Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for catching catfish in the local community ponds and Utah lake? My brother and I are planning on catfishing all week and any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
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Frist buy a case of beer bag of shrimp and chickliver and lots of bug spray find a spot cast out and wait if no luck after 25 mins move two hundred yards sooner or latter u will find them
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LOL that about sums it up!
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Two schools of thought - float under a bobber, or lay it on the bottom (not that there aren't other options). I like bobbers myself. But that's also in maybe 3-4 feet of water. You can use a 3-way swivel, but I think better is a sliding sinker tied above a 2-way swivel, with a bead to catch the impace. Then maybe 6" to a foot of leader below. Leave the drag loose, or pup the bail - so they can take it and run, then tighten down and get a good hookset.
Under a bobber I often go with a bead/blade combo. I know TD likes his alternating color beads, and contrast is a good thing. For the murky chocolate waters I frequent - hammered gold seems to be a go-to blade color.
I've come to prefer the octopus or circle hooks. Don't really use trebles much.
for local ponds use a #6 or 8 treble with no leader or swivel, or 4-5 foot leader with slip sinker. On the treble put a 1/2-3/4 inch slice of hotdog. Slide the hook eye up through the center. Once all the hooks are buried be sure the line is centered between two hooks and pull it up through the hotdog. This keeps as much hook in contact with the dog so you dont cast it off.
Once you cast only take the coils out of line or leave bail open depending on breeze. Also use the cheapest .69 cent dogs you can find at WINCO, they must have the scraps from the floor on them. I have watched my youngest daughter turn 3 dogs from a pack into 10 cats on local ponds.
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the bobber idea is good if you're worried about snags but the sliding sinker and swivel is probably best in my opinion and keep that bait on the bottom. as far as bait, everyone has their go to, mine are spam balls, spam wrapped in egg sack material, but chicken livers, shrimp, or a good old smelly worm are staples. like others said, if you don't catch a fish within 20 or so minutes at utah lake when it warms up, than I'd move and keep trying other areas.
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I have had the best luck for channels using:
sliding sinker above a swivel, with 6-8 inch leader using a larger baitholder (single) hook.
baits that have has success are: raw chicken meat, raw shrimp and nightcrawlers.
I have caught channels at UL, but have had more success using the rig described above along the Jordan River.
Anyway you decide to do it, have fun. Those larger cats are a blast.
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How do you keep the chicken livers on the hook? You you guys mix them with doughballs or just use the chickenlivers? Also, why is raw shrimp better than cooked shrimp?
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Simple - raw shrimp has more "smell" than cooked ones. Cooking will remove the juices that will attract the kitties.
As for the chicken livers....I don't know, I have never used them. I have heard about people tying them in to pieces of nylon (i.e. panythose) and then threading the hook through it, but again, I have never tried it.
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Ya'll are forgeting white bass meat, that stuff is money when the cats are biting plus it stays on the hook for a while if you leave the skin on.
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I have also used white bass meat on the Jordan. It works as well, if not slightly better than shrimp. I usually save the bigger whities for eating though.
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chicken liver is my favorite bait to use on the jordan. To keep it on the hook during fast tides I like to use simple sowing string and i just wrap it around the liver and hook about 5-6 times then give it a tight squeeze thats good to because it seems to make the liver bleed out. I caught my biggest channels using this method on the jordan
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Where on the jordan is everyone going?
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well my stomping grounds is a whole bunch of spots around the area of the lehi bridge!
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Oh, that's not too far from me, not going to snake your spot, i'm just glad I'm not going to have to travel very far if all of the jordan river is good. Living in alpine my only close option are glenn park and manilla pond and I guess of AF Canyon.
It's tough to find places to fish in a new place. I knew where to go in Idaho most everything.
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glen parkk is one of my favorite community ponds. If you explore behind the lehi bridge like the new housing community there is spots all around there that anyone rarely hits up. If you fish near the shore with a whole worm or two on one hook, shrimp, or chicken liver your chances of getting a channel over 20 inches is very good once it warms up a little bit more.
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I will have to work my way down there. My work schedule is such that sundays are the only days I can get a full day in. Other than that I have like and hour in the morning, maybe two if I'm lucky, and either night or in the evenings on staurday every once in a while
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A 3-6 inch carp minnow on a 5/0 octopus hook with no weight and the bail open is money on UL also white bass works really good
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So, when I get a mess of white bass to filet, I take a minute and cut the.bellies off the carcasses. Belly meat doesn't stay with the filet, so YOU don't lose much, but it's oily and 2-3 on a hook makes a perfect sized bait for cookiecutter catfish in UL. Plus they're tough and good for cutting smaller for jig tipping.
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But be aware
1) White bass are only allowed on certain waters. Heck - I can't even legally use Perch on my cattin' waters, through rumor has it there ARE perch out there (gonna look Friday a bit!)
2) to fish two baits on two rods - be sure you have a 2nd pole permit. But - you can now have three hooks on a line in Utah, so I'm thinnin' to expand on my multi-option options.
I did pick up some catfish dough-bait balls - think it was through Ebay. Shrimp, liver - tied in mesh. But I double up chances - hook the ball, and nip the tip of the hook with a snippet of worm too.
Don't love 'em, but gonna try some chicken liver with magic string. Might just cook some up too for a shore-side snack! Bit of wing sauce . . . better than Gizzards! Chicken hearts make a meaty bit of bait, or bite...
Catfish are pretty omnivorous. Some folks think they prefer rotten stinky old stuff, but others claim fresh meat is a good meal.
Good luck! If there's lots of logs to get snagged on, you're probably in the right place!