mauser06

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

HighDesertWolf

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.

Oneshot7

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

The Rev

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.

mauser06

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.

HighDesertWolf

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

Criggster

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.

gobbler afflicted

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

Scott/IL

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.

Oneshot7

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