UTER
Photo: https://www.inaturalist.org/users/3992463, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Bagre marinus
How to catch Gafftopsail catfish
Gafftopsail catfish feed in 64–90°F water and bite best at 72–86°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 4 waters.
8 pts · trophy at 24"Feeds 64–90°FBest 72–86°FIn season nowChannel edgeGrass flatPass / inletBridge
About
The sail cat: a sleek, slimy, hard-pulling catfish with a dorsal like a sail and venomous spines. Better eating than its reputation; handle with the pliers.
How to fish it
Anything on the bottom on the flats and channel edges in summer. Wet the deck before you land one — the slime is legendary.
What it eats
live shrimpcut baitsoft plastics
Live bait for it
Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
Finger mulletLip-hooked on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and free-lined, or on a fish-finder rig in the surf. Cut mullet on the bottom for redfish and drum.What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader20–40 lb fluorocarbon
Hook#1–4/0
Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
Braid10–30 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereNo size or bag limit — confirm at MyFWC.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Gulf of Mexico