Catfish On Cranks You Say?

[DARK30]

<BR> Hey Ed, Did you have to spill the beans? Now everybody will be catching more Catfish!....But then again, Thats a good thing!<P> Depending on water clarity and other conditions, I have caught many a Channel on Crankbaits. A Shad Rap is my first choice but I'd gladly try a Salmo all the same. Even Flatheads will grab a crank if its presented under good conditions....Normally they are a little less agressive towards them than the Channels though.<P> Oh, and don't forget plastic curly tails either! My first 30# Flathead last year grabbed a 3" Mister Twister.<P> WET NETS!

[Dennis Steele]

I have run into that bite also.We were trolling cranks for walleyes on a river system a couple years ago and couldn't keep the cats off!They were hitting a #9 shad rap as we trolled over an underwater point.It was a blast.My brother who hated the thought of catfish was converted that day!

[Guest]

Many cats are caught while trolling cranks designed for walleye, this is often thought to be only a fluke. Most of the time it is a fluke too.

Too target them specifically it takes a bit of work. Researching baitfish and spawning cycles really helps to pattern a crankbait bite.

Plastics, Ah...one of my favorite sumo cat tricks. Remember my coring trick Eh Dark30?

Some good plastics are BIG tube baits like the Millennium Bass Candy 5" tubes. Berkley Power Bait tubes, in as big as you can find them, and the Sumo sized KALIN twisters used for pike and Muskie.

I like them rigged on stand up jigs, or football style jigs. The trick is to find jigs that have a serious hook, and can Handle old "Snaggle Puss" and his brawling.

Try Big Vibra Tail shad body's too. They are very good on both channels and flattys. Vertical jigging or a controlled drift through ambush areas is often the key with these baits. I had a few blood days at Lockport working huge shads in the rowdy water at the dam. Man they WHACK them hard too!

Another option is to "Carolina Rig" or "3-Way Rig" the tubes, or Mondo Twisters, and drift them. This is a good cats on flats method, especially on lake systems or reservoirs.

Coating plastics with a scent option is a deal that will really up the catch while using plastics for catfish. I found a product made by "Junnie's Cattracker Baits" called Mark’s Magic Shad Additive. It comes in a bunch of scents so you have options. I have done well with the shad, blood, and shrimp on plastics and on cranks.

You can find the Additive and other Junnie's Cattracker Product at this link if you interested?

www.cattracker.com

The sight factor in artificial baits is a huge factor, as is sound, and scent. Most of the time sight & sound is the trigger.

You seldom have a crankbait if the zone long enough to allow cats to zero in on a bait. Yet in repeated casts, you spread a scent trail wide, and this triggers an aggression response on rowdy cats willing to pop a plug or plastic offering.

Crank'n Kitty's can be a fluke, or it can be a pattern? By working it, and applying some homework, you will determine what it is on that particular day.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 06-14-2003).]

[Fisher Dave]

I have caught plenty of cats on cranks ... never specificly targeting them .. BUT ...

I got a channel(6 lbs or so) a couple days ago throwing a heavy bucktail on a fast retrieve. He got a mouth full.

Wasnt what I was expecting.

[DARK30]

I stopped down at the Minnesota on the way home from the Missy Gathering last night. I was pitching the old 3" white MT again and pulled out a 32"/15# Flathead. I love testing the drag like that on 6lb line#!

WET NETS!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[Catmendo]

It just goes to show boys why I have always consiered ol' whiskers to be at the top of the food chain and I'll always maintain this opinion!
When it comes to filling their faces at feeding time cats simply leave "all" other
species in the dust so to speak.
No matter what the conditions, daytime, nighttime, clear water, dark cloudy water, fast moving water or slack water, on the bottom or on the surface, cats simply excel at finding their food source. When you think about it, cats and sharks are very similar aren't they.
For many years now it's been my observation that those that aren't in the know about catfish simply regard them as bottom feeders. (I usually ask those that think in these terms "where do you catch your walleye")!For those of us that are in the know and understand ol' whiskers this simply is not so! Catfish are killing machines in every sense of the word.

Fish "Hard" Forever!

Stu McKay
www.catsonthered.com