Catfishing help

[Mccallister25]

I don’t typically target catfish, and know very little about how to be a “good” cat fisherman. Lately Iv had a wild hair though, and have been throwing a line for some cats. I have a few questions for the cat guys. 

 

All I really have for a catfish setup is a saltwater rod/reel combo that was probably bought at Walmart near the coast. It’s a heavy rod and a pretty big reel. Will this be ok for an all purpose, all around setup?

 

What is the beat bait you have found that produces hookups?

 

Lastly, do catfish feed during the day? Iv only ever caught catfish at night. Can I catfish anytime?

 

Thanks guys!

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, Mccallister25 said:

All I really have for a catfish setup is a saltwater rod/reel combo that was probably bought at Walmart near the coast. It’s a heavy rod and a pretty big reel. Will this be ok for an all purpose, all around setup?

What size reel and what action is the rod rated? I use a medium heavy to heavy action rod and a size 4000 to 6000 spinning reel for most of my catfishing.

2 hours ago, Mccallister25 said:

What is the beat bait you have found that produces hookups?

The best bait depends on where I am fishing but live bait or fresh cut bait seems to work best for me. You can also do well with chicken breast, chicken liver, or hotdogs on days you do not have time to catch your own bait.

2 hours ago, Mccallister25 said:

Lastly, do catfish feed during the day? Iv only ever caught catfish at night. Can I catfish anytime?

I have caught catfish in all hours of the day, in every month of the year. 

[Bluebasser86]

What kind of catfish are you targeting and where is going to be your main factors on what gear you need. Channel cats in still water don't require the same gear as blues in fast current. 

 

For standard channel cat fishing, a medium spinning rod and 20lb braid will handle a majority of your needs. You can use a larger rod to catch smaller fish, but it's like trying to bluegill fish with a MH baitcaster and 15lb mono, it can be done but it's not nearly as efficient. 

 

Fresh cut bait is the best bait, hands down. It will catch all species and sizes of catfish, and tends to catch the larger fish much more often than prepared baits. Livebait is good too, but the hassle of keeping it alive outweighs the benefits unless you're specifically targeting flatheads which prefer livebait but will still readily take a fresh cutbait (rarely caught on prepared baits). 

 

All species of catfish readily feed during the daytime, with flatheads being the least active during the day. Channel cats will cruise a lot of the same areas as bass, weedlines, rocky shorelines and rock piles, docks, and around laydowns, searching for food. Blues tend to be more open water fish, following schools of shad or cruising dropoffs and offshore flats and humps looking for food. Flatheads will almost always be by some form of cover, large rock and wood being a couple of their favorite kinds. 

[heyitskirby]

On 6/4/2019 at 7:02 PM, soflabasser said:

What size reel and what action is the rod rated? I use a medium heavy to heavy action rod and a size 4000 to 6000 spinning reel for most of my catfishing.

The best bait depends on where I am fishing but live bait or fresh cut bait seems to work best for me. You can also do well with chicken breast, chicken liver, or hotdogs on days you do not have time to catch your own bait.

I have caught catfish in all hours of the day, in every month of the year. 

Having time to catch bait is as simple as pulling out your panfish gear and catching a bluegill when you start out.  Bait up your catfish gear and keep catching bait while that soaks.

[Mccallister25]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Hopefully I can put it all to good use this weekend.