Takes but no hook up?

[redneckdan]

I am new to this whole catfish thing. I stopped by a local dam yesterday afternoon for a couple hours. Had several solid takes on garlic chicken livers but never got a hook into the fish. At first I was using a 6/0 circle hook then switched to a #4 treble, both with a Carolina rig. The livers were in cheese cloth. I left plenty of room for the hook points to be exposed. The fish that were messing with me must have been decent size, the bait clicker would scream pretty good when they hit. Any ideas?

[Rick G]

Could try a different kind of bait, like cut sucker or chub to see if they wont hang on to something else a little longer . Could also try downsizing the bait your using. If all else fails, turn the clicker off and engage the spool, leave your rod set with tight line and let the fish set the hook on itself when it hits.

[Gordie]

What he said ^^

[Brad B]

Rick is correct. with circle hooks you don't use the clicker. you use a tight line with them. once the fish takes the bait and starts to move off the rod will load up and bend setting the circle hook on it's own. that is a common problem if a person has not used circle hooks before, they tend to try to set the circle hook like they do with a normal J style hook and this will pull the hook right out of the fishes mouth. cut suckers is the most common type of bait used during the summer. at times crawlers will work along with the chicken livers(I would use plain chicken liver and not garlic thou). the stink baits(example : secret 7) do work but you tend to get smaller fish on them which is okay if you are looking for a few eater size fish.

[Nhamm]

Some days they just don't fully commit too. They might just be nibbling.

[SteveD]

What Rick and Brad said is 100% correct. All I use is circle hooks - keep your reel engaged on a tight line and let the fish take your bait and load up the rod in the rod holder before you touch it. You really don't need the clicker - when that channel cat nails the bait you will hear a loud thunk from the rod and see your rod double over. Fish On!!

One other thing you need to think about when fishing circle hooks is your rod. You don't want to fish circles on a heavy action broom handle type rod with no give. I use a medium heavy cat rod with some give in the rod tip which gives the circle hook the time to rotate and do its job. With circle hooks you need a little patience and the right rod.

One more thing. 90% of the time they will hammer it and then when hooked up will turn towards the boat and swim right at you. Most times your first reaction is "I've lost the fish". You haven't lost it but you need to reel like heck to keep it on. Channel cats are fast so you need to reel like crazy to keep a tight line to the fish. This is a lesson I've learned the hard way - thought I would save you the experience.

[Brad B]

Steve brings up a good point. I forgot about the need for the softer tip rod. right now I have been using the Shakespeare ugly stik "catfish" series of rods and have had good luck with them. the tip on them is just right for using with circle hooks. the thing about them is that they don't break the bank to buy them. I pair this rod with a 6500 series Abu Garcia C3 reel(actually a 6501 C3 as I like left hand retrieve reels better). it is a great all around channel cat set up.

[CatManLee]

One more note on this just to keep you out of trouble...check to make sure treble hooks are allowed in Minnesota???? I haven't lived there for a couple of years, but it was illegal to use a treble hook when not part of an artificial lure.

Good luck.

[Brad B]

One more note on this just to keep you out of trouble...check to make sure treble hooks are allowed in Minnesota???? I haven't lived there for a couple of years, but it was illegal to use a treble hook when not part of an artificial lure.

Good luck.

this changed now and trebles are now legal. I wouldn't recommend them for cat fishing thou. I recommend circle hooks or regular J style hooks.

[JeremyCampbell]

I'm new at it too and yeah there's not much yanking to set the hook with the circle style hook.I been using them for other species of fish too.

[redneckdan]

Thanks for the tips. I tried the trebles to see if they made any difference. I will try the circles again with the reel engaged this time. There is a pond near my house that has suckers and bullhead in it. I will see about rustling up some cut bait.

I kind of like this catfish thing so far. Nice to sit on the bank under a shade tree having lunch and reading a good book.

[Brad B]

I'm new at it too and yeah there's not much yanking to set the hook with the circle style hook.I been using them for other species of fish too.

I have also switched over to circle hooks when fishing bluegills, walleyes, & perch. have got some bass on them while fishing gills. I like them because of how they hook in the side of the mouth and normally don't get swallowed to deeply. I have found that when using circles it is better to get the inline ones instead of the offsets. I have had a few deeper hooks with the off sets but that was okay since I had planned to keep those particular fish anyways.

[Brad B]

Thanks for the tips. I tried the trebles to see if they made any difference. I will try the circles again with the reel engaged this time. There is a pond near my house that has suckers and bullhead in it. I will see about rustling up some cut bait.

I kind of like this catfish thing so far. Nice to sit on the bank under a shade tree having lunch and reading a good book.

what brand of rod are you using. what power level is it (Med to Med Hvy is about right for the smaller channel cats)

[UPOW]

So if using a bait clicker do not use circle hooks? What type of hook is best for for bait runner reels, and do you set the hook then when it runs?

[Brad B]

with clickers or bait feeders I would use the regular traditional J style hook.

[UPOW]

Thank you sir.

[DTro]

I know a lot of guys that will engage their clicker or bait feeder when using circle hooks. I like to do it after dark when I can't see my rod. When I hear the line alarm go off, I simply engage the spool (while still in the rod holder) and let the fish hook themselves.

Basically the line out alarm does exactly what it should.....alarms me.

[Comit 2]

It sounds to me that you were lining Carp.

If you were casting parallel to the dam I would think this is the case. Carp swim with there dorsal fin up and the line slide over the fish until the hook gets tangled up with them. Then the drag screams. Sometimes you will get a scale on the tip of your hook. This is very comon when fishing near dams!

[rjmiller47]

Here is a tip from a old catfiherman (me, lol), when using Chicken Liver. Regardless of the hook you're using attach the hook to your line with a loop knot. Just run the line through the eye of the hook and tie a half hitch with the line forming a good size loop the hook can slide on. Then take the Chicken Liver usually a half of one, put it through the loop and hook it on both sides of the liver so it is hooked and through the loop. Unless the liver is really soft it stays on great lets you cast etc. I free spool when fishing as most of the time it's in lakes. I use a number 2 circle hook with liver. When the cat takes the bait just pick up the rod and start reeling, DON"T JERK, if by chance you don't get a hook up, stop reeling let the bait lay for a few minutes old whiskers will come back for another taste, this has happened many times. Good luck.

[pikestabber]

I know a lot of guys that will engage their clicker or bait feeder when using circle hooks. I like to do it after dark when I can't see my rod. When I hear the line alarm go off, I simply engage the spool (while still in the rod holder) and let the fish hook themselves.

I always free spool/click with circle hooks, day and night, and my hook-up percentage is much better than it ever was before. When the clicker starts going, I wait just a second or two and then engage the reel...as soon as there is tension, the fish's reaction is to pull away from you which results in a hook-set. It's worked great for me, anyhow. Fishing circle hooks goes against every instinct and lesson we know about fishing...I like them because they work great and reduce mortality, but sometimes I go back to a J hook just to be able to set the hook!