Cat fishing Bait choice

mbjannusch

mbjannusch

Joined
Apr 1, 2010
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Well we all have been out catfishing. Everybody has a favorite go to for catching the big ones... I would like to hear the best of the best baits for catching the fish, stories are made of... I'd like to know the gear used ie trebble hook, slip bobber ect. and all that stinky stuff people use..
 
Gizzard Shad, cut or whole. A single hook tied 1 foot above a weight on a "y" swivel fished on the bottom. I kill'em with that rig.
 
Fill a big plastic jar with chopped up table scraps and cooking grease for a week or however long it takes and every day keep it outside. Then freeze it. When you are ready to use it, punch some holes in it and anchor it in the river and let it sit for a bit. Then use minnows for bait just downstream.
 
It depends on what type of catfish we're talking here. I use herring i catch live with a throw net for blues and live sunfish for flatheads. Just about anything will work for channels including hotdogs. Which you can also eat while waitng for a bite. :D
 
I catch channels mainly. Shad has been my best bait. Catch them with a cast net then drop them in a ice chest. Use them on an octopuss hook.Recently Ive been using Magic Stick It punch bait. Its a stink bait that has a lot of stringy fibers in it. Take a small forked stick and force a hook to the bottom then pull it out. The bait is on there and it stays on, even in current. Really good stuff. I hate treble hooks , so Ive been cutting the soldered hook off a treble making it a double.


Use to slaughter the 2 to 5 lb channels and an occasional 10 pounder, on whole shad in July and August in my boat on Mark Twain lake. I no longer have a boat except a canoe and a plastic two man boat.I sure miss tnat fishing.

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Sorry for waffling on (it's a slow Saturday night)...

I've never caught a catfish, but there are some day ticket lakes around here that have them.

They're not a native species to Britain, I guess they were introduced (Wels catfish that is) to give some variety to the carp and pike anglers. Inevitably some have gotten into rivers and canals, I don't know what impact they have but I hope they eat the American Signal Crayfish (it's caused the major decline of our own native crayfish).

I think most UK guys who bait fish for catfish use carp and pike rods that are 12ft long and have a 3lb test curve, Shimano baitrunner reels and 18lb mono (or 50lb braid). This seems to work for up to 50lbrs, beyond that weight they switch to more specialist tackle.

I'd love to go to the River Ebro in Spain, large numbers of Wels catfish can be caught and you have the chance of a 200lber!

You can effectively catch the European catfish on just about anything, live leeches and earthworms, live and dead fish, boilies, halibut pellets and even on lures.

Europeans also use the "clonk"... this Dutch video illustrates the technique perfectly, although I wouldn't try it where there were alligators or crocodiles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xBVF96SjKQ&feature=related
Notice the live eel as bait...

I'd really like to catch one on a lure, I reckon it would be FULL ON!
Here's two vids of a Spaniard playing and landing a big Wels on light lure tackle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nmE7A2krbo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7nFPUDVrmI&feature=related
I guess stronger tackle would be preferred from the shore?

p.s. Dipbait, LOL drinking and fishing!
 
2 cans of plain sardines (the kind in oil)
Mash to pulp in the bottom of a mason jar.
Cover with cheesecloth & place on neighbors roof for 2 weeks. (DO NOT SEAL! JAR WILL EXPLODE!)
Mash will separate into oil & pulp. Pour oil into separate container & discard pulp.
Mix oil with the powder from Kraft mac & cheese.
Use sponges on treble hooks & compress sponge in mix with a stick. (DO NOT GET MIX ON YOUR SKIN!!! Scent will not wash off)
Good for blues primarily!
Enjoy!
 
Best bait for cats is fresh cut bait, IMO. Shad, shiners, herring, sunfish are all great, depending on the locality. Use species that are local to the area you fish.

Farm ponds and such, I tend to use nightcrawlers and chicken liver as well.

I fish everything on an octopus style circle hook, most times. Sometimes I use a wider gap circle hook. Gamakatsu, Daiichi, Eagle Claw, Mustad, and Matzuo all make good ones. I use braided line on most of my gear, so I also use a monofilament leader for some abrasion resistance. Sometimes I'll run a swivel, sometimes not. I try to keep terminal tackle to a minimum. Many times, in areas of little or no current, it's just the hook and maybe a splitshot or a small slip sinker if needed.
 
My go to is pinched minnows. I usually pinch 3 minnows in half and put on a octopus or a barbed hook and have great luck on it. Works great for the 2-5 pound channels.
 
Chicken livers is the only thing I've ever used. It works really well. The only problem is, it is tough to keep it on the hook with long casts.
 
dttomcat said:
Chicken livers is the only thing I've ever used. It works really well. The only problem is, it is tough to keep it on the hook with long casts.
Click to expand...

+1..to keep the livers on the hook take an old pair of ur wife's pantyhose and wrap around the chicken livers...
 
When I was a kid I had to collect my baits. I spent as much time looking for bait as I did fishing. Green worms were preferred over night crawlers. I dug them out of the storm sewers.They were little , full of poop and stiff but boy did the catfish love them. Bag worms , the kind you find on evergreen trees and shrubbery were much coveted. A pair of manicure scissors were needed to snip them out of the cocoon. Live minnows and crawdad tails were favorites.

People always told me that grasshoppers and catalpa worms were good baits.I never caught anything on them.

p.s. I use to sell green worms to one man. He paid me a quarter a dozen.
 
In Africa they use blue soap as bait to specifically target Vundu catfish.

My dad told me that after a hunt they would use offal and set some night lines in the river. Although he and his friends did catch Vundu they also hooked a few crocs on these offal baits. When switched over to blue soap baits they would only catch Vundu.
 
Soap gets used here . They put it out on set lines. Ive heard Ivory soap works. One of my uncles use to use a white soap in a catfish bait that he made. Blue Barrell was the brand he used. It was pretty darn good catfish bait.
 
for big cats we use live bait (bream, crappie, whatever) on number 4-6 Gammy hooks with weight below the hook a foot or above it a foot. your choice. . for the little bullheads and the occasional channel cat we use beef livers. rarely use chicken livers, nasty.
 
dttomcat said:
Chicken livers is the only thing I've ever used. It works really well. The only problem is, it is tough to keep it on the hook with long casts.
Click to expand...

switch to beef livers.. works just as good and stays on the hook better. you buy it frozen
 
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