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Do any of you Catfish?

I fish for everything and catfish is one of the species i fish for. where do you fish . what do you use for bait?
Thanks
Captain Joe
 
I never fish catfish because I don't know where I will find it in my side. I also used the shad and worms as bait. Last Sunday I got 25 kg fish.
 
Hi Sulli!! I catfish when they want to bit, last week with the Miss. River Dropping i set out a couple Trot lines in the back water of the Miss River, in 2 & 1/2 days i hauled in 175 # of nice Cat fish, its not the catching, its the Cleaning that is the Job. i fish for Catfish in a number of ways, some time i set traps, some time i set Hoop nets, other times i use YOYOS, or Noodle fish, just depends where i am fishing and what time of the year, in the Back Water i bait with the cheapest hot dogs i can buy, right now at wal mart its the Turkey Wiener, the Cats dont seem to care which one i use, i get 8 paits out of 1 hot dog, in other places the want touch a wiener bait, in the lake near my home you have to use either night crawers of Shinners, in the traps i use stink bait( Old Cheese ) the best thing about catfishing is they are Real fine to eat, i dont fish for the big Catfish, some times i catch one, biggest so far on a trot line was a 43 # Flat head, i would just as soon not catch any bigger than 5#, i think the 2 to 3# are the best, Let me know what kind of luck you are having

LakeRat1
 
Glad to see someone else likes to catfish, I also fish the Arkansas in oklahoma, on the north end of Kaw Lake, I only keep the 3 to 5 lb cats, an throw all the breeders back, like the taste of the smaller ones best, use shad,perch, crawdads, cutbait or nightcrawers, what ever they are biting on. Not a line setter, just poles, more fun that way. Do most of my fishing at night. tight line.
 
Talking about Taste, The Small ones 14 to 16 in. long fried whole are like Candy, I live in North La. and Fish the Back waters of the Miss. when it has been high and starts to drop, i also live and fish on one of ths Ox Bowl Lakes Made by the Miss many years ago,
 
Talking about Taste, The Small ones 14 to 16 in. long fried whole are like Candy, I live in North La. and Fish the Back waters of the Miss. when it has been high and starts to drop, i also live and fish on one of ths Ox Bowl Lakes Made by the Miss many years ago,
:DJust went fishing at sooner lake,OK yesterday, had great luck with bass an catfishing, used mostly live bait (3to4 inch perch) an shiners. Talk about hot,hit 106, thank god for a little breeze an a canapy. but every day on the water is great.
 
Catfish is all i do!!I fish almost all lakes and rivers here in Texas I trotline,jug line,limbline,and my favorite Rod and reel!! I also use fresh shad,blue gill,cut carp,and Home made stink bait,and home made dough bait.
 
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I have heard of allot of crazy baits for catfish but i I think hot dogs is a first. So what kind of hot dogs are best and do you think they could work up here in the northeast part of the country where i am in Vermont where there only channel cats up here? how do you rig them up ? Write back soon.
 
Use chicken liver,Channel cats love it.Go get some panty hose and put the liver in there.make pouches about 1/2 inch to 1 inch big and put them back in container so they stay saturated in the blood,this way you can use what ever kind of hook you want and it dont fall off when you cast.Another inexspensive way is cornflakes or wheaties cerial.take some cereal crush it up in your hand,dip with fist clsed dip it in water and keep squeezing it until water is out and you have a dough ball.Put it on a trebble hook,just enough to cover hook.let hang there for a few seconds and cast it out there.
 
Well I just started setting trot lines and catfishing with jugs and what not, I have had people telling about them using spam and treet the mystery meat in a can!! I kinda thought that was strange, We just usally use liver that is half way rotten or shad cut up into cut bait.
 
i am 73 years old and have fished catfish all my life....other fish also but always catfish if conditions are right and its the right time of year.....deep for big catfish on trot lines from october to april.....rod and reel oct-december...follow the birds(comorants) on the rod and reel thing...we talking south louisiana...when fishing the big ones my favorite bait is cut brim...any white trashfish will do also...shad if you are going to run the lines daily...in my case my lines are a 10 mile boat run from my camp so i like the cut bait on a 3/0 stainless hook with a swivel on each staging...staging ar #24 tarred line....main line is bigger so as not to cut my hands and will stand abrasion from logs etc....you dont need a lot of hooks when fishing big fish....i space mine by stretching both arms out sideways and then adding about a foot.....when you are trying to get a big fish in the boat you dont want a hook close to your shoulder or back when you are concentrating on the fish on the next hook....use a big net....when you first feel a big fish it may be just a thump or slight but distinct movement on line....when you feel that slow down or stop....the objective is to get as close to the fish as you can without spooking him...so go extremely slow...
 
the advantage of cut bait is it will stay on the hook....i have caught many big fish when i went to bait lines that havent been baited in 2-3 weeks....the swivel and the stainless hook are key on this....if i bait in the hot summer down here all i am doing is killing big fish.....they will die on the line in just a few days.....a safety tip or two....have a knife close in case you have to cut line...have a big pair of kleins wire cutters in case you get a hook thru hand...cut the barb off after you push it completely through and back the hook out...it will happen sooner or later.....thats the reason for the 2/0 or 3/0 hook..any bigger and you cant cut it....a 5/0 hook cost me emergency room visit and over a thousand bucks one time....
 
