Once upon a time as a teenager, I would take the city bus to the west end of Ottawa and fish Chaudiere rapids at the end of March. Wading. Wet wading. Yes, the water was just a few degrees above zero ~38F. Yes, it was lunatic crazy but no innocent civilians were hurt.
I would catch smallmouth bass and nice Channel Cats on Rapalas, Mepps spinners and other artificial lures. Strictly catch and release. The catfish were 2 and 3 pounds, put up a good struggle given how cold the water was, and looked great. I understand they can be terrific eating but never did kill one for the frying pan.
Oddly enough by the last week of June when bass season opened, I could not buy a strike from a Channel Catfish. It was also much harder to hook decent sized smallmouths. Maybe they were all sore-mouthed?