Sharptooth Catfish
Name
Sharptooth Catfish
Other Names
Barbel
Identification
The body is noticably flat towards the tail and the pectoral fin is long, as it stretches from behind the head to the basis of the tail. The anal fin is also rather long and stretches from the anus to the basis of the tail. The caudal fin is rounded. The head of the Sharptooth Catfish is big, flat and heavy, with the eyes being small and is place in the front of the head and to the sides. The mouth is big with broad strong jaws that has fine, sharp pointed teeth. There is also 4 pairs of long feelers or barbs. The colour of the fish ranges from almost black to light brown with shades of olive green or grey. The belly of this fish is white. Barbels or Babers can reach a length of 2m with a weight of over 40 kilograms
How to locate
Barbels often rise to the surface to “breathe” and they can easily be spotted when they do so.
Baits to use
Art lure such as plastics and lead-heads as well as other art lure can be used very effectively. Fleshy baits work extremely well, these include baits like earthworms, chicken livers, day old chicks, platannas, fish head or fish fillets. The Sharp tooth Catfish will also pick up carp baits like boilies and floaties as well as tiger nuts from time to time.
Tackle to use
Medium to heavy tackle with medium to large hooks are recommended, heavy tackle especially when targeting the larger specimens as these fish are excellent fighters and will look for any type of structure to break the line off.