big fish of almost any species are loners....you have to judge what is considered a big fish in the water you are fishing...in my area its 35 pounds and up....very seldom over 50....you will never catch 2 of the biggest out of the same hole at the same time....you may catch a pair of 20 pounders off a line for instance....if you do there is a bigger fish around.....you can catch the big one and another will move in with time but not in the next few days....bass are the same way....the habitat there is favorable and they find it....but the real big ones dont share....
 
the rod and reel thing on catfish is simple here....look for comorants(spelling)....they move in here around oct 15.....i use worms for this....if we have an early winter then by dec they may want cut bait or something else.......i fish a large lake for them....i like a slight ripple on the water with the wind blowing into the bank and trees...it depends on the circumstances but if possible i like to fish from within the trees and cast into the wind....that ways your bait(under a cork) will be traveling the same way as the bait fish that are coming in with the wind....the pro bass tournament guys do this also...in fact i learned this from bill dance many years ago from a writeup on a local tournament....another key is to keep moving if your favorite place(s) are not producing..if there are trees out in the lake try both the lake side and the shore sides of the trees....the larger fish sometimes are on the lake side...i am not talking monster fish here....sometimes 6-8 pounds but mostly in the 2-3 pound range..... i personally would rather catch 10 three pounders than a 30 pounder...more fun off a rod and reel and more good meat...
 
We fish lake St. Clair in Michigan, dirty water little to no weeds and cut bait, mostly chubs. If we get hold of an Ailwise, reel them all in and uuse the Ailwise and just watch the poles drag out some, set the hook and hold on! Loads of fun!!
 
Only by accident!!! Can't stand to eat them so don't need to catch them.

One got me in the back of my hand with the spine on his back and I thought I was gonna DIE!!!!
Worst pain EVER!!!! Instant MASSIVE PAIN all the way from the hand to the scapula.
Thought I was gonna puke,pass out and crap myself all in 15 seconds.
Worst pain EVER!!!!Had to remove my dentures so they wouldn't be puked overboard:)
Now I use a de-hooker and don't have to touch the F*&^%$#S
Used to Fish Saginaw Bay in Michigan.
We'd catch them trolling for Walleyes.Some up to 10#
Sheepsheads too up to 20#
 
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Love to catfish, It goes along with my hunting! In fact I should go to the camp the week of Christmas, We get to the camp one eveing and load the noodles and bait launch the boat and set them out. Hunt that eveing and the next morning, harvest the fish re-bait and do it all over again. Nothing like fresh fried cats and BBQ deer ribs. our hunting camp is in central LA. on the Mississippi River, Cats, Deer, and Hogs. What more would a guy need! Love more than anything is passing it along. Taking the kids, Nephwes, Nieces, and working on then grandbabies. Papyson I was taught and teach how to build a catfish line the same way as you. In fact I gave my 9 year old nephwe last christmas a big roll of string, swivels and hooks you should have seen his face when he opened it up! But after teaching him how to make it he was some proud! We let him put 2 out in front of the camp in Grand River and he got a 20 lb cat man that boy grined ear to ear! ANd yea the logs finally got it bet he has more and i need to take him across the leeve.
 
i currently am fishing lake pourloude (spelling) on the east bank in the cypress trees with rod and reel and worms....some of those trees are 75-100 yards into the lake...lake verrett is producing now with the same method....the fish move in around october 20th every year and the fishing is good til the wind gets out of the north or northwest and then you cant handle a boat in there as the lake is coming in on you...and beginning about now its a good long cold run from my camp and i dont enjoy the run...fishing with a cork and about 18 inches deep...you may be fishing in 8 foot of water but the fish are shallow...also look for the cormorants and fish under them.....limb lines work well also but is time consuming...i finally decided i had to choose between rod and reel and them and chose the rod... that whole country down there is daylight to 10:30 in the morning fishing unless there is a cloud cover.....i am usually back to camp by 12...
on the trot lining bit...cut brim is good...also smaller pieces of the same on limb lines...the advantage is it will stay on the hook for a long time...any white cut bait is good really...the guys fishing other states need to make sure its legal though to use cut brim....its legal here so long as you dont trap them....same with live brim...cut goo or mullet works too...shad will produce best if you can get them and bait every day...a fish will stay alive for 2-3 weeks or more in the winter...i dont fish like that at all in the summer as all you are doing is killing big fish..
 
it is important to do two things when fishing the trees...keep moving...the fish are not schooled...and pay attention to the pattern....they may be on the lake side of the trees under some conditions and on the bank side under other conditions...they will almost always be in shade or close to it...the only consistent thing i find is that the bigger fish will be under trees closer to the lake....catch one and move on....there may be another there tomorrow but not today...
 
I fish here in Cullman and at another lake with a Twelve hook trot line. Don't want to handle any more than that. Trot baits are just about anything with Blood or meat stink. Chicken livers are OK, but Shad cuts are best.
In the TN river I use Shad cuts and cast for them with a float to keep the Bait out of the Grass on the bottom. Lot more Cats in the River than in a lake.

PS: YOU GUYS FILL OUT YOUR CP SO WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!
 
Thanks Papyson the oldest and one of his running buddies makes a al-nighter to Verrett every year (those young ones will do anything to cautch fish). Haven't here any tald from them I'll pass it on. They been on the coast and in the woods, I'm taking #1 daughter and future son-in-law to the coast. They been loadong up on the trout and reds.
 
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