A few Catfishin Question

[DailyAngler]

I am feeling a little overwhelmed by the options when it comes to presenting bait for catfish. I am new to catfishin but i am intrigued by the possibility of big fish and the taste.

So, with slow drifting minnows and attractor beads is a slip-sinker rig prefferable? Do you set the hook right away or do you hesitate and let them eat it? Treble or single hook? is stink bait worth the smell? Do they hit jigs when swam, bounced or dragged on the bottom?

I like to fish Willard, Utah lake, and the Jordan river for cats. I have tryed mostly stink bait and worms slip-sinker rigged mostly in the off season with little luck. Any help is great.

Thanks,
Eric
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]You can catch cats on almost anything...at one time or another. But there are a few things that will work more often...especially in Utah.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First of all, forget the stink bait. Yes, you will get bites and you will get a few fish. Some folks around here swear by it. Always a matter of opinion. But the cataholics I know generally prefer some form of "natural" bait...and the fresher the better. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Utah cats are no different than cats anywhere else. They will seldom turn down a meal of dead meat...animal, fowl or fish. But they are also active predators and often hunt, chase down and eat live food...worms, crawdads, minnows, amphibians and even rodents.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish both Utah Lake and Willard a lot. I usually drag around a dead minnow with no weight on the line other than a swivel and a couple of beads...just enough to offset any buoyancy of the minnow. And I poke a few holes in the minnow both to pop the air bladder and to release more scent into the water. I also use small strips of carp meat or white bass meat. Also like perch meat when I have it. And all that stuff will also pick up white bass, walleyes and bullhead cats too. Ya never know.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish without weight and I leave the bail on my spinning reel open...with a loop of line under a plastic clip. When a fish grabs the bait they pull the line free and they can swim off with the bait. When I think (hope) they have the hook inside their mouths, I close the bail point the rod at the departing fish and let them pull the line tight. Then I set the hook. With a circle hook you just start reeling.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I use small (size 2 or 4) single hooks...usually Eagle Claw #84 ring eye...bronze or red finish. If you rig right, with the hook point exposed...and let the fish pull the line tight before setting the hook...you will hook a high percentage in the corner of the mouth. Just like a circle hook. But if they swallow it you can just cut the line and retie. If you are using big baits for big fish then circle hooks or large size (2/0 - 6/0) octopus style hooks are good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lures? I catch a lot of cats on crankbaits and plastics I am casting for other species. They especially like the small tube jigs I fish for white bass...especially with some worm on the hook. As mentioned, cats are active predators. They have better sight than most folks think and they have a sensitive lateral line that helps them feel vibrations. Add some "sweetener" to your lures and you have a 3-way shot at getting their attention.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During the warmer months, the cats are closer to the shoreline...reeds or rocks. That is when you can do well by fishing your bait about 2 to 3 feet under a bobber...right next to the cover. The cats spawn in May and June...in the rocks and reeds...and then stay around to feed on crawdads and small fish until the water level and/or water temps drop too low in the fall. You can also find them cruising shallow flats in warmer weather and the bobber rig will work there too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Cats are not really all that finicky. I have seen them caught on some of the wierdest rigs you can imagine...and on every kind of bait possible. But to get the most and biggest fish you will usually do better with natural baits and natural presentations.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Shoot me a PM and I will send you a more detailed writeup on Utah Lake Catfishin'.[/#0000ff]
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[macanudo]

Hey tubedude, thanks as always for being so generous with your expertise. If I'm not out of line, tell me about the clip you use to hold your line.

Mac
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have a "bait rigger" setup on the front of each side of my tube. It holds the rods slightly up and out. I fish with the bail open and the line back under the clip in the picture. The clip is the back end of a plastic fork or spoon...taped with white electician tape. [/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

AND......a #12 Haresear with a Type III fly line


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[Boatloadakids]

Tubedude always covers a request from top to bottom with his knowledge of fishin' matters so there is not much to add other than some personal preferences. All of my catin' is done at Utah Lake. My favorite cat bait is a nice fresh chunk of carp meat. The bloodier the better. It stays on a large hook well and if it is big enough the mudders will leave it alone. I fish mine on the bottom with no weight -- always with the bail left open. Have had a couple of close calls while fishing two poles when one was left with the bail closed and a big runner came calling. Favorite time is the May and June spawn time Tubedude mentioned. Favorite spot is near Bird Island at night with a full moon. The skeeters are not too bad and the bigger cats seem to come in to the shallow water to feed. Great time!
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[catman432]

