In Oklahoma, you can catch catfish all year long.

In the winter months you can catch blue catfish like they are going out of style. Summer months, you can catch flathead catfish with live bait if you set up at the right spot.

But springtime is when the catfish are getting ready to spawn their new hatches and they must bulk up to prepare for sitting on eggs and not eating all that often.

Catfish can lose approximately 10 to 15 percent of their body weight during spawning. Weight loss is primarily due to energy expenditure and reduced feeding. Typically, the start of the catfish spawn is May 1 and lasts for a couple of months while they hatch their new broods.

Catfish typically guard their nests for about one to two weeks. The duration can vary based on species and environmental conditions. Male catfish, which are generally more aggressive, are primarily responsible for nest protection.

They may stay longer if eggs are still developing or if threats are present. After hatching, some species continue to protect their young for a short period. Nest guarding helps ensure the survival of the eggs.

So, the key to catching the fish is to get them before they have eggs to protect. That brings us to springtime catfishing, my favorite time of the year to catch them.

Oklahoma is known for the many lakes and rivers that are home to big catfish. My personal favorite is to fish a river near a bend where you know the water is a little deeper, even in an otherwise shallow river.

You don’t need 20 feet of water to catch a catfish. In fact, a lot of fish are caught in springtime in very shallow water, sometimes as shallow as 2 or 3 feet.

That’s mostly because bigger fish are actively feeding, and the smaller fish tend to stick to shallower areas to avoid being preyed upon.

I believe that every single lake in the state has tales of “catfish the size of Volkswagens” if you dive down deep enough. While widespread, these stories are just not true. In Oklahoma, the record blue catfish was caught in 2010.

It weighed an impressive 121.5 pounds. The catch took place in the waters of the Oklahoma River. The fish measured 57 inches in length. The angler used live bait to attract the massive catfish.

While this record highlights Oklahoma’s potential for trophy catfishing, it shows that they don’t get to be the size of cars.

The record flathead catfish was caught in 2004. It weighed an impressive 102 pounds. The catch took place in the Oklahoma portion of the Arkansas River. The fish measured 58 inches in length.

Both fish were “noodled” out of the rivers, or in other words, caught by hand, not by rod and reel.

While I respect anyone who catches their fish by hand, what we are talking about today is catching with a fishing pole, which requires a little more patience and a bit more finesse.

Another myth is that catfish live for hundreds of years. That is also simply not the case. Flathead catfish can live up to 28 years, although the typical lifespan is five to 22 years. A flathead catfish can eat a fish which is 30 percent of its own body weight.

So, a 100-pound fish can eat a 30-pound fish, a 10-pound fish can eat a 3-pound fish.

Also, depending on food availability and water temperatures, they can add 75 percent weight from year to year. So a 20-pound fish this year can be a 35-pounder next year under optimal conditions.

They can breed starting around 3 years old. And the older they get, the wiser they become, often avoiding fishing hooks because of their own experiences.

One of the most contentious myths about catching catfish is that the big fish have to be released because they are the “breeders.”

While it is true that larger fish do release more eggs than the smaller fish, the large fish are much less common.

The 50-pound flathead catfish is a rare animal. Most fisherman fish their entire lives without seeing one, let alone catching one. And while they do indeed release more eggs, the smaller ones release a lot of eggs too and there are about 100 times as many smaller breeders.

The big catfish lay around 500,000 eggs on average. The small ones lay around 100,000 eggs on average.

But the small breeders get eaten by the huge fish. As I said earlier, a catfish can eat a fish around 30 percent its own size, and they are cannibalistic.

They will definitely eat other potential breeder catfish that would have otherwise laid a large clutch of eggs themselves.

With too many big fish in one area, it pretty well depletes the overall fish population.

In fact, if you put a big flathead catfish into a small pond, you will find that over time, there are no fish left in the pond because the big catfish devoured everything else.

So, for me it is catch and release, but when I release, it is usually into the grease.

Catching catfish is always fun and golden catfish nuggets are just about always a fan favorite. Oklahoma is known for its fried catfish, almost as well as it is known for its gargantuan chicken fried steaks.

I always tell people that it is called fishing and not catching, but using the right time frame, location and bait can help you get the big fish to shore.

If you want to catch them on a fishing pole, here are some key tips for your next fishing trip.

▶ Fish during the evening or at night when flatheads are most active.

▶ Use live bait like sunfish or shad for better attraction.

▶ Target deep holes and structure near the riverbank or lake bed.

▶ Employ heavy tackle to handle the strength of flatheads.

▶ Be patient and allow the fish to take the bait before setting the hook.

▶ Keep your line tight and be ready for sudden, powerful runs.

▶ Use circle hooks to ensure you catch the fish that bite your hook.

Good luck on your next fishing trip and I hope you catch a big one. Keep your lines tight.

Get out there and give fishing a whirl. And join the Oklahoma Catfish Report on Facebook. We have 45,000 members who would love to see your fishing experiences.