Catfish by mistake

[Ravox]

Don't know about you guys but i just don't like to catch catfish by mistake when I'm after Bass, most of the time a catfish catches the worm the EWG worm hook 3/0 take their eyes off and I feel extremely bad about that, i know that there is people that love to catch catfish but is not for me, don't like the fight and the feeling they give on the rod and those accidents make them more a nuisance to me than anything else.

[WRB]

How does a circle affect a catfish eyes?

What scent attractant are you using?

Tom

[bryand82487]

I don’t like to catch them either while bass fishing.  I’m not sure what to tell you though.  There’s only one pond I fish that I typically catch some while bass fishing.  I’ve caught them on plastics, crankbaits, and top water.  I’m not sure what makes this pond different than most.

[Ravox]

2 minutes ago, WRB said:

How does a circle affect a catfish eyes?

What scent attractant are you using?

Tom

just the worm but most of the time catfish bites the bait the hook gets on the side of the mouth and hit the eyes taking his eyes off .... makes me feel awful 

1 minute ago, bryand82487 said:

I don’t like to catch them either while bass fishing.  I’m not sure what to tell you though.  There’s only one pond I fish that I typically catch some while bass fishing.  I’ve caught them on plastics, crankbaits, and top water.  I’m not sure what makes this pond different than most.

Got them in 2 different ponds here in Florida one close to where i live that i always go and one in a park, and they bite any worm or sometimes creature bait that i put when looking for bass

[ATA]

15 minutes ago, Ravox said:

Don't know about you guys but i just don't like to catch catfish by mistake when I'm after Bass, most of the time a catfish catches the worm the circle hook take their eyes off and I feel extremely bad about that, i know that there is people that love to catch catfish but is not for me, don't like the fight and the feeling they give on the rod and those accidents make them more a nuisance to me than anything else.

you do bait and wait for bass?

[Ravox]

3 minutes ago, ATA said:

you do bait and wait for bass?

Slow retrieve the worm or creature 

[WRB]

Stop using circle hooks and set the hook faster when you detect a strike.

Your option is cut the hook off instead of trying to remove it.

Tom

[Ravox]

8 minutes ago, WRB said:

Stop using circle hooks and set the hook faster when you detect a strike.

Your option is cut the hook off instead of trying to remove it.

Tom

actually im using EWG worm hooks 3/0 not circle - my bad is the basic hook to catch bass, not sure if i use a offset helps with that for some reason the hook always go on their side of the mouth and the tip hits the eye from inside 

[WRB]

5 minutes ago, Ravox said:

actually im using EWG worm hooks 3/0 not circle - my bad is the basic hook to catch bass, maybe if i use a offset helps with that 

Where did I get circle hook from?

These cats must be small fish or over populated. It's rare for me to catch a catfish and when I do they are big fish.

I would fish somewhere else.

Tom

[Ravox]

9 minutes ago, WRB said:

Where did I get circle hook from?

These cats must be small fish or over populated. It's rare for me to catch a catfish and when I do they are big fish.

I would fish somewhere else.

Tom

the original post i put circle hook by mistake my bad, what is worse is that those ponds have good amount of bass

[Bluebasser86]

Happens all the time here. I've caught dozens in a day of fishing for bass, sometimes many more catfish than the bass that I was targeting. It's an unfortunate thing if you damage their eye, but catfish are more than capable of finding food without them.

[JustJames]

I’ve also caught plenty of catfish while fishing for bass or crappies. It is weird that you don’t like the fight from catfish. Catfish give out 3-4x the fight compare to bass. I just don’t like slimy on my line and sometime more difficult to land them(I hate touching catfish). I’ve never hooked catfish in the eyes, caught them on pretty much everything. 

I feel your pain though, I have hooked a lot of crappie in the eye when I first started fishing for them. Now I improved my timing and use mostly #4 hook and never again hook them in the eye (knock on wood).

[Captain Phil]

I once caught a 13 pound catfish flipping for bass on a plastic craw. It fought like hell.  My flipping stick bent over like a fly rod. I was sure I had hooked a monster bass. When I got the fish to the boat, I saw the fish had whiskers.  I always wondered why more anglers don't fish for catfish?   

[N Florida Mike]

Ive only caught a couple catfish with artificials. I would welcome catching more. I love fried catfish!

[BayouSlide]

12 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Ive only caught a couple catfish with artificials. I would welcome catching more. I love fried catfish!

Love catching a bonus catfish when bass fishing for exactly that reason!

