How to catch stone cats

I have been using a minnow trap overnight to catch baby bullheads you may want to try that I caught 2 yesterday and set some more out until tomorrow

Madtoms are usually in deep cover. In streams they will be way down in the substrate. You can set a net downstream of you and shuffle your feet through the gravel or sand to stir them up. You really have to dig in- it's a good workout. In slackwater areas, you can net up weeds and leafpack and sift through them. Unfortunately, madtom abundance tends to be real spotty. One site that looks good will yield nothing no matter how hard you try, while another will give you several madtoms in a single haul.

Madtoms are said to often hole up in discarded beverage cans. I've never found one this way, but it's worth a shot.

I caught a bunch of slender madtoms using my trout fishing net. It's just a standard short handled dip net from Basspro. I was using the "flip and scoop" method where I would place the net in front of a rock then flip the rock and quickly scoop any of the fish that were in hiding. I was able to net about 20 madtoms per hour. Check out your state's conservation department website for madtom distributions and you can probably find a stream near you to collect some natives.

The only ones you are likely to catch on rod and reel are Stonecat madtoms. One night a couple years ago I caught three stonecats from a rocky sand bar while fishing for channels cats with worms.

i am a big fisherman and the inly way iv ever cought one was by going to a big deep hole in a creek then walking down stream to a the next hole and use a size 12 hool and a pice of worm that is just enough to cover the hook and wait

I've wondered about this as well. The madtoms I see most often are brindled madtoms which are in silty ditches and reside almost entirely under huge pieces of concrete. This means moving alot of the cover is hard, even for a strong guy like me, and most movement makes the whole place cloud up and netting becomes impossible. Might have to try a minnow trap.

Josh H

Get a buddy to help you flip the rocks. I conned one of my roomates to go with me a few weeks ago and after we had used the seine, I had him flip the larger rocks towards him while I made a quick swipe under the rock as he flipped it. We caught a whole bunch of madtoms, darters, and bullheads.

I've had luck getting them in leaf mats.