New to Cat Fishing

[The_Lee]

I have never gone cat fishing before, I just got heavy into fishing last year with my focus on trout, walleye, and northern.

I was down in New Orleans this last fall for a few days and I tried catfish for the first time and it was great. I would love to give catfishing a try, only thing is I dont know anything about the needed equipment.

I am currently deployed overseas to Kosovo with the Army and wont be back until July sometime. Is there anyone out there would can possible give me some advise and maybe show me the ropes?

[DTro]

I'm going to post the same thing here as I did in the Roch forum. For the record I will follow this thread here for you. Tyler can give you some good info over there.

Hello and welcome to FM!

Check out the Catfish forum, lots of great info there.

The great thing about Catfishing is that its relatively inexpensive to get into. If you don't have any gear right now, I can make some good suggestions for a Rod/Reel combo and some basic terminal tackle that you will need. I'm usually pretty good about taking new people out, but would probably make an extra effort to show the ropes to a guy out protecting our great country.

Let me know when you get back and we'll get you set up.

[harvey lee]

I also would be more than happy to take you out cat fishing for all you are doing for us here at home.

Thanks for all you do.

[crazyice]

I see that you are from our neck of the woods, SE MN. When you get back definately hook up with Tyler and myself, we would be glad to take you out sometime, and more I am sure. Off all the guys in the Rochester area I think that we probably are a couple of the more diehard cat guys, even though we only got into it last year. Hats off to ya!!

[Grant]

you'll find the folks here on FM to be some of the best around for helping out- I'll also do what I can to show you around- it's the least I can do pay it forward for all the help I've gotten from this great bunch.

last but certainly not least, I'm confident that I can speak for all of us here when I say Thank You for your service to the flag and the country. Godspeed, and safe return to you, and all who serve.

[DARK30]

Git r Done and come home safe man..we'll help you out. Course if Yo Mamma or Hairy get in, we can fight um here.

[UncleKes]

Lee: Catfishing is a Great Sport and I am sure you will love it!

In my experience (I have been fishing them for about 30 years now. The trick to remember about catfisihng is to KEEP THINGS SIMPLE! You will need e types of rods and reels. A baitcasting reel with a clicker (I favor the Abu Garcia 6500 series myself) and a medium action to heavy action rod depending upon where you fish and what type of catfish you may encounter. The reason catment like bait casting reels is because the gears help a lot if you hook into a really big one; (Remember the world record Blue Cat is currently 129 lbs.) However many catment do use a spinning reel. Like I said it is not complicated in catfisihng.

The next type of rod you will need is the same rod you might use for musky fishing. Once again the same thing applies. It is a personal choice, whether to use a bait caster or a spinning reel.

But like I said the gears in the bait caster can give you an edge is you hit anything over 20 lbs.

The next type of rod you might consider if you are doing a lot of shore fishing is one of those long European type rods over 11 feet. They mostly haven't caught on in the USA but I have one and like it if I am fishing from shore. You cannot believe how far I can cast with it. I have a large saltwater reel with a large spool capable of holding lots of line.

Regarding lines. I use 30 lb. test Hi Pro. It is a braided mono line and it is excellent for catfish. But the truth is anything will work for catfish. Just make sure you you spool your line with a line that is a bit on the heavy side. Remember that it is going to depend on where you are fishing, what type of Catfish you are fishing and how large you might conceivably hook into to.

OK! Thats rods and reels. Next lets talk tackle.

Catfish are one of the smartest fish that swim. They are scent feeders mostly. They have taste buds not only in their mouths but all over their bodies. Thats right! I said ALL OVER THEIR BODIES! They can taste food with their tails. They also have EXTREMLY ACUTE HEARING!

However they are not shy of people! Just aware of them. Of course if you make noise like herd of buffalo they will move off but they will tolerate a bit more noise and movement than other species. In other words if you are wading silently trying to sneak up on a catfish they are probably laughing at you because they heard you coming 200 yards down river.

