Catfishing For Beginners

[mainbutter]

why hasn't this been stickied yet? i have having to go through 20 pages of threads to find this one!

[Larry FlatCaster]

why hasn't this been stickied yet? i have having to go through 20 pages of threads to find this one!

Look at how much you learned in the process.... There are no short cuts.

It allows for more educated questions from the newbies.

Welcome to the cat forum.

[Laska]

How do I catch 7" or less bullheads without catching sunfish in a lake or is that inevitable? I seem to only catch big bullheads in the only lake I have around me.

[Scott K]

If you catch bigger bullheads just bring a scissors to cut them down j/k .. There isnt much you can do, sometimes sunfish just hang out and eat the same bait as bullheads.

[PierBridge]

How do I catch 7" or less bullheads without catching sunfish in a lake or is that inevitable?

Try some Bigger Jig's. Bullheads even the smaller ones will gulp down a pretty big Jig head I often catch Bully's on 3/8 oz or Bigger Jigs. I don't get very many Sunnies if any at all on larger presentations.

I have also found using dead crushed minnows will fend off the little Sunnies/perch to an extent and the Bullheads love those.

Corn seems to be a Bullhead only type of bait where I fish also.

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

If you catch bigger bullheads just bring a scissors to cut them down j/k ..

What do you J/K ? We all know thats completely true

[Slowhand]

Originally Posted By: 4wanderingeyes

If you catch bigger bullheads just bring a scissors to cut them down j/k ..

What do you J/K ? We all know thats completely true

Haha...do you cut the lips off, or shave the tail?

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

I didn't know they came with a tail? Beats me

[nik]

I have a question about this bullhead as bait thing. I fish for channel cats alot on the crow river. Usually all I use is stink bait or a gob of crawlers. This year, I would like to get into some big flatheads on the bigger rivers. How do you use bullheads as bait? Do you hook them in the mouth or in the back? How big of bullheads should I use? Is there any other baits that work good for big flatheads? Any advise will help. Thanks

[AceintheHole]

Hook them just up from the tail. Nothing over 7" is allowed by law. As far as other baits cut bullheads or suckers can work also but they love them bullheads. It's like putting candy in front of 4 year.

[Scott K]

My bait of choice for flatheads are creek chubs. The problem with creek chubs are that they are hard to keep alive in hot weather. Thats when bullheads become my goto bait, being that they live forever, with hardly no effort.

[DTro]

That’s funny because I am just the opposite. I love using bullies in the spring and turn to Creek Chubs in the summer (cut creek chub is probably my favorite bait of all, any time of the year).

I don’t have any problem keeping them alive. Keeping them contained? Now that a whole other subject.

[Scott K]

Yes you do need to keep a lid on them. I was more refering to keeping them alive in the boat. I dont use cut bait very often, just if I run out of live bait. I have found it to be more difficult to keep creek chubs alive in hot weather, then it is to keep bullheads alive in hot weather in a livewell. But that might be just me?

[Lowblazah]

I've found that if your going to use creek chubs and want them to make it the entire outing (and eventually back to your storage tank) you should use the water you were storing them in and an areator or a bubbler.

[nik]

I appreciate the info on the bullheads. I can't wait to give it a try. Hopefully I will be able to post a pic with me and a big boy soon. Thanks for the tips.

[AceintheHole]

My bait of choice for flatheads are creek chubs. The problem with creek chubs are that they are hard to keep alive in hot weather. Thats when bullheads become my goto bait, being that they live forever, with hardly no effort.

Ya and if you leave them along with with a few dead bully in a 5 gallon pail for about a week or 2 then bring them on your boat when you take a guy out fishing with you and say here open this and he almost fall out of the boat from the smell of I can't say on here. They work great.

[rushing]

Catfishing is just too much work, you really should just go fish for some bass.

[stam34]

creek chubs will stay alive all night long anytime in the summer if you use a bucket with holes in it and put it in the river. Let your bait water get within 10 or so degrees of the river temp and you wont have a problem when you transfer .

[TMF89]

Where are you guys getting creek chubs? Catching them?

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Ya pretty much creek has them

[Flaco651]

Quote:

Where are you guys getting creek chubs? Catching them?

I normally catch 'em on rod n reel and trap trap mine. There's a chance Moore's Bait & Tackle might be carrying them this year too.

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Ya I should've asked Bob if he was going to sell them this year while I was up there today, but totally forgot.

[Larry FlatCaster]

Quote:

Where are you guys getting creek chubs? Catching them?

I normally catch 'em on rod n reel and trap trap mine. There's a chance Moore's Bait & Tackle might be carrying them this year too.

Yeah..... we've been hearing this for how many seasons.....

If so... I hope your supplying them for him.... All others seem unable to deliver.

I would love to be able to get them from BOB.... Cmon... Moore's

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

I can only imagine it to be hard to supply that many.

[Jagsballar19]

I am new to fishing the cats this year and I've been going from shore. To tell you the truth I don't exactly know where and when I should fish. I liver in Bloomington where on the Minnesota is a good starting place?