Reel catfish help

[Finneus Polebender]

Have heard rumors now that there could be a few channel cats at the bottom of one of the private ponds I fish, and have marked very big fish there on more than one occasion. I have tried to fish them only a very few times elsewhere and have no experience or knowledge of catfish rigs.I have just been using cut bait herring etc on the bottom , lookin for any help on set ups or bait thinkin this time of year would be the time to fish them? thanks in advance for any help as I know not a soul with catfish experience. FP

 

[Castnblast81]

Take lots of beer, and firewood. Go at dusk, and fish a regular nightcrawler with no weight on the bottom. Tin-foil around the tip of you're pole works good at reflecting the light or you can clip a bell on the tip of you're pole and wait for a ring. Lot's O' luck

 

[Moe]

I agree, its nice to take the family with and you and have a bonfire and tell stories that from dusk up to midnight. Its real fun. As far as bait, a big glob of nightcrawlers works wonders on a double dropshot rig. Cut bluegill is my bait of choice for cats though, I like it cuz the cats dont mess around with it, they ram it like a fright train, so make sure your rod is in a secure holder. Good luck.

 

[tomriker]

down at my place i've only ever used chicken livers, which stink and are pretty cheap at the grocery store. put a few feet of leader and then above that put a slide weight that way when they pick it up they won't feel resistance as much or they're more likley to spit it out. that's the way i've always done it atleast

 

[Hawk]

Over the years i've caught many channel cat & Striped Bass, released many. Most i caught in the CA Aquaduct & the Delta/Mendota canal.

I put a 1oz or a 2oz sinker on the bottom of the line. Then 2feet up i put a 12inch leader & hook. Then another 2feet up the line i put another 12inch leader & hook.

My favorite bait was Pileworms or a small baitfish we caught on the canals by the irrigation gate valves. We called the bait fish a bullhead. The cats loved the Pileworms too though. I also caught em with bloodworms, nightcrawlers, cut anchovies, turkey & chicken liver.

When i caught a nice cat or bass, sometimes i put it in a large cooler with a generator operated electric air pump & a battery operated air pump (for emergencies). I quickly went over to the bait store in Santa Nella. There they took 2 polaroid pics of fish. They gave me 1 & the other one they put up on their bulletin board. :lol::lol::lol::lol:

It was loads of FUNs. I got to know other fisherfolks in the area & we would see who caught the bigguns for the week or weekend. :lol::lol:

:dance::dance:

 

[Hawk]

Most of the cat we would catch at night. We would bungycord the rod tothe pipe around the irrigation valves or to the poleholder hammered into the ground. Put a bell on the tip.

I have an ol' 1978 American Clipper motorhome so i would usually take a nap till the bell goes ding ding ding .
hahahaha
:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Or me & my honey would play st poker in the motorhome.

 

[18406ej]

For the fun of it, you should go up to the fish hatchery at the Leaburg Dam. They have the biggest cats I have ever seen cruising around in the viewing ponds.

 

[Santiam338]

Channel cats don't feed the bottom like the bull heads around here...Float your bait off the bottom a couple feet and you will have better luck ...I learned this the hard way on the John Day one time...

I was fishing night crawlers on the bottom with absolutely no luck,while others had more cats than they could pack ..They were using a night crawler with a corkie and were drift fishing much like for steelhead...I had my crawler on the bottom and couldn't get bit...After I talked to a guy and I figured out what was going on I put a small cork on about 6 inches from the worm with a weight...Put it on the bottom,the cork floated the worm up a couple feet and I also caught more fish than I could pack...LOL


Don't see why channels here would be differant than the John Day..

Thats all I know about it..

 

[Finneus Polebender]

Wow thanks for all the advise , being right on the bottom could be the bulk of my problems will let ya all know how the new info works gonna go after them this weekend.

 

[colbypearson]

big cats eat hot dogs, swear! caught lots of 5-25+lb catfish on hot dogs alone!

if its private i would get like 5-10 rods as many as you can set them up in front of you but fan cast them in a big arc to cover the most amount of water.

 

[Moe]

big cats eat hot dogs, swear! caught lots of 5-25+lb catfish on hot dogs alone!

if its private i would get like 5-10 rods as many as you can set them up in front of you but fan cast them in a big arc to cover the most amount of water.

That is very good advice, if u have a flotation device, you may consider jug fishing...

 

[Finneus Polebender]

That is very good advice, if u have a flotation device, you may consider jug fishing...

Remember when i was very young camping in Ohio somewhere and catching monster crappie ,sunfish and bass on chunks of hotdog at someplace called salt fork lake . Being a grandparent there are always hot dogs around. It will be released any howand it is private water , but would like to reel it in on rod n reel although a floated trot line could verify their presence much quicker! Have a boat at every pond except the big one makes it easy just grab the rods ,gear and go.will be after them here soon just waitin for a little better weather.

 

[Finneus Polebender]

Gonna try for some monsters tomorrow eve . TT and I are gonna do a little deep pond fishin tomorrow eve , got a lot of bait and rig help so gonna try and see what gives .Figure the more water covered the better so any one with some heavy gear who wants to get in on the effort should speak up . Will probably bass fish till dusk then we will target the alleged beasts.

 

[PNW Sam]

I lost a big cat in St Louis this summer. Used a cut bluegill for bait, and my rod hit the water when the fish struck. I tried to set the hook but he wasn't on, then he kept striking at it and I kept trying to let him swallow it until my bait was like 10 yards from the bank and he left. Next time I'll use a smaller bait, like maybe just PART of a bluegill, instead of the whole thing... All that was left of it was a little bit size piece.

 

[nwkiller]

For the fun of it, you should go up to the fish hatchery at the Leaburg Dam. They have the biggest cats I have ever seen cruising around in the viewing ponds.

are you talking about the sturgeon??? dont think there is any cats in those ponds

 

[Finneus Polebender]

Yep those be sturgeon and the only ones who get into that pond legally are the kids on free fishin day, at least they use to . I can tell ya from one trip nothing and I mean nothing smaller than a ten inch fish would make it to the bottom of that place stocker trout like pirahna.