# catfish bait help



## huntinanfishin (Apr 13, 2007)

Ok dont want to sound like the dumb guy but i guess if the shoe fits. I see alot of you talking about using cut shad as bait for catfish. Could someone explain that a little more. I love catfishin but all i've ever used is nightcrawlers and chicken liver. What kind of set up do you use for shad, keep it hooked, how big do the shad need to be? I figure the best way to learn is to ask. Any help would be greatly appreciated, like I said I love catfishin.


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## 01mercLS (Oct 28, 2006)

Cut a piece of the shad into a small piece on your hook, like you would with chicken liver.


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## Cat Man (Apr 9, 2007)

i found the best way is to bring some night crawlers, catch some blue gill and hook them through the back for flatheads and cut them inot 3 pieces( the head middle and tail) and use the middle part for channels


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Typically, catch shad with a cast net around marinas, walls, docks, anything with algae on it, then freeze or best if used while fresh, most guys cut the tail section off ( behind dorsal fin,, since there is no blood from there to the tip of the tail, then use poultry scissors or a sharp fillet knife ( being careful) to cut into half or 1" wide strips,and then use the heads for bigger cats, depending on size of fish you are after, if 3 lbs or better, then use a piece about the size of your thumb or bigger but if your after dinks, use a piece as small as a 1/2" square and much smaller hooks, I use 2/0 for smaller channels and as big as 6/0 for bigger channels ( 8/0 fr flatties) I like using Gamagatsu Octopus Circles but your milage may very. 
If you freeze them and then thaw them, if you do not use them and try to refreeze them, they will turn to mush.so just feed some cats with em if you got thawed bait you wont use, sometimes you can refreeze them 1 time if they were only half thawed but fresh is by far the best!! When you catch them, put them all slimy right into a zip lock bag to keep them moist while you are fishing, then keep on ice to kep the flesh firm.


Salmonid


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

welcome aboard . Where are you from and what waters are you fishing primarily.


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## huntinanfishin (Apr 13, 2007)

Thank you for the information. Will give it a try, see what happens. 

neo, I live close to Mt Gilead which is about an hour north of columbus. I fish knox lake, delaware the most. Have fished charles mill a couple times and usually a couple of us make an annual trip to piedmont. Most of my catfishin was done up north around sandusky bay and all the small streams around it when i was younger. Got hooked on cats, guess it's the fight they put up. 

Have caught a few nice cats at knox lake. Never really had much luck anywhere else but never really tried real serious either. I saw they have a catfish tourney at oshaugnessey reservoir. Never been there, is that pretty good fishin? (for cats)


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Only fished O'Shay twice earlier, so I can't comment on whether it's good or not, but I tend to lean towards yes. They are having a tourney Staurday night that I might try to make. Maybe we'll see you there.


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## Steelwolve (Apr 18, 2006)

I fish Oshay alot and its good for cats if you have a boat but the shoreline access offers little ability to try to focus on an area that might be holding them. Kind of cast and hope they are there. I have had most of my luck around the Home rd Bridge area from shore. From a boat look for the channel during this part of the year, and during the warmer months any log jams or visible structure are prime spots. Hope this helps.


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## huntinanfishin (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks for the help steel, gonna try to get down that way and do some fishin maybe even look at those tourneys, all else fails it will be fun. Thanks again!


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