What's With Power Bait & Catfish?

[*Hootie]

I fish strictly for bass, but anytime I tie on any Berkley Power Bait, I know I am just as likely to catch a catfish as well as bass. On one occassion, using a Berkley Power Hog, I caught a 14# flathead, a15# bluecat, a 27# flathead, a6#+ channel cat. Ended my day right by finally catching a 5#12oz. bass. I know it's probably the smell, but I have other rotten smelling plastics that don't seem to attract catfish.

Hootie

[J Francho]

Sounds more like you found a great location for cats than bass.

[papajoe222]

I get the same thing with the Gulp products. I used the TurtleBack worm a lot during the spring and was dumbfounded as to the number of cats I was catching. I wasn't surprized to catch a catfish while bass fishing, but like you I'm talking numbers not the occasional cat on a crank or spinner.

One of the guys at my club hooked a 23# cat on the exact same worm, so I know it wasn't just a fluke thing for me.

I stopped using them for a couple of reasons, price and the fact that if you don't use a hook with a keeper they're constantly sliding down the hook shank.

BTW, I used them in a catfish contest later in the year and got skunked. Go figure

[WRB]

The catfish you mentioned are all predators that eat the same live prey as bass. The fact catfish use their sense of smell more than eye sight are attracted to odors more than bass. If the big cats are active feeding where you are fishing, then expect them to react to a lure that looks and smells like prey.

I have caught some big cats on jigs with pork trailers that have ansise oil and garlic scent, the biggest was. A 37 lb channel cat that still haunts mme....I was convinced it was a world record bass!

Caught channel and blue cats on spoons and crankbaits with no scent, when cats are active they hit bass lures!

Tom

[*Hootie]

Sounds more like you found a great location for cats than bass.

You're absolutely correct about that. In fact they regularly hold catfish tournaments on this lake.

Hootie

[J Francho]

A 37 lb channel cat that still haunts mme

I am haunted by a huge drum that I thought for sure had bars and red eyes, LOL.

[J Francho]

You're absolutely correct about that. In fact they regularly hold catfish tournaments on this lake.

Hootie

I bet there are big bass there, if you can dial in on them. Sounds like anything smaller would get eaten.

[BobP]

Gulp - keep the bait moving and you're bass fishing; pause it too long and you're catfishing.

[Bluebasser86]

We fish gulp minnows on 1/8oz jigheads a lot for walleyes when they get up in shallow water in the spring. Sometimes you catch more catfish than anything else. They're a blast on light spinning gear, even the smaller ones. I catch a lot of flatheads on jigs, those 5-10 pounders really get my hopes up until they settle in under the boat for a tug-o-war. Big drum are always disappointing too, they even fight a little like a big largemouth or smallmouth.