Catfish

[Rockboy42]

Does anyone on here fish for them?? i think im going out on thursday night and fishing for a few hours then friday morning again! Its the closest thing i got to the surf ( cast, sit, sleep, enjoy the scenery! ) because i cant get down for about 2 more weeks soo i figure i might was well get some freshwater fishing in and test the gear for the year!

[Sam]

I used to fish for them when I was a kid on the bank of the Tuckahoe River in Queen Anne County. All I ever used was earthworms. :-)

[mdram]

ive used blood works, and cut herring. find something thats oily and stinky, lol

ive heard of people using chicken livers, and there is special catfish bait out there

[esoxangler]

I have used chicken livers, herring, cut bait, you name it. If your after big catties catch a bluegill and cut off the head. You will catch some monster cats on a bluegill head. I think heads also work in the surf.

I have caught them on soap and orange slices to name a couple of different baits.


Why not try carp also?

[Coop]

soap and orange slices :?

[trowpa]

Nate - for me the all time most effective has been RANCID chicken livers - I used to either get them free or for next to nothing at the grocery store - just ask at the butchers for some scrap chicken livers... Let them sit in the sun all day before you go out.

If you have trouble keeping them on the hook, some people use women's nylons - fill little "bag" of nylon with them and then put the bag on the hook. However, I never liked doing that - didn't have much problem with loosing bait and feel the nylon would detract from the bait...

Heck if you want some company, let me know when and where you're going - I may want to tag along :mrgreen: I think I'm only 1.5 hrs from ya...not too bad if its on a weekend night...

- edited cause I can't spell! :P

[Randy Stinchcomb]

Nate, goto BPS as they should have all kind of "stink bait" seen Bill Dance on TV use something that you fill in a little plastic ball thats killer for cats, atleast on TV :wink:

[esoxangler]

Scott,

I was running out of bait one day! Fishing at PEPCO in the dead of winter. Ivory soap will draw hits from catfish. I have read that and figured might as well try it. I WAS surprised about the orange slices.

You can also use the prepared baking rolls, you know the ones where you hit the container on the counter to bust open? Catfish and carp will hit that stuff.

[Coop]

Sounds like you can throw everything at em except for the kitchen sink :mrgreen: .

[trowpa]

Scott - I think the rule with catfish is - "If it smells, they eat it" So if that kitchen sink has been used at all before and has a stink to it - sure - they'd probably hit it :mrgreen:

[Randy Stinchcomb]

[quote user="trowpa" post="5590"] Scott - I think the rule with catfish is - "If it smells, they eat it" So if that kitchen sink has been used at all before and has a stink to it - sure - they'd probably hit it :mrgreen:[/quote]


Im not even going to post what I was thinking as I promised to help keep this place a clean site :mrgreen:

[ocsnapper]

Cats are like vacuum cleaners they will suck up anything on the bottom. I've not fished for them for along time but have had some good times fishing for them and bass good luck..OH bloods work fine just about all I used for them.

[Steve]

I like the simple earthworm.

Pretty much any protein based material will work.
Slices of uncooked pig ear do great too.
Let 'em ripen up and put a slice on the hook. They're tough to pull off so thay last a good while.

Uncooked beef fat, chicken skin, etc....

[fish-aholic]

Cats are a blast. Make sure you have at least a med action freshwater rod with at least 10# test. If you're fishing waters thick with cats its nothing unusual to pull out a 20# fish. All the baits mentioned are great. If you're in waters with predator cats (big channels, flathead or blue cats) a nice live perch is the way to go. For a continuous bite, run out to your local asian market, and pick up some head on shrimp (they are usually the cheapest). I have never failed to catch a good # of cats on Shrimp. One misconception about catfish is that they want thier food on the bottom. This however is untrue. The Channel cat, probably the most common, has a slight overbite, therefore making it more difficult to pick the bait up off the bottom. So when you rig place your weight at the bottom and your hooks above it. Depending on the depth of the water (angle of the line into the water) you'll want to adjust your leader length and the distance between the hook and the weight to keep it off the bottom, but not too high. Don't get me wrong, I've caught many cats hanging a chicken liver or piece of shrimp under a bobber, but bottom fishing is defenitely the way to go. Contrary to popular belief, the cats you want to catch don't like muddy bottoms. You are more likely to find them in the same places you'll find bass. Around sumbersed brush, trees, rocks and other structure, when the structure is thick, you may opt to use the bobber, as you'll lose less rigs that way. Wow, all this talking has me wanting to head out tonight and catch some cats....which I may just go ahead and do.

[trowpa]

Thanks for the info Jeff. Interesting about not fishing with the baits on the bottom. I've always used sliding egg sinkers (the kind with the hole in the middle that get threaded on the line) - very similar to fish finder rigs for surf. I never wanted the fish to feel the weight when it picked the bait up. But i wonder about that advantage versus the need to keep it off the bottom....sounds like some scientific study is needed - of course, in order to get a large enough sample, I'd need to fish - A LOT (No complaints here...)