Is that a catfish?
by Brad Wiegmann
Typically, catfish will be seen near the bottom of a lake and identified by their large heads and small tails.
How many times have you been looking at your fishfinder and wondered, is that a catfish? Sometimes it’s easy to see the echo of what appears to be a catfish, but often it’s more of a glimpse of some part of the body of a catfish. Also making it harder is catfish tend to be swimming near the bottom around cover or structure concealing itself.
Before we dive into catfish images in sonar, keep in mind for traditional 2D, CHIRP, side and down sonar, boat speed must be ideal and a fish must travel completely through the beam of a cone to have a perfect image. What frequency your fishfinder is set on will also dictate size of the beam.
You can identify large catfish with traditional 2D sonar or CHIRP sonar by an arch with a thicker return towards the catfish’s head similar to a guppy, but with a darker echo at the head. Large stripers will have more of the thicker echo in the middle section of the body, and gar will have a thinner, longer body compared to catfish.
Smaller catfish adjacent to the bottom most times don’t show up unless you have zoomed in on the bottom. Unlike traditional 2D sonar, CHIRP sonar with multiple signal echoes can show fish echoes near the bottom in high definition of catfish. The higher frequency of high CHIRP will have better imaging than medium or low CHIRP.
Side and down sonar with their high-definition resolution typically show adult catfish as larger echoes with a brighter return on the head of the echo. Large heads and bodies make them an easier target to see on side and down sonar with a frequency set at 800kHz. Fishfinders with 1.2-megahertz sonar with its higher resolution often show lifelike catfish echoes similar to an outline of a catfish.
Identifying catfish is easier today as live imaging sonar (LIS) continues to improve with high resolutions and interferences like ghost trees eliminated. Catfish in LIS typically look like a guppy with the larger head, curved back and smaller tail. Normally you will see them with their tail moving away from the boat or toward the boat head first. It’s more difficult, however, to see a catfish as it is swimming away from the boat compared to directly below or moving head first towards the transducer.
More catfish are being seen on LIS because anglers are setting their fishfinder to shorter ranges and setting the depth on manual. By having a shorter range and manually setting the depth, an angler can maximize the screen of his fishfinder, resulting in catfish with large, easily seen returns. Anglers adjusting color pallets contrast or color gain settings will also see more catfish as these settings seem to enhance the echo of catfish.
Adult catfish are large predators which make them easy to see on Garmin, Lowrance or Humminbird traditional 2D sonar, CHIRP sonar, down sonar, side sonar and LIS.
(Brad Wiegmann of Springdale, Arkansas is a professional photographer, videographer and outdoor writer published in dozens of print and electronic media outlets. Every month he provides CatfishNOW readers with the latest information on the ever-changing world of fishing electronics. He is also a well-known guide, podcaster and social media influencer. Learn more about Wiegmann at BradWiegmann.com.)
