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I'm a little bit of a beginner when it comes to catfishing. When I was little I fished on the Bear River and caught a lot of carp and a few catfish every once in a while. After eating a catfish...I fish a lot for them in the spring and summer. It's nice to get out in the middle of the night and sit. I sometimes catch them and most times don't. The fishing is fun and catching is even funner.
Now here's the question. What are the best holes for catfish? Where do they sit? Feed? I've hooked a couple of really nice ones and have caught one that went about 7lbs. I go through a million small ones and they are fun, but I was wondering if someone has any ideas on how to catch a few nicer ones. I usually use a two-way swivel with nightcrawlers on one hook and chicken livers on the other. How's the best way to rig it? I'm sure I'm missing things and I miss the hook sets a lot. I don't know what I"m doing all that much but it sure is fun to catch them and eat them. I hear that night time is the best time for it. Is that right? Is there any stink baits that I can use? I'm willing to try anything. I know a crawler will catch some and enough carp to keep me entertained. Any help would be great.
Flyfisher
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I like to fish the Jordan River at night.I use a big sliding sinker around 1/2 ounce or bigger stoping it with a swivel and about a two foot leader with chiken liver.It's not uncommon to catch cats in the 8 pound range and I know there's some really big ones in there.
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Hey catchandrelease it really depends on where you are fishing. If you're fishing at night, the cats like to move in shallow (at least in lakes like Utah Lake) and ambush baitfish if they can. They usually stay deeper during the day. I have found that the best time to catch them is right around sunset when they start on the move to shallower water. Everyone has a personal preference but mine is fresh carp or white bass meat. You should keep one of those carp you catch and cut up 1 to 2 inch chunks of it for bait -- leave the skin on but remove the scales. When you hook it, hook the hook through the skin as well. You'll never lose your bait to a fish by doing it this way. In fact, sometimes I catch many fish on the same piece of meat all night long, and then I have trouble getting the bait off my hook when I'm ready to leave.
I also use a two-way swivel. I put a piece of carp meat on one side and a worm on the other. I don't use any weight usually, but if you're in current such as in the jordan river it can be helpful to keep the bait on the bottom. By using a worm on one, you'll likely catch a bunch of mudcats to keep you entertained until the big monster channel bites.
You may be missing some hits by setting the hook too early. If you're getting bites, give it a little slack line and let them take it 5 or 6 feet out first, then set the hook hard. Make sure your hooks are sharp too, since catfish mouths can be tough. Another alternative is to fish with the bail open, that way when you get a bite the fish can easily pull line out without feeling pressure at the end and dropping the bait.
One other thing, last summer I found that I couldn't hardly catch any cats at night. I caught most of them in the early morning until about 10:00 am. Good luck and enjoy. Those large channels are a blast to catch! They leap out of the water, rocket towards sticks and brush, and can snap your line fast if they have size to them.
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I often use shrimp, cutbait and whole minnows to fish for channel catfish. I have found that by using a very large bait I can keep the little guys off the hook. Your catch rate will go down, but you will be able to attract larger fish. Big bait = big catfish. I have also found that the biggest fish tend to occupy the biggest holes and eddys in moving water. Just my dos centavos.
Good Fishing, Kayote
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Hey thanks fellas.
Now I have one more question. Where on the rivers do you fish? What kind of cover if any? On the deep bank or shallow part of a bend? The carp meat is a good idea. When will the start biting? I really want to get out and try it. Any other help would be great!
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Also,
at what temp. do they become more active?
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Please correct me if I am wrong guys, I do not like giving out bad information, and I have read anything above 60 they start getting really active.
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When you fish the river about where are you at, what south do you go in on most of the places I fish the river are very shallow. mainly just catch small whites, and walleys.
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I'm fishing the Bear River in Cache Valley. I have fished cutler and the Benson Marina. The biggest channels have been in the main chanell of the Bear. What kind of holes do they sit in?
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I fish from 4500S. all the way down to 2700S. look for bends were the water looks deep.
