Collecting catfish in French Guyana

[kruseman]

Since I'm planning a collectingtrip to South- America I'm curious to find out what kind of methods and materials are best for catching catfish like Auchenipterids and Corydoras.

I've heard about so- called seinenets and also see a kind of rectangular nets without a stick on photo's of collectingtrips. Any ideas here what best to bring?

What would be the best method and time of day be to catch some catfish? Would woodcats be easier to catch during the night or at daytime? Where would they be hiding ?

Any input is more than welcome. Thanks in advance.

Arjan

[Marc van Arc]

Arjan,
Change title to "Collecting catfish in French Guyana".
Your first line implies uncertainty (you are planning this), but you are actually going to do this.
There must be people here who have also been collecting themselves and should be able to provide some help.
Jools has been on holiday for the past two weeks; maybe he'll chime in shortly?

In response to your woodcat questions: I think you know perfectly well that they are more likely to be caught in the evening/night and their whereabouts during the day should be no mystery for you either. You have been keeping them long enough by now
But I have not been there myself. So I'd like to hear from someone experienced whether I'm right or wrong.

[kruseman]

Thanks for the input Marc.
Changed the title.

I allready talked to a ( Dutch) guy who has been there and mainly collected killifish. he provided me with some info on nets and places to be.
Couldn't tell me however how to catch woodcats and the like.

You might be right I need to catch them during nighttime. That would leave me with a heck of a jetlag afterwards, but alas, coming home with some fresh Glanidium leopardum or T.brunnea would be a good cure for that.

[Suckermouth]

To get wood cats you will primarily be looking in wood and trying to get them out. Which of course is a bit of a challenge. I have also heard that they are attracted to the insects that are attracted to light, so if you can get yourself out at night to do that you may have some success. I haven't collected wood cats myself though so I can't really comment from experience.

[racoll]

I'd say you're much better off looking for the woodcats at night. I collected

Centromochlus

and

Trachelyichthys

on the surface at night with a flashlight and net. They're pretty fast but not too difficult to catch.

[Jools]

Especially at dusk too. When the bats that drag the water for fish with their feet come out! I agree with Racoll that the larger doradids and auchenipterids are worth fishing for at night too.

Jools

[kruseman]

I collected

Centromochlus

and

Trachelyichthys

on the surface at night with a flashlight and net. They're pretty fast but not too difficult to catch.

Great!
In what type of water did you catch them? Little streams, ponds, rivers?
And what kind of nets did you use?

[racoll]

In what type of water did you catch them? Little streams, ponds, rivers?
And what kind of nets did you use?

The

Centromochlus

I caught leaning over the side of boat on the main channel of the Rio Negro. As Suckermouth said, they were eating the insects attracted by the lights of the boat.

The

Trachelyichthys

were swimming round in shallow water at the edge of a lake, in an area of flooded grass and semi-terrestrial vegetation.

I used simple hand nets about a foot (30cm) square (have a look here). You might want to try something more intelligent, though, as they got badly caught in the net, which wasted valuable fishing time trying to untangle them.

[Marc van Arc]

You should use a net with larger meshes, so they will not get tangled up.
Not too large of course, or they will simply swim through the net

I bought a large one recently to catch my Congo tetras (pretty unfair, I know) and although I accidentally caught some auchenipterids (they simply swam into the net; it's too large to miss), none of them got tangled up.

[kruseman]

In what shop was that, Marc and/or what was the specific brand of that net?

[Marc van Arc]

It was in the small LFS over here.
I have to check for a brand; it is originally a pond net.
Not expensive though; around 12 euros.

[racoll]

If you're going to take cheap nets, make sure you take several!

Maybe best to invest in a decent one as your main net, and then a few cheap backup nets.

[Jools]

I agree with Racoll, I broke my two LFS/Koi nets in my first ever 10 minutes of collecting in the wild. There is a big difference in handling a net when you can see it in 3D in front of you and when it's in a murky (or dark) river. It needs to have a handle the strength / tension of a large garden fork and be able to easily replace the netting.

What Marc suggests would work well for open water dipping or above sand spits where there is no wood in the water and no leaf litter / debris to net.

You are, literally, fishing in the dark!

Jools

[kruseman]

Ok.

I'm going to get or make myself a strong "framenet" with a large mesh and take a couple of cheap aquaiumnets of different sizes with me as well.

Any ideas on so- called seinenets?

I will post some pictures of me catching catfish by the truckload in due time ;)

Thanks for helping me out.

[Jools]

Search the site for seine net info. However, you need to be able to stand in the water and anything deeper than about 1.5m of water and they are nearly impossible to use without several people. If you have a reasonably clear pull through the water then they can be very effective. You need to be quite strong to use them and they should be weighted. Two guys should be able to pull a 3m seine. Black netting is also good if you can get it.

I've got pics of ones I've used somewhere...

Jools

[Bas Pels]

Ok.

I'm going to get or make myself a strong "framenet" with a large mesh and take a couple of cheap aquaiumnets of different sizes with me as well.