Here in NC what I use to catch cats is really simple rig;I just use shrimp rigged on a simple drop hook.Try this,take a 2.0 hook tie it about a foot or so above the end of your line (catfish don't always feed on the bottom) take a snap swivel tie it on the end of the line.Egg sinker preforable.It will slide some which is what you want it to do.This works good for channel cats.Now,if you fish for big blues, or flatheads, the rig is a little different.Take a large pencil float tie a bobber stopper above the bobber.Thread the line through the bobber,set it about 25-30 feet deep.use a 2.0 or a 4.0 hook tie on the end.Now, check local laws regarding live bait use.But,here we can use goldfish for bait,but in most cases you can use cut bait live bait just works best.If you can use live bait it's important that you hook it right.Hook it in the tail far enough in the body that it hooks well,the turn him loose.Watch the bobber when it goes down,wait a full 3-4 secs before you set the hook.Special note we use 30-40 lbs test on our catfish poles.Let me know how it works for you.
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[DailyAngler]

Thanks a lot guys, now i feel like i have a solid fishin strategy to start with. The information here is allways appreciated.
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[gettingthereok]

just go west of the trees south of the north marina at willard and drag a minnow you will catch all u want.nothing to it u dont need anything fancy,some good lazy fishing,good luck
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[kyLURE]

I am wondering if someone would expound on the "minnows" that you all are referring to. If it's not too much to ask... Are they caught or purchased? Are the chub or carp or.. Thanks for any feed back!
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[fsh4fun05]

kyLURE-I'm not the cat fisherman that some are known as but the fresher your bait the better it is in my opinion. I like to catch a carp and fillet it with the skin on or use freshly frozen Utah chubs for bait. Sportsmans Warehouse has chubs in the freezer and they work pretty good, you can also buy carp fillets.
I choose to trap/catch my own minnows and carp because in my head I'm saving money and having fun at the same time but at $3.99/gallon for fuel I think I'm going to drive a couple miles to Sportsmans instead of 30-50 miles to catch them myself. Ugh, that's depressing.
Dudeman that started the post-sorry for getting off track. Are you going to be fishing from the shore or from a boat/toon/tube?
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[TubeDude]

[quote kyLURE]I am wondering if someone would expound on the "minnows" that you all are referring to. If it's not too much to ask... Are they caught or purchased? Are the chub or carp or.. Thanks for any feed back![/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]There are several kinds of minnows available in different spots in Utah...and legal to use for bait. Chubs are the most common, legal to use (dead) almost anywhere and are good for almost any predatory species. You can also use fathead minnows and carp fry (dead) almost anywhere. You can use baby white bass in Utah Lake and small perch in any water where it is legal to use perch meat...except Pineview. No whole minnows allowed...of any species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I catch my minnows with either a cast net or with minnow baskets. But if you don't have a good spot to catch them, don't have the tools or don't want to spend the gas money for them...go to Sportsmans or other sources. I sometimes have a surplus that I sell for $2 a bag.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are the two ways I rig my chub minnows, depending upon how I want to present them and/or how the fish are taking them on any given day.[/#0000ff]

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[wormsinker]

Dont forget the lazy man way which is a egg sinker above a 1/0 hook or close to size, with anything that is fishy smelling for bait. Throw it out, lay down the pole and grab a nice cold beer and wait.
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[Springbuck]

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[#0000ff]Here are the two ways I rig my chub minnows, depending upon how I want to present them and/or how the fish are taking them on any given day.[/#0000ff]

This is what I would like to understand better. When you say "how the fish are taking them" does that mean aggressive/not aggressive or does it mean sometimes they like to nibble the head and then other days the tail?
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[Utcatman]

Here's my input. ... i use different styles of cattin for different types of water, it also depends on how large of cats your looking for. If I'm fishing a lake I'm using no weight or a tiny split shot..and you Can get away with using mushy soft stanky baits like chub or shiner.. or if I'm fishin a river like the bear or Jordan I'm using a slip setup or a three way rig, depending on the current. For instance right now the bear is roaring and I use up to 2 oz to get it to hold in the holes I like to fish, in This case I use a pyramid or no roll sinker on a 3 way rig with a sturdy bait like carp or sucker meat. When the water drops in the bear in the summer I use little or no weight .

Selecting hook size depends on the size of bait You intend to use and the size of cats Your chasing.. I use 0/2 to 0/5 circle hooks on the bear, but I'm also using 3-6 inch whole carp or sucker, or slabs of carp and sucker filets And I rarely catch cats under 3-4 lbs and up to 20+lbs. If I'm fishing smaller baits like 1-2 inch strips of meat for smaller cats like at Willard I typically use sz 4-2 owner mosquito hooks very sharp and work great!

As for bait selection. .. the best baits for me are FRESH go buy a cast net and start chuckin! See what kind of forage is available.. the fresher the better. If That's not an option then hit up sportsmans and see What the have got frozen, they usually have Chubs, shiners, sucker slabs, and anchovies.. all of which work well, Or even pick some up while grocery shopping, I've done well on cut talapia, raw shrimp, even Wheaties balls with strawberry jello mixed... the smaller cats aren't real picky, its the ones that get over ten that get a lil finicky. Also if Your looking for large cats, plan on some after dark excursions!
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