Who needs drugs? Pull up a 4 pound cat for the first time. I was shaking as bad tonight as I was when I shot at my first deer. Holy crap. My pole didn't even get a bite. But my cousin and his brother in law were on the other end of the pond messin with a throw net while I was watching their poles. One got a huge bite, and I yanked up on it. I thought I missed it, it didnt feel like anything was on it til it got closer to the bank, thats when the adrenaline started pumping. I handed the pole over to my cousin he got it up on the bank. While his brother in law was trying to get the hook out another pole just about went into the water from a cat. The biggest we got was a 4 pounder, the smallest being a 2 1/2. We put them on a stringer and put em in the water. About 2 hours later we went to check on them, a turtle had ate the two biggest. We cut the meat off and threw the rest over the bank behind us. We got out there about 7:30. We caught all four fish within about 30 minutes, between 8:30 and 9:00. Nothin for the next 6 hours, not even one bite. We caught three of them on chicken livers, and the one I pulled in was caught on a little bitty blue gill.
Damn, What a rush when I pulled it in. I couldn't believe how bad I was shaking.
Oh, I forgot to tell you a detail. We were just sittin there talkin and my cousin decided he would reel in one of his poles just to see if the bait was still on it. When he started reeling he goes "I think theres a fish on here", so he started reelin in more, and there was a catfish on it. The rod never moved. Unless we just didnt see it, but I was staring right at it. It was like he just slowly bit it, and swallowed it and just layed there. He may have got it when we were messing with another cat, Im not sure.
We had eight poles set up, and after the first 4 were caught, not another bite for 6 hours until we left. Not ONE bite.
Dairy King,
For that reason I use the smallest split shot I can find. That way you can tell if you have a bite. With heavy sinkers alot of times they don't even move the line. Shell crackers { red earred sunfish] bite the same way. They suck the bait down and don't hardly move.
Chuck
Night fishing for catfish is a great time. Day fishing for them is ALMOST as much fun. I have only caught channel cats as thats all we have in the Red of the North. I have caught channel cats on the Chyenne in SD as well. Nothing fights harder than about a 3-7 lb channel cat. This is really true if you are in current as well. I love eating them to. I love to get out just before dark and set up my rods and lanterns and get ready for the night bite, HEAVEN on earth.
I catch a ton of cats during the summer. Yesterday I caught a 6 lb channel on a spinning rod, a 2.2 lb bullhead on a spinning rod, a 4 lb channel on a cane pole, and I had what looked like a 6 lb channel on the cane pull, but he broke the tip. I caught a 5.6 lb channel today on a spinning rod. My biggest was an 8.8 lb channel.
Went catfishin' tonight. What a rush!