[mrpao]

If I catch a catfish while bass fishing, it normally goes in the livewell.

They are some good table fare.

[BigAngus752]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:49 AM, Ravox said:

i just don't like to catch catfish by mistake

Agreed.  There is one particular lake I fish that this happens regularly.  Anything I'm dragging on the bottom, even in 2ft of water, is a catfish magnet.  My wife was fishing with me once and I set the hook on a hard hit.  Within a second I yelled, "d**n catfish!".  She asked how I knew right away.  I explained that it was clearly huge and it gave me two giant head shakes.  Completely different feel from a bass.  I hate those whisker pigs.  My wife thinks they are "cute" when they grunt.  

[Eric Matechak]

2 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

Agreed.  There is one particular lake I fish that this happens regularly.  Anything I'm dragging on the bottom, even in 2ft of water, is a catfish magnet.  My wife was fishing with me once and I set the hook on a hard hit.  Within a second I yelled, "d**n catfish!".  She asked how I knew right away.  I explained that it was clearly huge and it gave me two giant head shakes.  Completely different feel from a bass.  I hate those whisker pigs.  My wife thinks they are "cute" when they grunt.  

are you catching mostly channels or flatheads too?

[BigAngus752]

2 hours ago, Eric Matechak said:

are you catching mostly channels or flatheads too?

Mostly channel cats although the last one I caught was a flathead.  I also forgot to mention that I taught my wife how to fish a dropshot and she will put an earthworm on a dropshot with a 2 foot drop and she catches panfish and 6-10 inch channel cats.  

[Eric Matechak]

51 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

Mostly channel cats although the last one I caught was a flathead.  I also forgot to mention that I taught my wife how to fish a dropshot and she will put an earthworm on a dropshot with a 2 foot drop and she catches panfish and 6-10 inch channel cats.  

I never tried live bait on a dropshot rig. Interesting stuff. I bet that would be killer with a small shiner as well

[BigAngus752]

5 hours ago, Eric Matechak said:

I never tried live bait on a dropshot rig. Interesting stuff. I bet that would be killer with a small shiner as well

It's spectacular on a lake I fish about an hour away.  The little store on that lake sells minnows and a drop shot with a minnow on it catches crappie all day.  My wife fishes with worms at our local lakes because we can buy worms at Walmart but not minnows.  LOL

[Bluebasser86]

9 hours ago, Eric Matechak said:

I never tried live bait on a dropshot rig. Interesting stuff. I bet that would be killer with a small shiner as well

A crawler on a dropshot is how a lot of guides on Table Rock survive the summers when the fishing gets really difficult and they have people with very limited skills on the boat. They have a lot of bycatch with them, big bluegills, catfish, and walleye being some of the most common.

[The Bassman]

I see the occasional cat I catch as a bonus. I have to remind myself to carry my grippers when fishing one pond in particular. Their mouths can really clamp down on a hand.

[Eric Matechak]

On 6/21/2020 at 10:47 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

A crawler on a dropshot is how a lot of guides on Table Rock survive the summers when the fishing gets really difficult and they have people with very limited skills on the boat. They have a lot of bycatch with them, big bluegills, catfish, and walleye being some of the most common.

makes sense. when the fishing gets tough, few things compete with live bait. for some reason, I have caught very few LM bass on earthworms. They demolish plastics because they resemble fish and such dangling on the bottom. I'd bet in my lifetime, I've caught less than 10 bass (all small) on earthworms...and I grew up fishing panfish with garden worms

On 6/22/2020 at 2:49 AM, The Bassman said:

I see the occasional cat I catch as a bonus. I have to remind myself to carry my grippers when fishing one pond in particular. Their mouths can really clamp down on a hand.

the trick is you need to be aggressor. Grab his jaw harder than he can clamp on your hand. if you don't, your hand is about to feel a ton of pressure

[Spankey]

On 6/19/2020 at 11:49 AM, Ravox said:

Don't know about you guys but i just don't like to catch catfish by mistake when I'm after Bass, most of the time a catfish catches the worm the EWG worm hook 3/0 take their eyes off and I feel extremely bad about that, i know that there is people that love to catch catfish but is not for me, don't like the fight and the feeling they give on the rod and those accidents make them more a nuisance to me than anything else.

Over many years of Smallie fishing on the river I've caught a 100 or more channel and flatheads by accident. A couple on soft plastics worms, craws, grubs, spinnerbaits. But the majority on crankbaits. Patterns from Firetiger to shad to black. Don't find it a nuisance because at first you don't realize it's a cat. Than reality sets in.