Effective Catfishing

[MakoMaui]

Out of all the freshwater fish, catfish are among my favorites. As a species, I find it interesting. And the fight that a decent sized cat provides is enough to keep me "hooked". However, I have only fished for them one way; main line attached to a swivel, size #6 shelled hook ran through the end of the swivel, and a split shot a couple of inches above the swivel, enough to keep it down on the bottom. My bait of choice is always a nightcrawler, (I always get hits from other species until the cats find my bait first.) I am trying to expand my ways of fishing, and just recently, I have started to get into making rigs, (I only made top and bottom buck tail rigs for flukes in saltwater so far.) I am curious. What are you guys using to catch catfish? What techniques do you find most effective?

 

P.S. : The last time I went out for catfish, I bought "liver imitations" made by Gulp. They were getting hits just about every cast, but I didn't have good hooks that worked well with that bait.

[KritterGitter]

I use a "fish-finder" setup along with frozen silversides or cut chunk bait. Essentially a 1 or a 1 1/2 oz egg sinker loose on the main line with a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook. The loose sinker lets the fish take the bait wothout the weight of the sinker affecting it. My rig isint as heavy as the one pictured for cats but the same idea.

[iabass8]

It's been a long time since I've intentionally targeted catfish. We use to use the most basic rig that probably the majority of cat fisherman use. Essentially, it's just a carolina rig. Heavy braided mainline, no roll sinkers(these are a flat tear drop shape that really works well keeping your bait in place in current) ranging anywhere from 1/2oz to 4oz.( Usually 1-1.5 oz was enough-need just enough to keep your bait in place), heavy swivel, mono leader in the 18in range + hook. Bait of choice was almost always cut shad and/or bluegill. in the spring we would use shrimp before the spawn. We caught countless 10#+ channels and a few nice Flats in the 30# range on this rig. FRESH bait was always the best for us ,I was never super serious about it though but man there's very few fish that put up that fight of a monster flathead. . My boat cost too much money to ruin /w shad guts + clean up was headache. It was more of an excuse to build a fire /w a couple friends, drink beer, and hope we caught some cats. 

 

Best investment I made for catfishing was an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6501C3. The 6500+ series had a bait clicker feature which when engaged, you just loosen the drag a hair and when a fish bite your line you would hear the clicker/drag click like spinning reel drag..only a lot louder. I never had to pay attention to my line. 

[MakoMaui]

When you prepare your blue gills, how do you do it? I catch them quite often on the same hooks I would catch my catfish on. What constitutes a good catfish rod? Maybe I should look into getting another rod & reel combo. I can always find a good use for them.

[iabass8]

I would chop the head off and use the whole head as bait and then I would use the two fillets and either use the entire strip or cube them. You usually get 3-5 pieces of bait from one bluegill. As for the rod, base your decision on the use of weight you use most and the size of catfish you are targeting to guide you. I used a Quantum Alliance musky rod due to the fact I used 1oz sinkers a lot. This rod was amazing for using live blue gill and cutbait targeting flat heads and 4#+ channels. It was awful for small eater size channel cats though. I mean it worked okay, but a medium action rod would have been a lot easier and efficient. For hooks, I used Gama big river rooks for cut bait due to the way the hook bends. you can thread the bait on the hook so it stays on more efficient while casting. For live bait, I used circle hooks and J hooks. Never really had a preference both worked fine. I also used these same hooks for small but bait and they worked very well.

[MakoMaui]

I wish I had flatheads around me. I live in New Jersey. I know we have channels in some of our waters, but I don't know how big they are around here. Do you think the fish head will be intimidating for bullheads or white catfish? I'll have to look into the rod. I haven't really been faced with situations where I need to use weight above 3/4 oz in freshwater. But maybe I'll discover a new spot where the current calls for it. How big do those flats get around you?

[iabass8]

For whitecatfish, no the head will just be seem like a bloody meal and won't intimidate them. Bullheads, no idea. People use bullheads for livebait around here for flatheads. They don't get very big aroun here though on average. I've seen a few "larger" bullheads that were the size of a small house cat but for the most part they are the size of panfish in my area. 

 

Flats get very large on the river and even larger the further south you go. I've got a few 30# flatheads and have seen one over 40 up close. I've heard of some 50#+ in the IA area but it's pretty rare in this portion of the river. 

[Bluebasser86]

Fresh cutbait or livebait is the way to go for catfish. I don't eat them so I'm always targeting the largest ones and the real thing is the best way to get them. You can catch them on other stuff, but fresh cutbait or livebait will catch the most. My preferred way to fish cutbait if there isn't too much current or wave action is to use a stout octopus or kahle hook and nothing else. The only thing I may add is a barrel swivel if the bait is rolling a little bit.