You could start with a cheap net which suits your needs and apply a steel bar around the net-part. This will increase the longelivety enormaously.

If it is applied remouvable, the fact het net itself is not very good too will not matter, you will just bring 2 cheap nets

[kruseman]

You could start with a cheap net which suits your needs and apply a steel bar around the net-part. This will increase the longelivety enormaously.

Or a tube that has been cut on one side and is applied over the edge of the net?

[Bas Pels]

If you have a net such as this one

net.jpg (9.61 KiB) Viewed 9444 times

strengthening Bar A with a PVC tube would - in case you hit something - result in no damage to Bar A, but the unprotected bars B, C and D will be harmed.

Still, the same net

net2.jpg (10.37 KiB) Viewed 9444 times

with protective bar E added, will, hitting the same obstacle, still be without any harm

Obviously, bar E should be as close to the net sa possible

[Jools]

Typically, it's the long pole connecting to side D that snaps or bends.

Jools

[Narwhal72]

The second net that Bas posted (the one with the perimeter guard) is a very good design.

We used to use these types of nets on the fish farm I used to work at. Advantage is that the metal outer frame protects the net fabric when you drag it across the bottom (especially in a concrete vat) which prevents it from abrading and ripping. It also creates a second attachment point to the handle which will make it much sturdier. Single handle attachment points make a pivot point that can result in the handle separating from the net frame with enough stress.

I can't comment as to how well it would work in an irregular surface like a stream or lake bed though. Small bottom dwellers (like catfish) can slip through the gap created between the perimeter and the net frame. The nets are so sturdy that there is very little bend or give in them either. May work best using it as a barrier and chasing fish downstream into the net rather than chasing fish with the net.

Andy

[kruseman]

This net: http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.p ... 45&lang=en
would be great as well probably, but the price is totally out of proportion imho.

[nvcichlids]

I use this net with all of my collecting/sampling locally here.
http://www.jonahsaquarium.com/jonahsite/netdipnet.htm

its called the perfect dip net. It extends and retracts (the pole that is) and breaks down into 3 pieces. I have used it to dig under tree roots and down trees in streams without any problems with the net breaking or ripping or anything. The metal protection around the actual mesh is awesome and I have jamed it into fast flowing creeks trying to get darters here in the US. Still no damage and my favorite fish collecting purchase.

[kruseman]

Allright!

I think I've found my net.

[kruseman]

The manufacturer of the Perfect Dipnet is not able to profide it with a stick, currently.

I found a rubber net with a aluminum ring around whcih looked very sturdy and was about 3 times cheaper than the dipnet in a local fish and baitstore.
Imight go for that one, since the mesh was wide as well.
Before using it in FG I'll go and skoop around in streams and ponds in the forests here at my place.
When it survives here, why not there?

A small phototank is being made too and I got my injections the day before yesterday.

Now I need to look for a styrofoam box that fits in my suitcase.

[Bas Pels]

Now I need to look for a styrofoam box that fits in my suitcase.

Arjan, in Uruguay haalden we de boxen bij een bedrijf dat ze maakte voor de export van consumptievis. Wellicht kan je via een van de visafslagen aan een telefoonnummer van een producent komen.

Het zal niet heel erg makkelijk zijn, succes daarmee

Bas

[Jools]

Arjan, in Uruguay haalden we de boxen bij een bedrijf dat ze maakte voor de export van consumptievis. Wellicht kan je via een van de visafslagen aan een telefoonnummer van een producent komen.

Het zal niet heel erg makkelijk zijn, succes daarmee

In English please - as per forum rules. If you really need to write in Dutch, please use PM.

Jools

[Bas Pels]

Sorry, I mistakenly pressed the reply button instead of the PM button

I fully agree Dutch is wrong on this forum. Could you please remouve this little converstation? I will PM the message

[Jools]

Don't worry, it makes a lot of sense to me it was just an accident. I'll leave it be if you don't mind as it serves as a useful reminder for others (and indeed I am sure the Dutch speakers). Unless it says something bad!

Jools

[kruseman]

Below the net I bought in a baitshop. Rubbercoated with a separate pole.
My and my daughter tested it in a little stream where European beavers roam. First catch: A small stickleback.
The net seems okay, but still a little concerned about the connection between pole & net.

[coelacanth]

Certainly in the UK, any decent angling shop which caters to match or lure anglers should offer a range of nets with rubber coated mesh (bear in mind mesh size relating to the size of fish you aim to catch). They're designed to prevent hooks getting caught up and also to shake dry quickly, but they should equally prevent catfish or stingray spines getting entangled. You can also buy telescopic carbon fibre poles to suit these which are extremely strong, some even have the front 12" detachable which would turn them into a very functional hand net (some duplon or squash racket tape around this will make it more comfortable in the hand). With all nets, a strip of butyl pond liner or similar sewn along the front edge will extend their life considerably, and a similar strip along each side would make them easier to use as a scoop net. If space is important, folding landing nets are available.