Catfish gut hooking problem

[Pritch13]

So i just caught 2 very nice white catfish using nothing more than a #6 aberdeen hook with a piece of bread at the end and some bread ground bait, but both times i couldn't get the hook out as i couldn't even see it when i looked down the fish. Ive tried using a 1/0 hook but i haven't got a bite with that size hook yet.

I think I'm just not setting the hook at all as i don't really know what I'm feeling for because I find i get bites when i just leave the bread sat on the bottom of the lake, leaving the line slack.

I have tried a carolina rig too so i can keep the line tight without moving the bait but again i don't really know what i should be feeling for in regards to a bite and set the hook. Any advice?

[aj88kc]

Use Circle hooks or Kahle hooks. Since switching to one of these hooks I have not gut hooked another cat. You can get circles in just about any size you want if you look for them. I use them for catching my bluegills in size 10. I would get a size 3/0 or 4/0 circle for the smaller cats.

[BaitMonkey1984]

Circle hooks and maybe get a strike indicator as it seems your missing the bite. If you let the fish eat the bait too long without setting the hook, this results in gut hooked fish. Circle hooks will help but you need to set the hook sooner than you are. 

[Pritch13]

Do i need to bait the hook differently with a circle hook then? I think the reason i don't feel the bite is because i leave the line slack and have no weight on it, only the hook.

[Bluebasser86]

I doubt you can keep that bread on a circle hook. Have you tried using the C-rig and keeping the line tight so you can see your rod move when you get a bite? Catfish are aggressive feeders that will swallow a hook quickly if you're not careful. They're also very tough fish and that's a little hook so you could just cut the line and release them. I prefer to go through the gills and retrieve the hook but if you're not comfortable doing that, you can easily do much more serious damage than you will by leaving the hook in. 

[jlperkins]

As already said go with circle hook, i had a pond with a lot of cats that i fed, i rarely fished but would let kids fish, had a lot  gut hooked till i found the circle hooks, problem solved i had everyone to use circle hooks,  I only had one of the gut hooked fish die that i seen floating, i would just cut the line close as i could, And as stated also keep a tight line sometimes a cat will just pick it up n set there eating the bait, would be hard to detect with slack line.

[Pritch13]

I just added a float to my line and had so so many bites, yet every single time I tried to hook one, I'd feel resistance for a few seconds like I got him then I'd just end up with an empty hook once I finished retrieving. So I attached a circle hook instead and finally caught one but gut hooked him again. I've tried yanking the rod when I see the bobber just go under, after letting it run a second and letting the fish really run with it for a while but I couldn't hook one without letting the fish swim for a good 10. Secs before setting the hook. Any advice on how long I should wait after seeing the bobber get pulled under before I set the hook?

[dave]

When using circle hooks,  there is no hook set.  The fish picks up your bait and swims away and can even swallow the bait and hook.  As it swims away, the circle hook comes right out of the throat and hooks the fish in the corner of the mouth almost 100% of the time.  Like bluebasser said,  try a fishfinder rig on the bottom.  Either way,  circle hook, circle hook, circle hook.

[Pritch13]

Thanks dave, just caught 3 cats and a bluegill all hooking them nicely!