River fishing help?

[Fairbanks696]

Hi there, this summer I'm planning on fishing one of the larger rivers in kansas. I'll be fishing for carp, drum, flathead, channel, and blue cats. I plan on fishing from the bank in a very popular spot. I was just wandering about some good techniques, and or bait that would give me a good chance of getting the big ones, mainly the cats. Please let me know!
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[idahoron]

I normally use cut bait. Our Snake River here in Idaho has cats and trout. I use trout for cut bait. The best advise I can give is get in the water. I use either a float tube or a inflatable pontoon. I mostly fish vertical and drag the bait very slowly. I use only enough weight to get it down. In most cases I am only using 1 or 2 pieces of split shot the size of a pea. I use a 4/0 hook and put a chunk of cut bait about the size of a silver dollar on it. I run the hook through the edge of the bait only once leaving a lot of hook exposed. I troll very slowly leaving a scent rail for the fish to follow. Float tubes and small pontoons can be found very cheep and are a valuable asset in finding and catching catfish. Here are some pictures of my son and I catching some cats in the boats. Ron










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[fishing177]

When river fishing for cats here in PA our groups likes to use chicken livers. You can either put them right on the hook or wrap them in nylons and attach the bundle to the hook. Hope this helps.
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[valley_sports]

Just curious, what river is it your planning on fishing? I grew up around Wichita and my family still lives there. When I go back to visit of course we always go fishing. I take it your fishing with a rod and reel, not set lines? When we go for cats we like to use live bait. We like to use perch, shad, larger minnows and sometimes chicker liver.
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[Tarpon4me]

Heavy gear and live bait = big catfish. A super good bait for monster flatheads is a small channel or bullhead catfish. Snip thier barbs with a pair of needlenose pliers, hook them through the back, and chunk them in a hole. Also, any live bait around the edge you catch that is natural to the local body of water is good. Bream, crappy, carp, etc...... I like hand sized baits. Use a carolina rig with a heavy hook, 8/0 or better. Good luck.
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