# Advice for Ametuers



## hook line and sinker (Jan 7, 2007)

I fished for cats alot during summer, but this past summer was the first, so I consider myself a rookie at catfishing. I've been learning as much as possible and I fish with who I see as a pro (my grandpa) and he and I have had average to poor luck of hooking up with at least a decent size cat. Where we fish has a good rep as a catfish lake but so far the various baits, new spots, and devoted time leave us with nothing but hope. Got any sugguestions for hooking up with the fish of 1000 casts... lol Any help will be much appreciated. :B 

Location- lakes, depth= 15-50ft
Boat or Bank- Both (preferably bank)
Baits- Crawlers, gills, chicken liver, and doughballs w/ the liver blood
time of day- Night
fishing time- usually 3 to 4 hours depending on bite
gear- standard/basic
patience- plenty
years of experiance- me= to few to count, Grandpa= most of his life


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## catfish_hunter (May 31, 2005)

Go to a River...IMO I think they are alot easier to catch in the rivers than they are in the lakes BUT I dont fish the lakes much either...Where are you located??


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

To start, where do you normally fish? Do you fish from the bank or a boat? What baits are you using? What type and size of hooks do you use?

All of these factors are important before good advice can be given without just being very general.


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## 01mercLS (Oct 28, 2006)

neocats1 said:


> To start, where do you normally fish? Do you fish from the bank or a boat? What baits are you using? What type and size of hooks do you use?
> 
> All of these factors are important before good advice can be given without just being very general.


Neocat is on the money, thats exactly what I was gonna ask.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

You can read this and then go from there.

Catfishing Facts


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

That was a good article katfish. Thanks for sharing my sentiments.


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## hook line and sinker (Jan 7, 2007)

I've edited my question, please view and give feedback


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## Weatherby (May 27, 2005)

You say you are fishing at night. Have you tried during the day?

Some lakes are better during the day while others are better at night.


What species of cats are in the lake? 

How are you fishing the baits? On the bottom? Floats?


Other baits to try:

Spam, minnows, catalpa worms, shad, goldfish.


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Where exactly are you fishing?

As with all advice, it is based on each persons experience and what works for them. The trick is to take everything into consideration and use bits and pieces to come up with what works.

When I'm fishing on a lake from the shore, I always use sturdy rod holders. There is no reason to lose a good outfit. I usually use 30-50 lb. test line with just enough weight to get my bait out to where I want it. Which sometimes is 3-4 ft from the shoreline. Cats are not necessarily feeding in the deepest hole in the lake. For hooks, I either use Daiichi circle chunk light 5/0 or Octopu Wide 5/0. These will work fine for any channel cat you night catch.
I rig my tackle in what I call a carolina rig. An egg sinker and a spli-shot about 18" up from a snap-swivel with the hook. The egg sinker is allowed to slide. When the fish picks up the bait, the only tension is that of your rod. I usually reel up all slack line so that I have a tight line. With circle hooks, the fish often will set the hook himself when taking off with the bait.
Another practice of mine at night. Low lighting. I keep the light really low and sometimes off completely. I will mainly use my lantern to see how to bait my hook or to remove the fish. It is my belief that you should never walk between the lantern and the water, causing your shadow to move across the surface. I think it might spook the fish seeing the movement. To help, I will usually use rod tip glow lights to better see my rod. I also tape a good bright flashlight onto the handle of my landing net to aid when landing your fish. I also keep the noise to a bare minimum. No radios or loud conversation. The rest will be the details that you find you like to practice.

If you are close enough to me, I would love to get together sometime and discuss catfishing and maybe go out for a night of fishing.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

if you are primarily fishing lakes , i would use shrimp for my first choice and then chicken livers for my second choice for channel cats. if you are targeting flatheads, i would use live bluegill or sunfish or some BIG live creek chubs !!! i use the standard slip rig. for the hook i use a 4/0 gamakatsu circle hook with about a 15 inch leader tied to a barrel swivel which is tied to the main line. i usually use a 1 oz egg sinker for the weight above the swivel so that it can slide up and down the line freely with no resistance. in a river i use a heavier egg sinker or no roll sinker anywhere from 1-3 oz depending on the current flow in the area you are fishing. when using the live bait i use a bigger 5/0 - 7/0 circle hook in most cases !!

as far as dimming your lantern or not using one at all, i have tried it both ways with the lantern cranking on high and with it dimmed as low as it will go or even off and i have not seen a big difference in the amount of bites that ive gotten. the only difference ive saw with the lantern turned down or off is the difference in the amount of times i trip over stuff or step on stuff and break it or fall on my butt !!!  i ALWAYS use my lanterns at whatever level is bright enough for me to SEE my rods and not strain my eyes , it is really up to who you ask on what people think on lanterns. my advice is..............experiment with it and see what works best for you, i would rather NOT step on one of my HIGH dollar combos and break it in the dark or trip over something and break my leg. 

GOOD LUCK hope this helps you out alittle !!!


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## Snobal (Jul 26, 2005)

Considering I'm pretty much an amateur myself, I'm not going to try to offer advice. I don't have much experience finding cats just enough luck to make some nights worth the while.

