Bream Master Posted January 12, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 Just got back from Gander Mtn. buying a gift and on the bragging board I saw some huge cats! Those who fish for large cats, what are you using? I have never caught a catfish over 12 lbs. and it was on a nightcrawler. All I use are nightcrawlers and livers. I may go out there with a whole cornish game hen next time! ;D Quote
RODBENDER Posted January 12, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 I use cut shad and live bluegill , perch , mudcat ( bullhead i think ) goldfish if i can get them Quote
Daniel My Brother Posted January 12, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 Big Flatheads tend to go for live bait. A bluegill is perfect. You do well will cut bait for big blue cats. the head of a skipjack or gizzard shad is perfect. Circle hooks work well. Quote
tallydude Posted January 12, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 Big Flatheads tend to go for live bait. A bluegill is perfect. You do well will cut bait for big blue cats. the head of a skipjack or gizzard shad is perfect. Circle hooks work well. Agreed. I cut my teeth catching catfish before anything else. The big ones prefer live bait at night over anything else. Bluegill are perfect. I hate trying to hook bluegill, however, and like to use cut up skipjack. Circle hooks are ideal. I prefer Mustad for catfish. Quote
Super User Sam Posted January 13, 2007 Super User Posted January 13, 2007 Cut shad or live bream. Live bluegills are excellent, too. And anything that stinks, like liver. Quote
ga_hawghauler Posted January 13, 2007 Posted January 13, 2007 Most of big cats have come off live bluegill. I have also caught some nice cats on herron and thread fin shad. My personal best is a 32 lb which came off a live bream almost the size of my hand. Quote
Super User T-rig Posted January 13, 2007 Super User Posted January 13, 2007 Try small live carp if you can get them! They use them alot in Europe. I heard that eels also work. Quote
Super User Munkin Posted January 20, 2007 Super User Posted January 20, 2007 Sunfish and big creek chubs that I catch on a 1/16 rooster tail spinner work. Allen Quote
NEBassMan Posted January 21, 2007 Posted January 21, 2007 Those of you using live blue gill...are you weighting them to keep them on the bottom or how are you rigging them? Thanks. Jason Quote
RODBENDER Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Yes ... weight on bottom and make a loop up the line a few inches long to tie the hook to . like a dropshot rig . In swift or hangy spots i tie the weight with light line so it will breakoff in case of hangups . Quote
Deuceu72 Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 It's not cheap...........Go to the grocery store and buy a cheap steak or 2.........Let them sit in your backyard for about 3 days in the sun, then use the bad(and smelly) steak for your bait...... Quote
NATHAN_JAMES Posted January 23, 2007 Posted January 23, 2007 I talked with a buddy of mine and he tells me when he would go cat-fishing they would lower a can of dog food with holes punched in it. He says the smell attracts the cats and then you would send down your baited hook and bang your on. I've never tried this but it sounds good. I did ask him however, why they din't use cans of cat food? Quote
squid Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 Just got back from Gander Mtn. buying a gift and on the bragging board I saw some huge cats! Those who fish for large cats, what are you using? I have never caught a catfish over 12 lbs. and it was on a nightcrawler. All I use are nightcrawlers and livers. I may go out there with a whole cornish game hen next time! ;D DURING A BASS TOURNAMENT ON ST. CLAIR...MICHIGAN SIDE....I CAUGHT A 20lbr ON 8lb TEST....GREENPUMPKIN WITH PURPLE FLEX TUBE. DID NOT FIT TO WELL IN MY LIVE WELL....LOL : Quote
nofishforme Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 Yea cut up shad does work well..and not just for cat fish. this is really weird but i caught my PB (6lbs even) on cut up gizzard shad. the day before i caught it i had seen huhe pods of gizzrd shad so i decided to use a crank bait to fould hook them and i caught about 6-7 5inch ers. the next morning i cut em up and put on my cat fish rig and within 10 minutes i had something on which i thought was a nice cat but it turned out to be a 6lb bass which i could fit both my fists in..this thing was only 21 inches long but its head and eyeballs were ENORMOUS Quote
Pond Hopper Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 I know guys that use cutbait(bluegill and crappie heads) in Iowa and have had very good luck, even through the ice. Quote
Super User Sam Posted February 4, 2007 Super User Posted February 4, 2007 Bluegills. Catfish love bluegills. Quote
Zonked Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 Try rolling some chicken gizzards in strawberry cool aide... Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted February 20, 2007 Super User Posted February 20, 2007 Zonked, Welcome aboard! I have caught as lot of HUGE blue cats on cut bait (skipjack) on the Mississippi River. My PB (58 lbs) was caught a few years ago, very near the New Bridge in downtown Memphis. Quote
Jerkbate Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 I use a rig almost identical to a Carolina rig. This prevents the fish from feeling the weight when they take the bait. I have had my best luck on rod & reel while fishing with small bream. If you have a boat & want to catch some catfish, go jugging. I rig a 2 liter coke bottle with braided, tarred, 200 pound line tied to the end, #1/0 to #2/0 swivel, and a #5/0 to #7/0 hook. Bait this with cut shad for blue cats, and live bream for flatheads. Only use about 12" of line. This is where most people I know mess up. They have about 6 feet or more of line out, and all they do is stay hungup. I've found that in river systems the cats will come up to the top to feed in the mornings and evenings. So, 12" inches of line is plenty. We've caught cats using this method from 5 to 60 pounds. When a big cat pulls that coke bottle under you will know it. It sounds like a 22 rifle going off. A cat weighing around 40 pounds can hold a 2 liter coke bottle under for about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. So when a big one hits keep your eyes open for the bottle resurfacing, and stay in the area. We lost one a couple of years ago in the Yazoo river that held the bottle down for a little over 5 minutes. We had it at the side of the boat but it was so big we had trouble getting it in the net. It finally came unhooked. I only wish I knew how much it weighted. It was huge. Quote
Super User iceintheveins Posted March 9, 2007 Super User Posted March 9, 2007 Cutbait such as anchovies and suckers are some of the best all around catfish chow around, but often fresh chicken livers are even better. Quote
mtnbasser Posted March 13, 2007 Posted March 13, 2007 me and my friend are going to Santee-Cooper the first week of April, we have caught a bunch of blue back herring for cut bait over ther do you guys think this will work good? Quote
RiverRaider Posted March 17, 2007 Posted March 17, 2007 I've caught my biggest catfish using live sunfish. Quote
fishinalldaylong Posted March 29, 2007 Posted March 29, 2007 hey guys, im 15 and i live in L.R. arkansas. my two biggest catches are a 15+ pound bullhead and a 5 1/2 pound bass. I have caught many bass weighing 3lbs or more. for the past week or two ive been fishing in a small 8 acre lake called cherrywood lake. the lake is stalked full of hybrids and channel cats. and there have been trophy sized largmouths 10lbs+ chugged out of this small lake. I have a question about channel cats... ive heard that a fresh bluegill can be a very deadley cat bait, what i need to know is how to cut the bluegill and how to present the bait. Quote
Daniel My Brother Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 fishinalldaylong, Are you sure that 15+ pound catfish was a bullhead? 'Cause if it was, you broke the world record by more than 7 pounds!! Just having fun with you. Any 15 pound catfish is a hawg! Quote
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