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well you got the right idea fishing in cutler... and the cats will be sitting in the deeper holes of the river channel until sundown then they move shallow.. sometimes as little as 1ft or so! but i usually fish around 4. good baits for cutler are baby carp, or carp meat, i have also found that the carp guts are a very good bait for the bigger fish. i hope i have been of some help.
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Hey Thanks TIBBZZ for the info I would love to get out but I need to keep it close to the homestead. I am working way to many hrs. this week to go to far away. I did drag out to bass boat and started to prep it for bird island or pelican trip next in the coming weeks. Thanks Wes.
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How do you rig a baby carp or carp meat? I've tried cut bait but I never got a hit on them. I probably did it wrong. I really want to catch a big channel. I would love to go with someone if they go out. I'm single so it doesn't matter how long I am gone or how late or early I go. If someone would like to go out...I would love to try it. I have a little boat and motor that can go just about anywhere.
Thanks!
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There are lots of ways to rig up cutbait or small minnows for cats. Everyone probably has their preferences too.
What I like to do is tie on a two-way swivel directly to my line -- no weight whatsoever. Then tie a leader or a snelled hook on one side and another on the other side. It's sometimes easier to first attach the snells/leader first and then tie the swivel to the main line. One one hook I attach about a 1" size chunk of carp meat with the skin still on (but NOT the scales). On the other hook I attach a nightcrawler.
The reason I do this is simple. Sometimes they're hitting carp meat more and sometimes they're hitting worms more. As a general rule, if you use carp meat you'll tend to not get any hits from mudcats and other fish. White bass will occasionally take a chunk of meat off the bottom. Usually though, I won't catch anything but channel cats off the carp meat. Off the worm, you'll most likely catch a lot of mudcats, but also white bass, channels, walleye and bluegill will take them too. It's kind of fun not to know what will hit next (although with a worm on the bottom it will usually be mudcats). I like this setup because obviously mudcats are more plentiful than channels, and so I'll keep myself entertained catching mudcats while waiting for a channel to come in and hit the carp meat. If I find I'm catching mudcats too fast and I'm not giving the bait enough time to draw in channels then I'll switch to carp meat on both hooks.
Hope this helps.
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I forgot the reason you don't want any weight or sinkers is that often a cat will feel the pressure from dragging a sinker around and will drop the bail before swallowing or before you can set the hook. You should be able to cast far enough since the bait weighs quite a bit.
If you do need to use weight try and use the slip egg sinkers or a slip bubble filled completely full of water. It's harder for them to detect.
Finally, you need to be in a good area for them. Sometimes they're just not there.
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Is it ok to use that rig even in the current on the river? That sounds good. How do you rig minnows? I'm strictly a fly fisherman except for cats, bass, and carp. So I don't know about the other stuff. If you could catch cats on flies I would, but it doesn't happen often so I choose to sink bait for them so I can eat em! Do the cats sit by cover? Or just in deeper holes? And when we say deep...how deep is that? I've gone around with my fishfinder and found some deeper holes in the river, but not on cutler. Any ideas where to fish there? I would love to try it!
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I've never been up there my experience is from fishing Utah Lake. In Utah Lake (shallow murky lakes), during the day in hot weather they often seek out the deepest, coolest areas, or hide in weeds that might offer shade and cooler water. They do feed during the day, especially during the morning. At night, they often move into the shallows to feed. I don't believe they are extremely structure oriented except during the spawn.
In current in a river yes you may need weight to keep your bait from drifting too far downstream and out of the deep. A sinker can be helpful there. I gotta go but tomorrow I'll give you some more info.
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If you're going to fish in current that can drag your bait downstream, it can be useful to rig up your bait with a two-way swivel with the bait on one side, and a bell sinker on the other ( the kind use for drop shotting). Use the smallest sinker possible that will still keep your bait anchored -- or at least that will slow it down considerably. Here's a crude picture of what I mean that I drew really quickly. Sorry it's sloppy I rushed through it.
[center] ![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3543;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3543;) [/center]
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cat_man:
How much weight on the bell sinker?
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Bountiful pond has been real good to me so far. Use just what you're using night crawlers and chicken livers. Stink bait works real well to.
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