# Wanting to try out CATfishing...HELP



## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

My neighbor and I were thinking about getting into some Catfish fishing this summer at night on a local lake. Lake Arthur/Moraine in PA. We would typically be night fishing from his pontoon, the lazy man's way and with the kids. I've been doing some research on chumming, dough bait recipes etc. If you experts have any tips or techniques to share, that would be great! I got some scraps in the freezer of steelhead and walleye remains and plan on trying those out....do those in water night lights work for attracting cats or not? I was also wondering what would be the best all around hooks and rigging methods for the cats. I really appreciate any help gentlemen!! Thanks.

Paul


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## lucky1 (Jun 6, 2007)

This is all you need: from neocats1

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=90144

and maybe this...

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/comm...1&pp=40&sort=lastpost&order=desc&daysprune=-1


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Lucky, That's a lot of reading.

Shutup-If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.


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## lucky1 (Jun 6, 2007)

I read every word neo  . Of your posts, not the others. I figured he could skim through and find what he was interested in knowing; you did put nice titles above every part.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Ok guys...thanks in advance! Heres what I'm looking to do....mostly anchored up lake fishing. A specific Q I do have is What would be the best rig to fish out of a boat with live bait? Specifics would be nice....hook styles, size what kind of weight, or 3 way rig.......whatever...Thank you!


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## Flathead King 06 (Feb 26, 2006)

ShutUpNFish said:


> Ok guys...thanks in advance! Heres what I'm looking to do....mostly anchored up lake fishing. A specific Q I do have is What would be the best rig to fish out of a boat with live bait? Specifics would be nice....hook styles, size what kind of weight, or 3 way rig.......whatever...Thank you!


the best way to use live bait off a boat really depends on the fish.... if they are suspended... use a 3 way swivel and keep the bait off the bottom... or you can use egg sinkers both flat river sinkers and the round ones and put the bait right on the bottom.... or you can use slip rigs.... this is where you fish cover really well by trying different depths until you get fish to bite...

for hooks... I only use 3 types.... circles, kahles, and octopus all in size 5/0 up to 10/0.... I use circles when using cut bait on the bottom and lock my reels in place in a rod holder, this allows the fish to, the majority of the time, hook themselves, but the key to this hook is to not jerk when setting the hook, all that is needed is a slow sweep of the rod and steady pressure..... 

I use kahles when using larger live baits suck as goldfish and large bluegills when I am targeting large flatheads.... they work with cut baits but I like them for flatheads, and for hook sets, jerk away..

and the octopus is an all-around good hook.... used for both live baits and cut baits... and this hook is like any normal "j" style hook... just jerk and set it.....

all these hooks can be used on any rig as described....

for weights... a little touchier... depends on how deep you're fishing and the flow of the current... if you have heavy current, go with heavier weights, same as deeper areas... the shallower and the less the current, use lighter weights


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Thank you for the info! Okay...One last question!

Does anyone have a good all around catfish dough bait recipe that works well and you wouldn't mind sharing???? I'd probably prefer something fairly easy that the ingredietns are easy to get and easy to make. Thanks for all the info!! If you don't care to broadcast your secret recipe, feel free to PM....Thanks


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## Flathead King 06 (Feb 26, 2006)

ShutUpNFish said:


> Thank you for the info! Okay...One last question!
> 
> Does anyone have a good all around catfish dough bait recipe that works well and you wouldn't mind sharing???? I'd probably prefer something fairly easy that the ingredietns are easy to get and easy to make. Thanks for all the info!! If you don't care to broadcast your secret recipe, feel free to PM....Thanks


Hamburger and wheaties is about the best all-around dough bait for cats.... I cant count the number of channels I have caught on it... and it is "clean" compared to most stink/dough baits, and is cheap....


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Thats interesting...you could probably throw some other stuff in there as well, like ground up fish and garlic powder? Does it hold together well?

Flathead King,

How about chumming....how effective is it and is it worth doing?? Thanks!

Sorry about all the Qs


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Chumming will attract fish to your spot but sems to work on the smaller cats more than the larger ones.

I don't use any of the dough baits so I can't help you there.

I vital thing to remember is that catfish do not always stay in the deepest holes you find. Many people overlook the fact that catfish feed in shallow water along the shoreline.

I use a carolina rig, slip floats, and a float-modified carolina rig for almost all situations when fishing lakes. I use the three-way rig as a "drop shot" set-up in current and when the are a lot of snags on the bottom.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Neo,

Can you ellaborate more on your float-modified carolina rig? Thanks...


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

I put a slip float inline on the standard carolina rigs to allow the bait to be lifted off the bottom a little. Depth can be adjusted by leader length and float placement.


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## bassattacker (Mar 14, 2007)

the really only thing i can add is read neocats1's threads that hes posted about catfishing, very informational and helpful, the only thing i can say is dont make it hard or complicated just start out simple find out the pattern, find out what there foraging on and abunance of forage and type, i use mainly cut & live baits: gills (all kinds)/ shad/ goldfish/ bullheads/ crappie/ etc... rig wise i use pretty much the same as the rest.


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## bearlady (Jun 5, 2008)

Hello there all,

I am from the South and up here taking care of a really sick Uncle. He told me that there are some monster cats here in ohio, but unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to go fishing yet.

But my little trick is to take old chicken livers/gizzards and cut the toe out of a pair of ladies panty hose, and tie it with string, and hook it with a size 5/0 J hook and let it sit on the bottom, with a bell weight apropriate for the water condition.

Has not ever let me dwn.

Good luck!


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## bearlady (Jun 5, 2008)

ShutUpNFish,

Do not for get the lantern by the edge of the boat that seems to attract the fish also.


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## Flathead King 06 (Feb 26, 2006)

ShutUpNFish said:


> Thats interesting...you could probably throw some other stuff in there as well, like ground up fish and garlic powder? Does it hold together well?
> 
> Flathead King,
> 
> ...


Sorry for getting back on this until now, but for chumming we always too a bag of sauerkraut dumped into a burlap sack or onion bag and tied off the bank in the water.... acts as a good attractant for the eater channels.... and as neocats has already mentioned, you mostly attract just smaller fish.... other than that I have never really experimented with chumming, so I cant say if it would be effective or not with other types of chum

As for the prepared dough baits.... you can mix just about anything in them as long as you ad enough "bonding" ingredient (cotton balls, flour, etc...) that way the dough bait will stick together better....


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## hunted (Dec 10, 2006)

bearlady said:


> ShutUpNFish,
> 
> Do not for get the lantern by the edge of the boat that seems to attract the fish also.


if you are fishing for flatheads,even channels,you do not want a light at all.it tends to scare the bigger fish away,and also the shadows cast off it scares them too.complete darkness and quiet is the way to go,limited or no movement at all is a must.


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