New Guy. Critique, Insult, and Advise =)

[CorydonAngler]

Hey fellas, 

I'm new to fishing. I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone in my life. However my friend and I want to become serious anglers. We're stuck on shore for now but are planning to rectify that in the coming months. 

Anyways, he invited me out to an impromptu night of cat fishing on the Ohio River yesterday. I told him sure but that we're not likely to catch anything but snags and that we do not have what we need yet. If anything, it got us out of the house for a few hours. 

I took an older 10' Okuma Fin-Chaser rod that my father-in-law gave me recently and attached this to the line. I know this is not correct but what I do not know is why. If you could critique, insult, and advise that would be helpful. 

Attached is a picture. 

We also took our ugly stik's. We did happen to catch some small bluegills near a moored boat. 

Thanks!

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You're on the right track. You want to use a circle or octopus hook to avoid gut hooking. Use a swivel instead of a snap with a 3' leader to the hook to allow the bait to float freely. 

[TylerT123]

I don’t know how heavy your catfish are but that snap swivel and hook looks weak. I’d also put the weight up higher so the bait is off the bottom. What # line is that? 15?

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

As for a "critique, insult, and advise"  . . . 

Unless you needed to make 100 yards casts - a 10 foot rod seems overly long.

Your mother wears Army Boots. 

And there's a ton of great info right here ~ 

https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/

 

A-Jay

 

[CorydonAngler]

34 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

You're on the right track. You want to use a circle or octopus hook to avoid gut hooking. Use a swivel instead of a snap with a 3' leader to the hook to allow the bait to float freely. 

Thank you. 

 

I am not sure what type of hook this is. It came in one of those eagle claw kits I picked up years ago and was in an unopened bag marked "cat fish hooks" so I went with it. 

 

I do plan to pick up a number of the hooks you mentioned. 

 

So basically it would be:

 

-------(SINKER)(BEAD)(SWIVEL)---3'----(Hook) 

 

Correct? 

32 minutes ago, TylerT123 said:

I don’t know how heavy your catfish are but that snap swivel and hook looks weak. I’d also put the weight up higher so the bait is off the bottom. What # line is that? 15?

I am not sure what # line that is. It came with the pole and I am meaning to change it. 

 

See the attached photo. My Father-in-Law had tape wrapped around the 2 piece pole and the residue obscures the markings a little. It says, "FN-100-65 Length 10' 300cm Lure WT: 1 to 3 OZ; 30-80g

 

I am not sure how to use this information quite yet. On my other poles it tells you what line test to use. 

 

On this pole can my lure/bait only weigh between 1 to 3 ounces? 

 

21 minutes ago, Darren. said:

Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks! Glad to be here. 

 

17 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

As for a "critique, insult, and advise"  . . . 

Unless you needed to make 100 yards casts - a 10 foot rod seems overly long.

Your mother wears Army Boots. 

And there's a ton of great info right here ~ 

https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/

 

A-Jay

 

 

Can't believe you said my momma wears army boots! Harsh bro.

 

I have 3 rods currently. This Okuma Fin-Chaser 10'. A 6' Medium Action Ugly Stik GX2 and a 7' Quantum Blue Runner.

 

The 10' is definitely awkward to use but it does fly high and far. I'm stuck on shore so this is a good thing, no? 

 

 

[TylerT123]

1 to 3 oz is the recommended lure weight for that rod, if your going to catfish you could use some braid.

[FishDewd]

13 hours ago, CorydonAngler said:

Thank you. 

 

I am not sure what type of hook this is. It came in one of those eagle claw kits I picked up years ago and was in an unopened bag marked "cat fish hooks" so I went with it. 

 

I do plan to pick up a number of the hooks you mentioned. 

 

So basically it would be:

 

-------(SINKER)(BEAD)(SWIVEL)---3'----(Hook) 

 

Correct? 

I am not sure what # line that is. It came with the pole and I am meaning to change it. 

 

See the attached photo. My Father-in-Law had tape wrapped around the 2 piece pole and the residue obscures the markings a little. It says, "FN-100-65 Length 10' 300cm Lure WT: 1 to 3 OZ; 30-80g

 

I am not sure how to use this information quite yet. On my other poles it tells you what line test to use. 

 

On this pole can my lure/bait only weigh between 1 to 3 ounces? 

 

 

Thanks! Glad to be here. 

 

 

Can't believe you said my momma wears army boots! Harsh bro.

 

I have 3 rods currently. This Okuma Fin-Chaser 10'. A 6' Medium Action Ugly Stik GX2 and a 7' Quantum Blue Runner.

 

The 10' is definitely awkward to use but it does fly high and far. I'm stuck on shore so this is a good thing, no? 

 

 

Okay, first let's talk about the snap and swivel. Yes, a swivel isn't a bad idea, but you'll want to be using a dedicating swivel with no snap attached to it. Start with one rated at about 80 lb test since I have no idea how big the cats you are fishing for are. Don't use that kind of snap! Those are known to break- I've had those break while catching 2-4 lbs catfish before on the hookset. I have one rig that I use for hotdogs that uses a coastline snap + swivel but being able to use that came with experience on hook setting and working the drag properly. But don't try that yet lol.

 

Secondly, the bead isn't a terrible idea but not totally necessary with an egg sinker. The primary purpose for that when catfishing would be to protect the knot, but egg sinkers are pretty good with knots anyway, so you could eliminate that unless you really feel like the added noise helps. I would however recommend a "no-roll" sinker if the river your fishing has a good amount of current to it and you notice your bait drifting around a lot. 3/4 oz- 2 oz. Using that, you should use a bead. Otherwise, your rig looks fine as it is but you should the leader direct to the hook with a palomar knot or similar.

 

If you're worried about snagging, then don't be afraid to target them on a float rig. You don't even really need a weight. Large weighted foam traditional float. Since your pole can take *** oz of weight, that sounds like a nice piece of cut bait to me- shad, bluegill, whatever natural bait fish the water holds should be fair game. Those two together should get you a nice weight to toss out there. Warning: you might catch a turtle or two with cutbait so bring a good pair of long pliers for safety.

 

Your rods are sufficient, although I agree that 10' rod might be a little overkill. Looks like a drifting rod to me, which you can do for catfish but that's a more advanced technique. I catch most of my catfish on no more than a medium powered pole rated for 3/4 oz lure weight and 7' length. Drag is the most important thing anyway, learning to use that properly will do wonders. Don't horse them in, let them run around and tire out, taking up line when they've stopped pulling, but keep pressure on. The battle is the fun part, enjoy it! 

[EGbassing]

I would use this rig: ----(sliding sinker)(bead)(swivel)---1.5 feet----(circle hook)

 

Good luck! 

[CorydonAngler]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I will definitely be refining my methods. 

[Log Catcher]

Hello and welcome to the forum.