In catfishing you don't need a lot of tackle. A few hooks, some floats (bobbers) and some sinkers and you are set to go. My entire catfish bag fits into my back pocket. I use a plastic utility box.

The new thing in catfish hooks are called Circle Hooks! They are great for catfishing and I encourage you when you get back to buy some. However the truth is that your standard J type hook had probably caught more catfish than any other hook type so regarding hooks, Don't sweat it. Just fish it!

The sinker you will use will depend on where you are fishing and how strong the current (if any) is. Remember Catfish are mostly fish of rivers. In strong current you will want to use a FLAT RIVER SINKER. Some old timers still favor a BELL SINKER THOUGH and a few like an egg sinker. IT DOESN'T MATTER! THE CATFISH DON"T CARE! TRUST ME! However be aware that in strong current situations the Bell sinkers and the eggt singers will roll around in the current and may snag on rocks, trees, etc. that is why most catmen that I know favor the flat River sinkers.

As far as bobbers go. Buy some Thill "Cigar" type bobbers. In my experience they work best in probably 90% of all catfishing situations.

OK! Thats terminal tackle! All you need to catch big beautiful catfish is a good rod, a good reel, heavy enough line, a hook a sinker and in some situations (Not all) a bobber!

As for bait! Catfish will eat anything! They are omnivores! Which mean they eat plants and meat. Up in Minnesota in the RED RIVER VALLEY they have been known to get into the soy bean fields during flood conditions and feast on soy beans.

However you will mostly use what everyone else uses. Some kind of meat or scent bait. There are thousands of scent baits out there. Ranging from the paste type baits where you take a plastic slotted worm and dip into the bait and throw it out into the water to minnows, frogs grasshoppers crawdads (crayfish) to anything you can think of.

One my personal favorites for catfishing is cut bait. I use chunks of cut up sucker. But it doesn;'t matter. Whatever is indigenous to your area will work. Cut off the tail though because the tail will get caught in the current and spin your bait around. Some species of catfish don't like a lot of movement in a bait.

Take the hook and hook the bait in upper corner (NOT THE CENTER) of the bait and they puch the hook all the way through the bait until the barb is exposed outside the bait. Lots of people want to bury the hook in the bait but if you do that when you set the hook you will be setting back into the bait not the fish. CATFISH ARE NOT HOOK SHY! THEY DON"T KNOW WHAT A HOOK IS! So leave the hook exposed on the outside of the bait after you have hooked the bait!

OK! Thats basic catfishing! NOW GO CATCH CATFISH!

IF you have any other questtons write me at [email protected]

Tight lines!

Uncle Kes

[UncleKes]

Lee: When you get home, if you are still interested in catfishing you might want to consider ordering from the IN FISHERMAN a couple of there Catfishing videos. There are three I would recommend to you! Channel Catfish Fever, Channel Catfish Connection Part One and Part Two. They will give you a good broad idea of various techniques, methods and strategies. Of course, if you can hook up with one the guys in the forum who have offered to take you fishing, DO IT! I am constantly learning from such people and I am sure you will too.

In the mean time, I want to thank you for taking time from your life to go over there and do what needs to be done. People like you make a guy proud of this country and proud to be an American.

Thanks just doesn't say it all. But its all someone who isn't there can say! So from all of your new friends in the Catfish forum I say a most heartfelt "THANKS, LEE!!"

Stay Safe!

Tight Lines!

Uncle Kes

[Lunker]

I love the avatar Lee!

I am also an amateur catfisherman. My advice would be to take up the offers from the guys on this forum and hit the water with some of these more experienced cat-men. They are definitley a good resource and you will learn more from them in a night or two then a summer trying to figure it out on your own. The first time I took up an offer from an FM'er I caught a 25ld flat, and man was that fun.

