Catfish

Catfish lures at Charlie's Fishing: big softbaits, eels, swimbaits and heavy rigs for wels catfish

Wels catfish are the biggest fish you can catch on a lure in European fresh water, and they take artificials far more readily than their reputation suggests. A catfish hunts with its lateral line, its barbels and its sense of smell as much as with its eyes, so the lures that work are big, slow and easy to feel: a large softbait or eel that pushes water, a swimbait with a full baitfish profile, or a bucktail that keeps pulsing at a crawl. On this page we bring together our catfish lures and the tackle that goes with them: XL softbaits and eels, V-tails and pintails for vertical and pelagic fishing with live sonar, line-through swimbaits and glidebaits, surface lures for warm nights, and the stinger rigs, strong hooks, heavy jig heads, braid and leaders that hold when a fish of well over a metre turns and runs. It is written for anglers fishing the big rivers, canals, deep lakes and reservoirs of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, from the bank or the boat. Below you find which wels catfish lure to pick for each situation, with the models we stock from brands such as Frapp, Savage Gear, Illex, Rapala, VMC, BIM Tackle, FishImpact and BKK.

Big softbaits and eels for catfish

A big softbait on a stinger rig is the most reliable catfish lure there is. It can be fished slowly along the bottom of a deep channel, it keeps working in coloured river water, and the volume gives a catfish something to feel from a distance. The Illex Dexter Eel 280 is the eel profile in our range: 28 cm, 136 g, floating, with a tight rolling action and a curled tail that sends out low-frequency waves, and a core of Nitro Booster shellfish attractant that helps a catfish find it with its barbels. Illex suggests a BKK Chain-21 rig in size 3/0 for it. The Frapp Placoid 8" (20 cm) (20 cm, 30 g) and the Frapp Placoid 7" (18 cm) (18 cm, 20 g) are broad softbaits with a solid front section that sits firmly on a jig head or a bait screw with stinger, and an asymmetrical V-tail that sways from side to side on a slow, steady retrieve. The Frapp Double Croak 7.9" (19 cm) (19 cm, 53 g) and the Frapp Double Croak 6.5" (16.5 cm) (16.5 cm, 34.5 g) have twin tails that keep kicking at almost no speed, which is exactly what you want in cold or heavily coloured water; both also work as a trailer on a bucktail. The Rapala Soft Otus 18 cm (55 g) and the Rapala Soft Peto 18 cm (51 g) are big rolling shads with a wide kicking tail that you can fish on a bait screw and a VMC Pike Chain, or with a weight clipped on when the fish sit deeper. For heavy cover, the Savage Gear Mutant Rat Soft Loose Body 30 cm (30 cm, 85 g) rigs weedless on a big EWG hook or on a screw-in head and comes back through the snags clean. See all Softbaits and Pike Softbaits, where most of these big softbaits also live.

Vertical and pelagic catfish fishing with live sonar

Catfish do not only lie on the bottom. In summer and autumn they often hang suspended in open water above the deepest parts of a river or lake, and with live sonar you can find individual fish and drop a lure in front of them. For this the lure must sink straight, hang convincingly on the pause and move with the smallest lift of the rod. The Frapp GekoSlug 8" (20 cm, 30 g) was built for exactly this: a rounded front for a stable track, a scaly Geko-style surface, a V-tail that rolls on a twitch, and a body that sinks almost vertically on the pause, with noise capsules included; the Frapp GekoSlug 7" (18 cm) is the same lure one size down. The Fishimpact Virus 19 cm (30 g) is handmade in Belgium with a pintail and side flaps you can trim to loosen the action, and FishImpact names catfish next to pike and zander as its targets. The Fishimpact Slayer Tong 18 cm (20 g) gives a slimmer, more subtle profile for fish that have already seen a few lures, and the Stucki Fishing Kingsizer (20 cm, 30 g, 4 per pack) is made for vertical and pelagic fishing on light or very heavy heads, with a removable tail membrane that switches it from a wide flat tail to a fine V-tail. On a heavy jig head, drop these lures to the fish, lift them a few times and let them fall back; the take often comes on the drop. Read our pelagic fishing review with Garmin Livescope, and see all Pelagic and V-Tails & Pintails.