I did however want to post a link in here before we got onto a lantern discussion again. Thanks to TCBA for posting this a while back and to everyone who posted their opinions!

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32505


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Like I said at the beginning. Any advice that someone has to offer is just that....advice. Based on each person experiences and preferences. It does not make anyones way of doing it right or wrong. But hey, thats why some people fish in tournaments, so they can try to prove their way catches more fish.I offered my advice based on the fact that I do 95% of my fishing at lakes and very little at in rivers.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

yeah NEO that is why im on these boards because you can ask an opinion and get many different perspectives on a subject. i personally have never noticed much difference in how many fish i catch with a lantern on or off. but i know several people who throw a fit if you turn your lantern up to high or even on at all when catfishing with them, and they catch ALOT of fish doing things there way. thats what i find so interesting about catfishing there is SOOOOO many different techniques and methods that one person may swear by and other people swear at. i think it is really all trial and error and its a matter of what you as an individual have confidence in. thats why i recommend to any NEWBIE catfishermen to try everything and see what works for them. ive personally NEVER caught a catfish on any of the berkley catfish nuggets or catfish dough baits or any of that man made stuff but i HEAR that ALOT of guys use it and actually do pretty well with it. I will NEVER buy any of that stuff again but to each there own. oh yeah NEO hows things going with your club, do you seem to have a good number of guys interested in fishing ?? oh yeah there is a fishing swap meet in New Phila on the 21st you MIGHT want to put out a few fliers down there for your club. theres usually some decent fishing tackle to be had there too, it will give you an excuse to come down to the swap meet


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

WOW snobal i never realized that my lantern post got that big, i just looked back on it and it was HUGE !!!


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## Snobal (Jul 26, 2005)

Yeah - even if 1/3 of it was a comparison of bass to catfish! Personally I don't see how you can compare a bait fish to a game fish


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

I fish mainly the Ohio River but I also fish CJ Brown here in Clark County, have done it for a lot of years and the cats seem to follow the same pattern year after year.

Main forage on CJ brown is Shad, during the spring there is a die-off after the ice melts from the lake, this year it looks like it may not happen because of the mild winter as of right now I'm catching them in 3 foot of water, shallow water heats up quicker than deep, heat also brings Shad, and the Shad bring the Cats, watch for signs of the gulls diving into the water, I'm in a boat and I don't even hesitate to drive into the flock because I know the fish will be there.

Two basic rigs I use are floating under my "Doctor Bobbers", these are my favorites and the basic slip rig method with the bait right on the bottom and mainly targeting gravel shoals with mud areas nearby.

If you ever get the chance to get this way and fish CJ it is awesome in the spring, we have had some good outings on this lake, I have caught Channels as big as 20# and Blues as big as 22#, I have never caught a Flathead on this lake, but they are there cause I know of a guy that fishes this lake that put 15 of them in there ranging from 15#-35# Hey, hey. hey

I always fish during the daytime, at night the skeeters will carry you away on this lake plus I'm on the Ohio mainly at night.

I castnet the Shad right out of the lake and use them as cutbait, targeting as shallow of water as I can get the boat in, the best time for catching the good fish is when the weather is at it's worse, high winds from the south kicking up 1-2 foot waves, cloudy or even raining, under those conditions the bait seems to get moved to the Northern end of the lake and the cats follow right behind them.

Generally I have an extra seat on board the boat if you care to join me let me know.

Doc


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Hey Doc,
Thanks for the insight, but you know that introducing flats into another lake is illegal. Of course you didn't do it because that is not how we work.
Are your "Doctor Bobbers" an invention or improvement by you? How can I get a couple to try out?

You set a date to fish, and I will try my hardest to get down there. Of course it is quite a drive for me.

I am always willing to fish in new waters with people that are familiar with them and learn new tips on how to catch catfish.

I don't have a boat any more, so I am at the mercy of the cat gods. However, I am not a rookie and the water behind my ears has long dried up.

That doesn't make me a pro, because they all get paid to fish. I don't.


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

Neocats1,

Oh yes very much aware of it, but I told the guy what I was going to do and he said just don't get caught doing it on my lake, I'm at lunch from 12-1  

Follow this link for my Bobbers


http://www.hookedoncatfish.com/Bobbers.html

Doc


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## Snobal (Jul 26, 2005)

Doctor,

With that large of a hole for the line, what do you use for bobber stops?


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

The regular bobber stops because it butts up against a bead and the bead butts up against the top of the bobber.............Doc


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

hook line and sinker said:


> Any help will be much appreciated. :B


I'd like to suggest one heck of a line company: JBFishing. They make Vicious Fishing line as well as Mossy Oak Brand Fishing line, however the Mossy Oak is being phased out to make room for the new Vicious. I think this is some great line. The customer service from this company is like nothing you've ever seen before. People like Dalem, Shakedown & others can attest to that also.

www.vicious-fishing.com
www.mossyoakfishingline.com


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## BobcatAngler (Jul 28, 2006)

Some great advice here...I don't mainly catfish, but picked up some great tips. Thanks all for posting!!!


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