# Winter channel cats???



## FISHIN216 (Mar 18, 2009)

how do i catch them in the quickly cooling waters? I have tried minnows, shrimp, cutbait, worms and even some gimmicky crap in a jar. do they just shutdown when temps get in the 40's


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

The channel cats bite year round...sometimes they get finicky and get in a funk though. We have had some strange weather this year. My go to bait is cut shad and that is pretty much all I use year round. Try fishing different spots and see if that doesnt help. Hopefully with the temperature dropping even more this week the bite will turn on a little better.


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

it's a weird bite lately, the bite will be on when the river comes up from the winter snow, wait til the water is muddy and up and find some snags


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

i do better in the late fall and winter with crawlers than anything else. dont no why, fresh cut shad works well too, try useing smaller pieces of shad and crawlers with # 2 octo gama, this time of year they bite better on smaller bait and smaller hooks. fish deep snags and holes with little current. Even the nice channels in the 4 to 6 pound range tend to peck instead of run with the bait. waiting for a nice run is usualy a waste of time. set the hook as soon as you feel them pecking or dead weight. hope this helps.


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## ajangsta04 (Aug 7, 2007)

Cut shad would be my first choice. I would downsize the size of the bait but i would also use 3-5 pieces.

good luck out there


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## steve91 (Nov 29, 2009)

channel cats bite year round. i catch them ice fishing sometimes. any kind of cutbait works good but i like fresh shad this time of year.


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## AnglinMueller (May 16, 2008)

steve91 said:


> channel cats bite year round. i catch them ice fishing sometimes. any kind of cutbait works good but i like fresh shad this time of year.


Any body ever try the GMR for them in the winter?


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

AnglinMueller said:


> Any body ever try the GMR for them in the winter?


really anywhere on the gmr has channels around, if you can find the right spots, you'll find the right fish


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## sliprig (Apr 6, 2004)

AnglinMueller said:


> Any body ever try the GMR for them in the winter?


I do, not much fishing pressure. Might be the ice flows hitting the boat

Slip


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## AnglinMueller (May 16, 2008)

Well thanks for the info guys. I think i'll get out and try for them sometime soon.


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