Swimbaits and glidebaits for catfish

When catfish hunt bream, roach and other white fish in open water, a full-size swimbait often beats a softbait, and a line-through design keeps the fish from using the lure as a lever against the hooks. The Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 36 cm XL is the biggest lure in this collection: 36 cm, 478 g, moderate sinking, with two SGY 1X BN trebles on a Carbon 49 wire frame and a chin ring to adjust the sink rate. The Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 27 cm (217 g) and the Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 22 cm (101 g) give the same roach profile in sizes you can cast all day; work them with gentle pulls and pauses so they glide and then sink slowly. The Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach 23 cm (170 g, slow sinking) is the big glidebait of the family, and Savage Gear names catfish with a full-size baitfish profile as one of its uses. The Savage Gear Wide Glide Scandal 25 cm (190 g, 1 to 2.5 m) comes pre-rigged with two 3/0 trebles on ball-bearing swivels and gives real hangtime over a deep edge, while the Savage Gear Low Glider Jerk 17 cm (112 g, slow sinking, about 1.5 to 2 m) adds a loud rattle that helps a catfish find the lure in coloured water; read our Savage Gear Low Glider review. For a smaller glidebait with a strong flash and VMC UV hooks, there is our own Rapala x Charlie's Fishing Limited Edition (11 cm, 45 g, adjustable sink rate with screw-in weights). See all Swimbaits & Glidebaits and Hardbaits.

Bucktails and surface lures for warm nights

On warm summer evenings catfish move into surprisingly shallow water, along stone banks, groynes and the margins of a harbour, and a big lure that pushes water just under or on the surface gets some of the most violent takes of the year. The Charlie's Mustache Mouse Combo (20 cm, 80 g) combines a VMC Mustache Shallow, a CWC Double Tail and a VMC Pike Chain into one ready-to-fish bucktail; the Charlie's Mustache Mouse Baby Combo (17 cm, 40 g wet) is the smaller version. The VMC Sharpshooter Combo (22.5 cm, 80 g) is a slow sinking, lead-free bucktail with a VMC 4551 1X Strong hook in 3/0 and an extra eye for a weight or a VMC Pike Chain. The BIM Tackle ChaCha Bait (28 cm, 50 g, sinks about 3 s/m) combines a chatter blade with a hand-tied bucktail for 1 to 5 m of water, which is a lot of vibration at a slow speed; read our BIM Tackle ChaCha Bait review. The BIM Tackle Crazy Rabbit Shallow (29 cm, 55 g wet) has a clip system to change the head weight, and the BIM Tackle Shallow Cruiser Rig (10 cm, 35 g) is a super slow sinking bucktail rig that takes a Double Croak or a big shad as trailer. On the surface, the Savage Gear Mutant Rat 30 cm (30 cm, 125 g, 1 to 2 m, slow sinking) comes fully rigged with two 3/0 trebles on a stainless steel stinger and a rattle in the head, and Savage Gear lists catfish sessions among its uses. The Spro BBZ-1 Rat 50 (13.5 cm, 25 cm with tail, 60 g) wakes, pops or walks over the surface, and the Rapala Claptail 110 (11 cm, 25 g) is a topwater with a rotating tail blade that claps loudly with every turn of the handle. See all Mouse & Bucktail Lures and Topwaters.

