A Year With a Catfish.* 



EDGAR S. JONES, Lovin^ton, Illinois. 



AFTER the ice in the river has 

 mehed and the rains of April 

 have caused the creeks and rivers of the 

 Mississippi valley to rise, just that soon 

 you will find the catfish coming from his 

 home in the mud-bed of the stream or 

 from beneath the logs that are very com- 

 mon in the slow-flowing streams of the 

 west, and starting up the stream in 

 search of food as well as seeking his 

 home of the year before. 



This migratory movement of fishes 

 of inland waters, as compared with that 

 of birds is more pronounced in the cat- 

 fish than in any other species. 



He has had but little to eat during 

 the winter months and is always alert to 

 secure food, such as bits of grass, insects 

 or smaller fishes. 



He travels up and down the river as 

 it rises and falls, but by the first of June 

 has chosen a part of the river in which 

 he generally stays until the rise of the 

 river in the autumn. Great schools of 

 catfish make their upward and down- 

 ward migrations (the first general move- 

 ment does not begin however, until the 

 hatching season is principally over), but 

 by the first of July at the farthest they 

 begin to isolate themselves, excepting 

 the younger ones, which stay in schools. 

 By the first of June he has gotten over 

 his hungry spell, going in quest of food 

 during the night, beginning shortly after 

 dusk, along the shallow water near the 

 banks or ripples procuring frogs, cray- 

 fish and other species of fish, lying in 

 wait for fish, often capturing those 

 equalling him in size. 



Fishermen find that bait placed two 

 or three inches from the top of the 

 water near the edge of the boat is 

 generally safe from the turtle and cray- 



* Reprinted from The Atlantic Slope Naturalist by 

 permission of tlie autlior. 



fish, but easily found by the catfish in 

 his nightly journey. 



His summer home is commonly found 

 in hollow logs or small recesses in the 

 sides of the banks. Very often, during 

 the months of August and September, 

 when the water is at the lowest, men 

 who are engaged in capturing the catfish 

 for the market, place hollow logs in 

 favorable positions for the fish and also 

 make excavations in the banks, making 

 tempting places for the larger ones to 

 take up their abode on their return in 

 the spring. The catfish has been cap- 

 tured by this method weighing as much 

 as fifty pounds. 



In the early summer, quantities of 

 grain are placed near these places, to 

 further attract the attention of the fish. 

 Frequently, the kingfisher misjudges 

 the size of the catfish when near the 

 surface, and consequently is very often 

 seized by him and drawn beneath the 

 water. He is the Scavenger of the river 

 fishes. His principal food during the 

 fall being decayed animal matter, 

 seeming to relish most that which has 

 undergone the most putrefaction. In the 

 late summer, if the streams become very 

 low, catfish of considerable size may be 

 seen making the ripples; but if the 

 rivers do not lower, this is seldom seen. 

 As the rainfalls begin he starts down the 

 stream, collecting in small schools dur- 

 ing the winter months. Many times he 

 can be seen through the ice at the edge 

 of the water, remaining there for days 

 at a time. When openings are made in 

 the ice, great numbers congregate near, 

 remaining for a short time, then return- 

 ing to their homes in the mud to emerge 

 again at the coming of spring. 



Believe me, the talent of success is 

 nothing more than doing what you can 

 do well, and doing well whatever you 

 do, without a thought of fame. 



Longfellow. 



