catfish bait..
 

i want to tie into a little decint sized catfish this summer. we have channels and some flatheads in our area. i normally just chuck the usual chicken liver and night crawlers. occassionally ill get a half decint fish. but i been reading bigger cats like live bait. alot of guys swear by bluegills. i been thinking that theres not to many places in our river that have bluegills or sunfish or anything like that. BUT all the tributary creeks have creek chubs in them. and im sure the river does too. seems like a natural bait choice correct?? would that be recomended?? i have minnow traps im sure they will go into. if not i can catch them on the fly rod or the ultalite. would that be a good bait choice?? probably better then bluegills id think for my river since they arent so naturally occuring?? should i hook them alive? dead? cut? what size hook for 2-4 inch creek chubs and where should they be hooked if they are dead or alive?? i REALLY like kahle hooks. but the biggest size i can find is like 1/0..i REALLY like them hooks though. they are IMO better then circle hooks. circle hooks work but i cant break the habit of setting the hook home, and cant sit there and watch a fish tugging on my rod too long. kahles work either way for me and are always usually hooked good. would the 1/0 work? i cant find any style hook bigger then that around here except circles but they really arent bigger in size though i think i seen 4/0 or something. any advice? thanx

RE: catfish bait..
 

Shad, Large shiners, large gold fish, large crawfish and large leaches will all work too. back home in MO we could use bluegil if we had it. but here in AZ I had to figure out an alternative since bluegil is considered a game fish and that it is illegal in 90% of the state to use bluegil as bait.

RE: catfish bait..
 

any bream will do but shiners work good to and 1/0 wont do it for anything over 20 lbs str8en it out like nothin go get some j hooks or circle n 5/0 or 8/0 and hold on round here we do have khale hooks that sre 6/0 though

RE: catfish bait..
 

I like to dirft bream as I have a hard time getting shiners where I fish. Flat headlove live bait...

I have found carp to be good bait too for blues.
I have a good supply of carp at my lake house. I get em with my bow, filet them and cut them into 1 inch squares freeze them and awesome bait for blues..

This is a typical carp that makes about four pounds of cut bait.

RE: catfish bait..
 

thanx so much for the advice guys. oneshot..although fish OVER 20lbs is POSSIBLE im not rigged for that. im just looking to battle a couple 10-15lbers. anything over 5 ill be happy as could be. just looking for something bigger then my average 1-3lb channel cat. we dont have blues here. mainly all channels and some flatheads. ill try the chubs. then one time ill try bluegills. i can get both pretty easy. i know of tons of creeks loaded with chubs. they are about the only thing that lives in the creeks too. one creek close to here i know of a couple holes within 100yds i can get bait for a whole summer easy. i just think chubs would be the more natural bait around here being bluegills arent in my waters. but ill give them a try too. i know if i eat hamburgers all my life and someone throws a chicken to me im going to eat the chicken in a hurry just because it looks tasty! lol...ill try to find some bigger hooks. i just love the kahles. and all i can find is 1/0..my next mail order ill order some just for the occassion. but till then i think 1/0s should work alright. it may take me a little bit to find bigger fish.

RE: catfish bait..
 

another good hook if you can find them are "whisker Stickers" they are khale style hook with double barbs and come in size 1 and 2/0, honestly you dont need a hook bigger then 2/0 I caught my biggest flathead of 35lbs on a 2/0 whisker sticker. these hooks are great seems 9 out of 10 times they hook the fish right in the side of its mouth right where you want it and the double barb stays put Ive never had a fish throw one of these and you almost have to always use pliers to pull the hook out.

heres a link so you know what to look for:

http://www.strikeking.com/catalog/ca..._page_33.shtml

RE: catfish bait..
 

Be sure to match the hook to the size of the bait! If you only have 4" long minnows you should go with a size 2 hook. A 1/0 hook would be good for 6" plus minnows.

RE: catfish bait..
 

Creek chubs work great, hook them through the back, right behind the fin.

RE: catfish bait..
 

The biggest flathead and channelI ever reeled inwere caught on a shad head. I have tried other fresh and live baits, but I have had the most success with a medium size shadhead or midsection on a circle hook.

Other type of baits I have some success with, large minnows (either alive or just the head), nightcrawlers (easy, cheap, and work great during the floods), and the old time stink bait (always fun, but the biggest I have ever caught wasonly 12 lbs. channel).

Good luck and go get them cats.

RE: catfish bait..
 

they could still str8en it out buddy bud i have been catrching the 60 lbers so i have tohave a big hook go to eagle claws website and order some of their lazer sharp khales SP great hooks all around and they go up to 4/0 biggest cat i caught this year was 20 lb blue on shad so it is a great bait as w2ell if you can get it

RE: catfish bait..
 

Around here, when i want to get after the better sized cats, it's either creek chubs or bluegills. Chubs are easier for me to get becuase my grandparents have a creek right in their back yard. Go get some of em and you shouldnt be dissapointed. Be warned though, when you use big bait like that a very big fish is a possibility. You said you werent rigged for anything over 20 pounds, just a few years back i took a 46 pounder off the bottom on a creek chub. I have caught my share of 5-10 pounders, but at any time a monster fish is a possibility. Just keep the drag as light as you can get away with.

