Catfishin Questions

[PowerBass]

I am new to Cattin'. Never went in my life. I got a King Kat Bait Kit from Cabelas for Christmas. It came with 5 or so trebel hooks, with 3 ft long leader, 21 egg sinker, river worms and charlies worms(plastic things) and 2 jars of dip bait or stink bait, I dont know. Anyways, It shows how to rige them, But how do ya fish em? Also how do you hold a catfish, I know those fins hurt, or so I have been told. I just want a nice hard fightin fish, and I think It may be a catty.

[JB]

I like using bluegill heads for catfishing, or take a bluegill and cut it and use a 1/2 - 1/4 sinker, one that the line can go through or just clip one on.
A 1/0 or 2/0 if ok, your preference for hook, You can use a slip bobber
(we call em donkeyd***s) and fish at a desired depth, or fish it on the bottom.
Also frozen chicken livers or night crawlers work fine, along with any store bought bait like you got.
I see guys throwing hotdog chunks out there too.
If ya want a big cat tho. , I'd throw out the bluegill.
How to fish it? I 'd throw it out and let it sit, and after you get bored with that raise your rod tip up and pull in a few feet of line, then sit the pole down again, bail open, and watch your line.. A cat will take some line out and stop, move some more, stop and so on.
Of course you'll get a running strike every now n then , so be prepared.
Also a chance you'll get a nice size bass on a bluegill.
Check with local DNR rules, using a bluegill for bait could be illegal in your area.
When I was a kid we used to get softcraws in july and caltalpa worms in the summer to catfish with.

[Fishie]

Alright you are going to rig the worms like a carolina rig with the sinker above a swivle atached to the pre rigged worms. Then you dip and cover the worms in the stinky stuff and throw it out in the middle of the pond. Best to throw about 4 rods out if the action is slow to cover more ground. Then wind up the slack and put the rod on the ground in a rod holder or take a tree branch and make a v and lay the rod on it. Watch the rod tip for bites. Set the hook hard and be ready to fight. You must play the fish with your drag. Hope this helps PB. Biggest cat I have caught is a 50lber out of a small lake. Big flathead.

[Bass_fishing_girl]

Try whiskerkitty.com great catfishing site.
San

[lovinfishin9]

nightcrawlers and chicken livers, ive never had any luck on the stink bait, just made the boat smell horrible for a couple weeks after it spilled.

[Hef]

You can hold a cat a few different ways. I prefer to pick him up from under the belly, with my thumb under one of his fins on one side and my middle finger under the the fin on the opposite side with my index finger on top of that fin. With the bigger cats you can lift them up from the inside the gills. Thats how we do it back in Oklahoma when we are noodling. Also, if you ever do get "stuck" by a cats fin (and yes it does hurt) take and rub where you got stuck on the cats belly. That nasty, mucus stuff acts like a pain reliever. Don't ask me how, just know it works.

[PowerBass]

so you can grab them like a pike? right in the gill area? what about lippin them

[zooker]

lip them .. although i don't know if there is 2 many catfish in nj. bull heads yes... this time of year dead bait -whole shad/alwives/brim on about 20" of leader -think carolina rig- near a channel drop or currant breaks.always hook the bait through the head brim between the eyes and the back fin. stink bait rarely works. once the water temps drop below 40 degrees all cat fish head for the mud where they sit. once the water temp hits 60 get a small crappie float and fish the top 2'feet down...

zooker

[JB]

Ya lip a cat, you're going to get CHOMPED down on, which if you've never had happen will startle you.
I reach under the lower lip and lift them by the bottom area of the gill.like this kid is doing
The two side fins or maybe one on top will sting ya it they brush up against ya.
Zooker, I am betting jersey has all the kinds of cats just like everywhere else, even ol' ugly flat heads. Even my uncle joe knows how to hold em!

[zooker]

lip them like a man jb... use only your thumb on smaller ones. i do it withh all of them. large flat heads have a lower jaw like a 2x4 just reach in and latch on...i have only had a couple blue cats clamp down on my hand which is NOT fun. kinda like slamming your hand in a car door. any cat fish over 10 pounds barbs are more like big rounded fingers which is a second hand hold. these fish are big and strong so hang on..
oh yeah jb this is a very live blue notice were my thumb is..



did not even flop as i hauled him out of the live well. me and him went round during the filleting though..
zooker

[JB]

Well way to go zooker,
I was looking at that cat thinking about when some blue cats chomped down on me, scrolled down to your pic and the ol lady here goes
WHO'S THAT HUNK!
shes packing to go your way any day now...
you stud muffin!

[zooker]

geee thanks.. jb like i need another old gal tellin me what to do.. 2 is enough you know..

zooker

[Hef]

Yoiu can lip'em, but be warned as its been stated, them big cats will chomp down on your thumb and it hurts! If your gonna lip'em, stick your thumb into the corner of his mouth and you can run your index and middle finger in through his gills and you can lock on to him that way.

[PowerBass]

okay thanks guys. I know the river has many cats in it, and I know ponds that have them in it. I cant wait to go in the Spring and Summer

[bassnman30]

Zook,
Your absolutely right about a blue cat. I lipped one once and he bit down and yes it felt like a car door slammed on it.
The best way that we fish for cats is to throw a net over a school of shad and then cut the shad into appx. 1 inch pieces. Don't keep the tails.
Just put the rods in holders and after appx. 2 hrs you may wish to move.
Use a Carolina rig, the hooks are wide gap and circle back into themselves.
With chicken livers, they throw off to easily and you catch alot of smaller fish. With live bream you can catch some big flatheads. They are also good for cut bait.

[skeeter944]

i have had succes with bread balls on a circle hook.only caught about 10 or so though.i would rather be bassin'!

[crankybait]

be careful with cats. caught a tiny one in india, on a small hook and a peice of cow turd. about the size of my palm, gettin the pot on new years... cvs is have a pic developing sale. but anyways, the thing like stabbed my cuz its mouth was too tiny to lip, and i picked it up by the belly. have a 2 cm long scar right by my thumb now. oh, and buy some berklely catfish powerbait. i had some monster rip a chicken liver with some of that right off my hook. i used a similar method to jugging. with the 17 pound test which i never use anywhere else, i caster a chicken liver 8 feet under a bobber. i let out some more line, and cut it. then, with a few kite string rolloers (equivalant to 20 cents each), i tied my line and mounted it in the ground. i had 6 rigs, each 7 feet apart. didnt catch anything, but most of the time, my livers were gone... i usually only mention what i catch tho