Catfish Fishing

JamesDong · Aug 29, 2020

I'm pretty new to the fresh water scene so I'm learning. Clinch River where I'm at has smallmouth, cats, redeyes and sucker fish. The mentioned are what I've caught so far but there are others. For the most part nightcrawlers has been meat du jour but today I gave it some thought and tried..... left over beef suet from last year deer season.
So far in a day smallmouth and cat like it. Real plus it pretty tough, almost like putting a pork rind on a bucktail but not that tough. 5 bucks worth might last me a year instead of 10 to 15 a month for nightcrawlers! Not normally a fish eater but I DO like cats!
Crawdads caught in the minnow trap like it too.

K31 · Aug 29, 2020

You can make dough baits for catfish, there are probably a million recipes. Also canned corn, and cheese work.

Silverlax · Aug 29, 2020

I use the premo blood super sticky stink bait. Around $4 a can and it will last you a while. Wrap that up in some cheap stocking material and put it on the hook. Used this a lot when Covid first came out.

bibitor · Aug 29, 2020

Chicken livers has been a winner for me when fishing cats.

Antarctica · Aug 29, 2020

When I was a kid I always used chicken livers. I'd make a little pouch from panty hose and suspend the liver in it from a treble hook.. Kept the liver from flinging off on the cast...

E.Shell · Aug 29, 2020

I used to fish for cats quite a bit and spent many a night on the rivers. Even went on a guided trophy catfish trip down in Myock, NC with Steve Miller (then the 'Catfish King').

It seemed that it was easy to catch plenty smaller cats on the 'stinkbaits', but I didn't really get into the bigger ones until I went to more natural baits, especially cut fish, and down near tidal water, eels and peelers.

Another thing that promoted more larger fish was using a slip sinker rig with lighter lines and minimal weight. The bigger fish seemed very sensitive to drag and we caught way more larger fish on the lighter rigs.

willtill · Aug 29, 2020

Bloodworms sprayed with WD40.

AlphabetSoup · Aug 29, 2020

Any similar advice for cats in the potamac - ft Washington MD up to DC area? I'm thinking one of my fishing crazy kids might really be amazed pulling up one of those fat fishies... We've never targeted or caught a catfish before.

Was going to make slip rigs with no roll sinkers on 20lb leader, with 20# braid mainline, with either cat treble or circle hooks.

Baitwise I was thinking livers, but I have some frozen cutup mullet from a recent surf fishing trip. Definitely interested in other bait, rig, and water advice.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Mr. Ed · Aug 29, 2020

willtill said:
Bloodworms sprayed with WD40.

WTF? Seriously? Now 102 uses. :lol2:

engineerbrian · Aug 29, 2020

carltuesday said:
Any similar advice for cats in the potamac - ft Washington MD up to DC area? I'm thinking one of my fishing crazy kids might really be amazed pulling up one of those fat fishies... We've never targeted or caught a catfish before.

Was going to make slip rigs with no roll sinkers on 20lb leader, with 20# braid mainline, with either cat treble or circle hooks.

Baitwise I was thinking livers, but I have some frozen cutup mullet from a recent surf fishing trip. Definitely interested in other bait, rig, and water advice.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Circle hooks with bluegill cut bait works well

akalma · Aug 29, 2020

carltuesday said:
Any similar advice for cats in the potamac - ft Washington MD up to DC area?

It is a perfect location, sunfish chunks works best. Just don't consume more than one portion of the fish per week from this location.

llkoolkeg · Aug 29, 2020

Antarctica said:
When I was a kid I always used chicken livers. I'd make a little pouch from panty hose and suspend the liver in it from a treble hook.. Kept the liver from flinging off on the cast...

That is what I used to use under the old Wilson Bridge in Old Town for big cats and stripers...I just used a big saltwater single hook instead of a treble, which got hung up too much. Also, flat river sinkers or washers don't roll and get swept & snagged as much by the tides as round ones. Pyramid sinkers would also not move but got so buried up in the muddy bottoms that they would ruin my hookset even using a surf rod.

I used cut herring, cut shad and cut eel sometimes, also, but never cut panfish as I was told it was not legal to use gamefish meat as bait...but don't know for sure.

remrug · Aug 29, 2020

engineerbrian said:
Circle hooks with bluegill cut bait works well

This is the method I use anytime I target catfish.It works great and bluegills are cheap and easy to use.Precut bait at home and put in leftover container and store in a cooler while fishing.I used to use liver until I tried bluegills.The bigger fish definitely bite on cutbait way more than liver

remrug · Aug 29, 2020

llkoolkeg said:
I used cut herring, cut shad and cut eel sometimes, also, but never cut panfish as I was told it was not legal to use gamefish meat as bait...but don't know for sure.

In Md,any legal fish(size limit,in season etc) caught on rod and reel is legal to use for bait

teratos · Aug 29, 2020

willtill said:
Bloodworms sprayed with WD40.

Really?

bigmanindc · Aug 29, 2020

willtill said:
Bloodworms sprayed with WD40.

Are you the reason why our rivers are contaminated?

willtill · Aug 29, 2020

Mr. Ed said:
WTF? Seriously? Now 102 uses.

teratos said:
Really?

Serious as a heart attack. It's very effective bait for catfish. What we used in in Belton lake/Stillhouse Hollow lakes @ Fort Hood, Texas.

willtill · Aug 29, 2020

bigmanindc said:
Are you the reason why our rivers are contaminated?

A lot less worse than running two stroke motors in pristine waters. :rolleyes:

JamesDong · Aug 29, 2020

willtill said:
Bloodworms sprayed with WD40.

Bloodworms are unheard of in these parts. :sad20:

Klj5022 · Sep 2, 2020

What pound lines are you guys running. I'm used to lake erie crappie, small and large mouth, yellow perch and a couple others. Butt I fear my set up would be too light for catfish

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