RE: catfish bait..
 

thanx for the tips guys. i can probbbbbably fight something over 20lbs if i keep my cool and do my part correctly. my "cat rod" is a cheap walmart special. big ole fat rod and giant spinning reel on steriods. i got 17lb stren on it. i reeled in a GIANT GIANT snapping turtle with it. had to weigh close to 50lbs. just gota play the drag right with a good sized fish. i dont know when or if ill make it out any time soon. workin like a fool for a bow. when i aint working i am in charge of my yard duties so i tend to that and catn keep up lol. im tryin! but i wanna get out fishin sometime soon!

RE: catfish bait..
 

Chicken Livers

RE: catfish bait..
 

Nothing wrong with that Mauser, my catfish rod is also a walmart special. Its a 7 foot shakespeare with a shakespeare reel, but if you put the right line on it and use the drag right, it gets the job done. Thats what i caught the 46 pounder with. Myself, i like 50 pound spiderwire braided, and i use big eagle claw circle hooks. The key though is that drag, just keep it as loose and you can get away with and let the fish fight himself out. 17lb test line is more then enough to land some bigger fish.

RE: catfish bait..
 

Hotgogs...don't laugh 'till you try em! cut it 1" long and put it on a 2/0 circle hook, and keep your hand near your pole!

Opps, I meant hotdogs!

RE: catfish bait..
 

It doesn't matter the type of rod you use as long as you take your time and don't try to force them in. my cousin is a fishing guide in South Texas and all he uses is cheap Shakespeare spinning reels for everything from speckled trout to tarpon. I've caught 40" reds on these reels with him, and there's a picture of him fighting a tarpon with it jumping over his boat in an old Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Though with something like that you need someone that knows what they are doing driving the boat for you. I fish with him for reds in the flats and they will strip off 100 yards off line before you can slow them down but you can catch them pretty easy as long as you are patient. It is probably the most fun you can have fishing.

RE: catfish bait..
 

A favorite dish to use on pike rigged the same way,On a bobber or off the bottom....

I think the location you fish, has a lot more to do with how many fish you catch and how big they are instead of what bait you decide to use...I have caught cats on everythingI thru out to them if they are abundant in the area I am fishing...

RE: catfish bait..
 

Good Call Rebel Hawg - You can't beat chicken livers.

RE: catfish bait..
 

oh yeah you can vt a big cat will make you put chicken livers away anyday of the week and go catch some bluegill for bait like i said though 4/0 khale by eagle claw on the web

RE: catfish bait..
 

Chicken livers are a great bait when i want to catch a quanity of fish, or am looking for fish to keep and eat. Around here, the channel cats simply cant leave that stuff alone for more then 5 minutes. But up till now, i have yet to have a single flathead take chicken liver as bait, and i have never caught anything over about 7 pounds with liver. So if it's size i am after i normally always go with some sort of live bait, either a creek chub, bluegill, or sometimes softcraws.

To the guy that mentioned hot dogs, i too have heard of people catching cats on them. I seen a recipe on the internet one night that involved chopped up hot dogs put into a jar of red jello and garlic powder. Dont know how it would work around here, but i could probably get a carp or a channel to take it.

RE: catfish bait..
 

Basically any small fish hooked through the back.

RE: catfish bait..
 

If your waters are teaming with catfish and you want a hog...I'd throw out a large shiner. I was fishing a couple of years ago for bass. I tossed out a big ole shiner and caught a nice 37 " Blue catfish. I gave it away. I didn't have a scales but wiould estimate it to be about 20 pounds. I've caught many nice ones on minnows as well.and minnows are much cheaper. But the big boys...love big shiners.

RE: catfish bait..
 

Should you hook em through the back? We always put the hook in its mouth, them run it inside its body all the way down til just before the tail and poke the tip out.

RE: catfish bait..
 

It depends on if you are fishing with them alive or dead. We hook ours through the back if we are using perch or through the lip if we are using shiners and let them swim around.

RE: catfish bait..
 

I was told two things about fishing for cats and both hold still hold true.
1. If you want to catch big cats you must use big cat bait
2.If it don't curl your toes when you smell it, its not catfish bait!

RE: catfish bait..
 

I agree, we used to use perch the size of your hand for bait or shiners up to a foot long. We just got back from fishing offshore and the guy next to me was using a 1 pound snapper for bait. He had soemthing hit it but he missed the fish. We've had 1 pound bass on trotlines we caught that something tried to eat and you could see where it swallowed it up to the head and couldn't get it down.

RE: catfish bait..
 

Should you hook em through the back? We always put the hook in its mouth, them run it inside its body all the way down til just before the tail and poke the tip out. Dairy King

Please forgive me for being so late in replying . I'd forgotten about my reply. I use about a number 2 worm hook ...Mustad ..and hook the shiner about 1/8th of an inch below the dorsel fin,{Fin on top} Mine seem to swim for a bout 1 hour like that. When your bobber goes under you don't have to cross the fishes eyes. The shiner is deep in thier mouths. Just raise the rod up frimly and keep the rod bent.
c7

RE: catfish bait..
 

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RE: catfish bait..
 

The expression cross the fishes eyesare fishermen who set the hook like thier trying to set it though a cinder block. That is not necessary. I see it more like setting a hook into a cloth sofa couch. If you rear back too much the rod will break or you will pull it out of the fishes mouth. The sofa is made of cloth. The material in a catfish's mouth is very soft. A good upward tug and steady pressure on Mr. Cat should do the trick. Don't get me wrong. My tug goes from the 10:00 position to the 2:00 position but I'm not going through a cinder block.
c7

RE: catfish bait..
 

Ohh ok, thanks. I was thinkin it had to do with the way you moved your rod when you set the hook, I was picturing in my head some wierd movement, but wasnt gettin it.