 

For live bait I'll either hook them below the dorsal fin or through the nostrils depending on if there is current or not and fish them on a slip sinker rig (basically a heavy Carolina rig). 

[crazyjoeclemens]

Lots of good advice here. I really like the basic Carolina style rig with a no-roll sinker, for river fishing, too. Shad is a great bait for catfish. I usually catch a bunch with a casting net before I go out. As mentioned before, you can cut up the bigger ones - one fillet on a octopus or octopus circle hook and put the head on a large khale hook. Smaller shad can go on the hook whole - hook it thru the lips or below the dorsal fin, but be careful not to kill it. They're even more attractive to catfish, if they have some wiggle to em.

The only thing I didn't see mentioned here is drop shot. On lakes with no current, I use a lot if drop shot rigs to keep the bait from just laying on the bottom. I also like to use some bottom bouncer sinkers and drift through the flats, when cats are actively feeding. Last, but not least, Mustad makes a "double live bait" hook that happens to be perfect for chicken livers or those little mesh bags of shad guts. I don't use those baits a lot, but when I do, that hook is the one I use.

[Hyrule Bass]

The only thing I didn't see mentioned here is drop shot. On lakes with no current, I use a lot if drop shot rigs to keep the bait from just laying on the bottom. I also like to use some bottom bouncer sinkers and drift through the flats, when cats are actively feeding. Last, but not least, Mustad makes a "double live bait" hook that happens to be perfect for chicken livers or those little mesh bags of shad guts. I don't use those baits a lot, but when I do, that hook is the one I use.

 

i often fish for catfish with a drop shot. too many people think drop shot has to be relegated to light tackle and bass fishing, but its not the case. i started using it because my main catfishing spot has grass beds on the bottom and i wanted to keep my bait out of them. i still do fish some traditional bottom rigs. mainly a slip sinker rig...

[crazyjoeclemens]

I think the main reason drop shot is overlooked is because so many people assume that catfish are bottom feeders, which is not the case. They are very opportunistic and will eat carrion, but they chase shad, worms, crawdads, etc (just like bass do), when they're actively feeding. That's one of the reasons why slow-trolling or drifting work so well. I like to hit the flats, just after dark. That's when they're really on the prowl.

[Bankbeater]

Cat will cruise shallow if they can't find anything on the bottom.  We've used cut up bait on bobbers, rigged for about 3' and caught some nice ones.

[Shanes7614]

Try chumming the area with a large can of a fish based cat food. Poke holes in te can with a screwdriver and throw into area you are going to fish. Bullheads can't resist worms. Any of the other types any kind if oily fish will do the truck and chicken livers as well. I like using dead herring for channels. Nice oily bait that doesn't wash out if scent after just a few minutes if soaking.

[Bluebasser86]

Cat will cruise shallow if they can't find anything on the bottom.  We've used cut up bait on bobbers, rigged for about 3' and caught some nice ones.

One of the lakes I catfish regularly we do something we call bass fishing for catfish. We use cut bluegill or shad on a 2/0 Kahle hook on medium action spinning rods, 30 size baitfeeder spinning reels, and 20lb braid. Cast up to the weedline with a weightless chunk of cutbait and let it sink to the bottom. After it hits bottom if one doesn't bite after a minute or two we start a lift, drop retrieve back to the boat, just like a T-rig. It's amazing how many catfish we catch doing that sometimes, along with a surprising number of bass and even the occasional walleye or wiper. 

[crazyjoeclemens]

Try chumming the area with a large can of a fish based cat food. Poke holes in te can with a screwdriver and throw into area you are going to fish.

 

 

Chumming is not necessary to catch catfish, and please do not litter.  Fishermen already get a bad rap, with the perception that we leave behind all kinds of old hooks and string.  Lets not add tin cans to that.

[MakoMaui]

Thanks for all of the input. I'll have to try some of these methods. Eventually I want to get a fishing kayak. That would give me the ability to head away from the bank and be able to drift for fish. Are there any regulations against fishing nets for baitfish? I live in Jersey, but I don't know the rules for baitfish. And how well do those mesh holders work for the messy baits?

[Bluebasser86]

There are different restrictions everywhere about what you can use for bait and how to collect it. You'll want to make sure you know those before you start getting bait or go to bait store and buy it so you know you aren't breaking the law. 

 

Pantyhose work well for stuff like chicken livers and congealed blood baits. The sponge baits and punch worms work well for dipbait but you do have to re-dip them often as it washes off.

[Gary0155]

I've always just used turkey liver. It says on a little better than chicken liver.