[Barbelboy]

The Lee,

Be careful. These guys aren't telling you the whole truth! Sure it starts out as a simple day or two on the river. Next thing you know you've got 10 rods, 25lbs of sinkers and a boat that is forever stained with mud/blood/slime/beer/chickenliverjuice that makes if virtually unusable for normal fishing! So unless you want to pick up a hobby that will have you addicted at the first fish be careful. That being said, everybody else is right. Talk to the more experienced FM'ers. They are a wealth of knowledge and as you've seen more than willing to keep a boat seat open for you. Search this forum and you should be able to find all the information you need.

Unclekes,

How do you use the bobbers?

[icehole10]

barbelboy, I could not of said that any better. I got into this catfishing thing and now what I used to consider a walleye boat has been conveted to cat boat. Mud and stains everywhere. good luck to all.

[harvey lee]

Whats a lake?????

[Tyler Holm]

Lee, Look me up when you get back in our neck of the woods. I wrestle with cats 2-4 times a week all open water season.

[cubicleboy]

After reading the posts, I'm really interested in getting a longer fishing rod (purely for distance). I walk my dogs by the river a lot and it would be fun to get some shore fishing done for cats (and who knows what comes out of the river! :-)). Can anyone guide me to where I can get my hands on a longer, around 9-10ft rod?

[hanso612]

The most crucial lesson I have learned in all my years of catfishing is; whatever you do, under no circumstances, leave chicken liver in the boat cabin fridge with shore power off and go back to work for a week or more- fish way more often.

On a serious note, I have noticed many of the community holes getting hard to fish because of fireline. Before braid a snag could be broken off usually at the not. With braid many people are cutting line and leaving long lengths in the water. More and more debris is caught and soon the hole is tangled mess. It can be very dangerous for divers as well. I landed quite a few fish over fifty on 17 pound trilene and now use a lighter leader on my braid rigs to avoid pulling up a hole stump and recking a hole for the night or causeing a future snag mess.

What I am asking is for braid guys to make every effort to get those long snags out of the river. Hans.

[DTro]

 Originally Posted By: hanso612

I landed quite a few fish over fifty on 17 pound trilene

Nice!

Sometimes the long braid is unavoidable, but a lot of us carry a dowel in the boat to break off instead of cutting off.

Hans, are you a school counselor?

[UncleKes]

Barbel Boy! I normally use a slip float when I do. In heavy current the float glides the bait over most snags and the catfish don't seems to notice the bait is moving. Sometimes if I am bank fishing a eddy or some such, I just cast the float out and almost still fish it. Bear in mind, I would not use this technique for a Flathead. This is a Channel Catfish technique. Of course if you do fish a float you only use a sinker that is just heavy enough to sink the bait down in heavy current and match the bobber so it just barely keeps the bait from sinking all the way but keeps the bait moving along.

Like I said earlier I prefer cut bait over other kinds of bait. It also helps if you are fishing slow moving water to keep a jar of fresh blood so you can pour into the water to call them to you.

Sometimes I make a kind of blood bait by pouring fresh blood over a window screen that is fine enough that the blood doesn't drip through. Over time the blood becomes coagulated and you can then take a knife and cut the blood into strips. I will take a strip of blood and wrap it around the hook shank and tie it off with a piece of thread. The blood will slowly melt after about 20 minutes but it is also cheap to make and will keep practically forever in the refrigerator.

Just make sure your wife is aware you have blood strips in the cool whip container. Women tend to get a little funny about taking out the cool whip container to put a dollop of whip cream of a brownie or something like that for their bridge club and having a strip of week old chicken blood plop down on the cake!

Trust me! I have the cuts and bruises to prove it!

Tight Lines!

Uncle Kes

[UncleKes]

Also if you do use blood take along a separate cooler for the bait and keep the bait and blood well iced. Some fols are a little shy about drinking a barley pop out of the same cooler as the cut bait, and blood are kept in! I usually don't fish with those people more than once! Too darned persnickity!

