and lies to the bottom for wintering.

Fish do not like muddy water , so it hides in the pit during the rain.

It is omnivorous, therefore it can be safely called "the sanitar of the reservoir". Catfish food is frogs, mollusks, crayfish, waterfowl and small animals crossing the river. Also, he will not give up the meat of dead animals.

But his main diet is fish. To catch it, the catfish is masked and waiting for its approach. His victim, he does not pursue, but attacks unexpectedly. For food the catfish swims out at night, near its pit you can observe increased activity.

Usually, he hunts alone, but in the event that there is a lot of feed, you can see several fish at the same time in one place.

The catfish grows slowly. During the year, he accumulates 1.5-2 kg, and only by five years his weight is 8-10 kg, and the length is one meter. Sexual maturity in fish comes only to 3-4 years of life.

Spawning in the catfish begins with the heating of water to 17-19 degrees, starting from the end of May. To do this, he leaves his pit and finds a quiet place (backwaters or bays).

The female herself chooses a male from the numerous applicants, after which they drive the rest.

Together they go to the place where the spawning will take place, which the couple prepares together. To do this, catfish dig holes up to 1 meter deep, after which the female lays a small amount of eggs.

The appearance of the larvae occurs after 7-10 days, at which time both parents are nearby and guard them, driving away other fish. With the appearance of the fry, the catfish leave the spawning grounds and return to their pit.

Catch this fish can be from the end of April and until August. It suits best at night. As bait, earthworms, leeches and frogs are suitable. With artificial lures on catfish do not usually go, they do not always get to get into the pit because of the current. Good assistants on fishing will be a high-quality and strong fishing rod, a rubber boat and podsachek, which will be able to pull the catch out of the water.

Somov, weighing up to 5 kg and after 20 kg, is usually released. Young individuals need to grow up, and very large individuals have a reproductive value.