Stinger rigs, hooks, jig heads, braid and leaders that hold

A catfish finds the weak point in any setup, so build the rig as carefully as you choose the lure. For big softbaits we rig a chain stinger in the belly: the BKK Chain Stinger Rig is a stainless Chain-21 rig with BKK Spear-21 Super Slide trebles and Z-shaped pins, in several hook sizes for large softbaits, and the VMC Pike Chain Rig UV carries a UV 1X treble in 2/0 on a detachable stinger in sizes S, M and L. The BKK BB Trigger-21 UVO Stinger Rig is BKK's UV stinger rig for big shads and hybrid softbaits, and BKK states that all its components are built for large pike, zander and catfish; the size guide runs from 1/0 for softbaits of 18 to 22 cm up to 4/0 for softbaits of 30 cm and more. For weedless rigging of the Mutant Rat body and other oversized softbaits, the BKK Titan Rider has a strong locking spring that keeps the bait in place. When you replace trebles on a swimbait or build your own stinger, the BKK treble hook Spear-21 SS comes in sizes up to 3/0. For vertical fishing the Toppies Tungsten Jighead BIG series goes up to 28 g on a Mustad hook, and the Illex Dexter Tip Up Head (5 to 25 g) is the screw-in head made for the Dexter Eel. Fish all of this on the thicker diameters of the Sufix Performance G-Core 131 Braid: 0.235 to 0.330 mm is the range we recommend for pike and heavy lure fishing, and its GORE core fibre makes it highly resistant to abrasion. Catfish have no cutting teeth, but their rasp-like tooth pads wear through thin line, so finish with a thick, abrasion-resistant leader: the VMC Fluorocarbon Leader in 1.00 mm, or the BKK 7x7 Wire Leader HD (40 cm 7x7 stainless steel) where pike share the water. Check your hook points and leader after every fish, and wear the Charlie's Fishing Glove when you land and unhook a catfish by hand: the tooth pads rub skin raw within seconds. See all Rigs & Stingers, Hooks and Rigs, Jigheads and Lines and Leaders.

Which catfish lure for which situation

• Deep river channels and holes: Illex Dexter Eel 280, Placoid 8" or Double Croak 7.9" on a chain stinger, fished slowly along the deepest edge you can find.
• Catfish suspended in open water, found on live sonar: GekoSlug 8", Virus 19 cm or Kingsizer on a heavy jig head, dropped straight down to the fish.
• Catfish hunting white fish in open water: Line Thru Whitefish 27 cm or 36 cm XL, 3D Glide Roach 23 cm or Wide Glide Scandal 25 cm with long pauses.
• Coloured or rising water: Low Glider Jerk 17 cm with its rattle, ChaCha Bait or Double Croak 7.9" for maximum vibration.
• Warm summer nights in shallow water: Mutant Rat 30 cm, Spro BBZ-1 Rat, Claptail 110 or the Mustache Mouse Combo along stone banks and margins.
• Snags, sunken trees and heavy cover: Mutant Rat Soft Loose Body 30 cm weedless on a BKK Titan Rider.
• Cold water and slow fish: Double Croak 6.5" or Soft Otus 18 cm at a crawl, close to the bottom.
• Catfish water that also holds big pike: a wire or titanium trace instead of fluorocarbon. See also Pike and Zander.

Why buy catfish lures at Charlie's Fishing

We pick catfish lures from brands such as Frapp, Savage Gear Lures, Illex, Rapala, VMC, BIM Tackle, FishImpact, Stucki Fishing, SPRO and Chasebaits, and the rigs, hooks and lines from BKK Hooks, Sufix, Stroft and Toppies, so that the lure and the terminal tackle match. Everything ships from our stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we are happy to help you choose the right size, stinger and leader for your river or lake.

What is the best lure for wels catfish?

A big softbait of 18 to 28 cm on a chain stinger rig, fished slowly along a deep edge, catches the most catfish on lures. A full-size line-through swimbait is the choice when catfish hunt white fish in open water, and a bucktail or rat lure works on warm nights in shallow water.

Can you catch catfish on softbaits with live sonar?

Yes. Catfish often hang suspended above deep water in summer and autumn, and with live sonar you can drop a V-tail or pintail such as the Frapp GekoSlug or Fishimpact Virus on a heavy jig head straight in front of the fish. Lift and drop the lure slowly; most takes come on the fall.

Which line and leader do I need for catfish?

Fish a strong braid of at least 0.23 to 0.33 mm and a thick, abrasion-resistant leader, such as a 1.00 mm fluorocarbon or a 7x7 wire trace where pike share the water. Catfish have no cutting teeth, but their rough tooth pads wear through thin line, so check the leader after every fish.