Catching Catfish
 

I go to a campground on weekends and found out there are alot of catfish in a pond there. Everyone fishes for the Bass there but i was told there are some decent sized catfish in there for the size of the pond. Ive never tryed to catch catfish so my question is what kind of bait andwhat hooks? What rod should i use. I have everything from Ultra Light to Tuna rods woth 100+ pound line on them. They say the fish are between 24 and 40 inches.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

You could easily catch a 40 inch catfish on a bass rod. Well not easily but it would make for a fun fight. Anything from 14-20lb line would be fine... less if you want to be sporting. As far as bait goes it all depends on the type of catfish. Flatheads like live bait while Channels will eat pretty much anything. I don't have much experience with Blues but from what I have read they like cut bait (put me in my place if someone knows better!:D) As far as fishing technique I have usually just fished it on the bottom with an egg sinker basically carolina rigged but also have had luck with big slip floats and drifting the bait about a foot off of the bottom.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

I have a couple medium action rods that have 12 or 14 pound line on them. I use them for small blues when we go out on the boat. They are rigged with an 1/2 or 1 oz egg sinker and a snap swivel. If i make up some rigs for catfish would this be a good setup? What kind of hook should i use and what size? Can i make the leaders out of regular line or should i use Flouro Carbon? Should i use heavier line for the leader or will the same size line work?Im not sure of the type of catfish they are but they catch them ocasionally on night crawlers and ocassionally they have been seen going after smaller sunfish(4 to 6 in)in the swimming area. Im sorry for all the questions and thanksto anyone who helps.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Personally when I fish for catfish I use circle hooks just because I am using real bait and don't want to gut hook any of them as I don't eat them. I like to use hooks 1/0 and up depending on the size of bait I am using. As far as a leader goes I always make my leader less of a pound test than my actual line because should you get snagged then you only lose the hook and not the whole thing. Regular line should be fine.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

OK thanks. Ive never used circle hooks but have herd of them. Its catch and release only there so i will have to give them a try.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

If you decide to use a circle hook remember that you don't set the hook. If you just pull with steady increasing pressure the hook will set itself. Also with a circle hook you can give an extra few seconds for the cat to take the bait!

RE: Catching Catfish
 

For pond catfish I prefer to use some sort of pre-made dip bait. The treble hook that is required for thesemakeit tough for catch and release.

It seems I dont have very good luck with shad in smaller ponds where they aren't found. However they do still bite and you probably will catch some with it or any other type of baitfish for that matter. Circle hooks are very good for keeping the fish healthy and they keep the bait on good.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

I went and got one of my extra rod and went to Dick's and got 12 pound line for it. I also got 8 pound line to make leaders with. I rigged it with a 1/2oz egg weight and a swivel on the 12 pound line. Then about 2-3 feet of 8 pound line and a size 4 circle hook on the end. Dose this soundlike a good rig? Im going to try Nightcrawlers some and i can also get fresh bait earlier in the day when i take my nephew out for sunnys. What size sunnys should i use? Should i use them whole or cut? Thanks for everyones input so far.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Try them both ways and let the catfish tell you which they like best!

RE: Catching Catfish
 

like indiana says the bait depends on the species...since you say pond and are in PA i bet they are channel cats.

for channels my favorite has always been raw chicken liver. never had luck with store bought baits..also nightcrawlers usually work..and last year i started using creek chubs and big creek minnows that were dead.

i personally use Kahle hooks for all my catfishing. im a big time hook setter. i couldnt get circles to work because id always set the hook...its too hard for me NOT to set the hook. kahles work either way...funky shaped hook...but my hook up ratio went from 1 every once in a while missing 100 others with big J hooks to rarely ever missing any since i went to Kahles. make sure you sharpen them...even new. you gotta drive it through alot of flesh and meat thats tough stuff...walmart here usually has 1/0 Kahle hooks that will work well for you...ive caught upto 40 inch flatheads on them.

rods and reels...thats upto you...i get away with 8lb main line and 20lb big game leader on my small rod...caught this flathead on them(im 5' 10" 225..just so you dont think im just a small guy)...not the biggest...but a half decint one...was a blast on that setup...just gotta set the drag right...the bigger ones will take runs like no other fish in PA.



catfishing is a blast...nothing beats a night on the river catfishin!!

this is my biggest so far...he should get you excited...again...not the biggest...but compare him to the full legnth brick right behind him..thats a flathead as well. they get bigger than channels and i find big flatheads easier than big channels..good luck! post some pics when your back!

RE: Catching Catfish
 

I was up at the campground taking junk up for my party in a couple weekends and decided tot ake a walk around the pond (They call it a lake but its a pond) and saw a few of the catfish that are in the pond. They were in the swimming area. Im not allowed to fish for them there but i counted about 15 mixed in with the other fish species. I cant wait to go try to catch them.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Well i just got back from the campground and i only caught 1 catfish. It was about 15in. I spent around 6 hour fishing for them using fresh fish for bait and nightcrawlers. I caught 26 bass on the rig i had for catfish. I was using a spinner to try to catch bass or whatever to wast time waiting for catfish and caught my only catfish on a yellow roostertail.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

What time were you fishing for them?

RE: Catching Catfish
 

From about 930pm or 10pm until 1am on Fri and Sat.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

retaks...try chicken liver next time. can find it in the super markets with the meats. not chicken gizzards...make sure its liver. its like a dollar a pound or something..just hook it a couple times and throw it out to the bottom.

what kinda catfish was it?? still guessing they are channel cats...if so i found chicken liver hard to beat with nightcrawlers a close second when they are in the mood for them...i usually take both and see what they want that night and fish that bait. both keep forever in the fridge and are cheap...i havent found anything better for channel cats

RE: Catching Catfish
 

indianahunter83- Yeah, Im still trying to get into the habit of not setting the hook with circle hooks. It is so hard not to since that it has always been a must in good setting.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

just like mauser said in a pond like that chicken livers should bring home the bacon

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Just a little tip if you use chicken livers, they can sometimes be a pain to keep on the hook so what i do is take some old pantyhose and cut to size and put the liver intie it up and place on the hook! Good Luck! ohh..... some butchers at the market have chicken livers and junk that they sell just for catfishin might be something to check out??

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Yea i will give chicken livers a try. Im not sure what kind of catfish it was. I really dont know much about them.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

generally for catfishing 10 to 15 lbs line is sufficient. Ive landed some rather large fish on 10 lbs test I once landed a 16 lbs halibut on 10 lbs test. and Ive seen some reel miracles like my buddy rob landed a 33 lbs flathead on 6 lbs test. for 24 to 40 inch catfish id probably go with 12 or 14 lbs line and call it good. alot of us have 20+ lbs line on our cat fish rigs but thats usually because were after big boys in the rivers and are expecting 30+ lbs flatheads.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

ive tried using panty hose with chicken livers and sometimes the catfish just wont have it. I however found calves liver to work quite well its tougher than chicken livers and stays on the hook a ton better.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

I have used cheese hotdogs with the same success as chicken liver. try it, you'll be surprised. It also stays on better.

RE: Catching Catfish
 

Someone at the campground said to use hotdogs or sausage to catch them.