Uncle Kes

[hanso612]

I worked for Health Partners as an adolescent chemical dependency counselor. Now I'm a kept man. My wife is a district manager with Wells Fargo. I watch our three kids and build stuff. It's a great division of labor, tons of home equity and with three boys it just makes sense.

I used to work at Andersen windows and fished off a 1942 Chris Cratf Sedan cruiser. A 33 footer named Class of 42. I fished every night after 3 to 11 shift for four years. Finish the shift, jump in the river to clean up, fire up the boat, head up river, start the grill, catch bait, send bait out on upgrade kit , real in first fish, filet fish, put on grill, repeat! For four years. Throw in a card game or too, a few to many women, a a few to many beers, and Stillwater pony football on the radio and you get the picture.

To be honest I see this problem with braid more in my snorkling sites than I do out catfishing just because I do more of that now, but I know it's a problem especially in places that get pounded- downstream from falls or dams and such. I never saw it this bad before braid.

I want to amend the statement you highlighted to read many fish over forty and a few over fifty with one at 58 on 17 pound test. But the best I ever saw was a budy land a 20 pound channel on a Mickey Mouse rod with the real molded into the rod, no drag-direct drive- he had to back real as fast as he could go. Ten year old eight pound test. That fish towed us all over the river.

[UncleKes]

Cubiccle Boy! I cought an 11'6" European rod from an outfit in Illinois that specializes in Carp fishing. As I recall Capela's a sells long European type rods as well or at least they used to?

You can get one for a bait caster or a spinning reel. Mine is set up for an open face salt water spinning reel. I have it spooled with 30-35 lb. Hi-Pro. I like the thinness and it casts like a dream. The other advantage is that the reel will hold a lot of line and seems to balance the rod somewhat.

Tight Lines;

Uncle Kes

[Flaco651]

 Quote:

What I am asking is for braid guys to make every effort to get those long snags out of the river. Hans.

I too carry a dowel, and I'll try to get out of a snag until I drag the boat. So when I break off, using the dowel its probably at the knot. I doubt I'm leaving a bunch of PP cuz I'm not cutting the line.

[harvey lee]

I believe that every boat I have fished in on the river had a dowel for breaking off braided line. I have never left anymore than I had too.

[hanson]

I have seriously run into the opposite, that is tangling with broken mono in the river. Lot of guys on the Red River use mono and I cannot tell you how many times I've pulled up 6-8' sections of neon green Berkley Big Game with a swivel, leader, and hook tied to the end.

I run 80lb PowerPro for all my cattin' and I know I'm leaving very little line in the river when I do snag. Most of the time, I'm bringing the whole snag back in with me. Those guys who are cutting the line with a knife are definitely contributing to the problem but if you can eventually get the line to break, it will usually break at the swivel. Wooden bait net handle makes a great line breaking tool.

[icehole10]

I don't want ot sound like an one-who-thinks-I-am-silly, but could one of you guys explain the dowel thing. Is it for breaking the line? I'm fairly new to catfishing thanks.

[hanso612]

Hanson, when I snorkle I am see still seeing way more mono than braid. What scares me is getting caught in the 80 pound braid. I'm a big guy and stuggle to free dive deeper than six feet(because I float so well) without wasting all my air. When I'm finding lures I can usually break old brittle 8-10 pound mono, but pulling a bunch of 80 pound loose at the end of a dive scares me a little. The mono seems to deteriorate faster and in the past I don't think many people were fishing 80 pound mono.

Most of my cat rods do triple duty as musky rods and bobber fishing for pike. I have switched to braid on all of them. With braid I am geeting less snags that can't pull free, but when I finally get stuck it usully leaves more line in the water. Once one long line of braid is stuck lots of mono break offs are sure to follow.

I don't have the answers, but see it is more of a problem than back in the mono only days. I also think as fisherman, we sometimes forget others are down on the bottom too. I like the dowel idea and using lighter swivels, and light line on dropper rigs. I also think it helps my fishing to stap on a mask and take a look at what's really down there-and pull some of that line up while I am at it. Hans