11-02-2006, 05:10 PM
First of all, what a great and informative post fishhound! [cool]
As for me, I love catfishing. It's one of the more relaxing types of fishing, especially if you're doing so from the bank or dock. Myself, I fish primarily from a boat; so it's only relaxing once I find the fish.
I do things a little bit different than you though. I use much beefier tackle for starters. I also use ugly stix rods, but I use the medium action "Intercoastal" model. I also prefer bait casting reels spooled with heavier line. I have twin Abu Garcia 6500's spooled with either Berkely Big Game 20 lb or Ande. I'm actually trying to use up the little bit of Berkely i've got and spool them up with Power Pro when I get a little extra money. That's some tough line.
I fish almost exclusively on the bottom, or not far from it during a drift. I use a carolina rig with a 12 to 18" long 7 strand steel leader. On the end of the leader I usually use atleast a 7/0 circle or Kahle hook.
Why such a heavy outfit you ask? Well, the cats get big down here. 40 or 50 pound blue's or flathead's are quite common, and would tear the average lite tackle outfit to pieces. Especially where I fish I need heavy gear. I'm usually within a few feet of a bridge pilon or lots of submerged stumps and limbs. If you don't have tough enough gear, they'll tangle you up; and that's all she wrote. Initially, I power the fish out of the structure, keeping my rod tip up fairly high as to attempt to keep him from diving back down. Usually, this tactic forces them to run sideways instead of down. Sometimes I have to give and drop the rod, but not often.
As far as bait, I use nothing but live bait. Exclusively....... Live bream, shad, crappie; what ever I can get my hands on that's kicking. I like them about hand sized or bigger. I hook the bait directly behind the dorsal fin and above the lateral line.
Alot of times i'll drop a rod or two down for channel cats as well. My favorite bait is definately chicken livers. Next best would be night crawlers. I've never really had much luck with stink bait. I use the same rig that I do for the big boys, just down sized to match what Fishhound normally uses.
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As for me, I love catfishing. It's one of the more relaxing types of fishing, especially if you're doing so from the bank or dock. Myself, I fish primarily from a boat; so it's only relaxing once I find the fish.
I do things a little bit different than you though. I use much beefier tackle for starters. I also use ugly stix rods, but I use the medium action "Intercoastal" model. I also prefer bait casting reels spooled with heavier line. I have twin Abu Garcia 6500's spooled with either Berkely Big Game 20 lb or Ande. I'm actually trying to use up the little bit of Berkely i've got and spool them up with Power Pro when I get a little extra money. That's some tough line.
I fish almost exclusively on the bottom, or not far from it during a drift. I use a carolina rig with a 12 to 18" long 7 strand steel leader. On the end of the leader I usually use atleast a 7/0 circle or Kahle hook.
Why such a heavy outfit you ask? Well, the cats get big down here. 40 or 50 pound blue's or flathead's are quite common, and would tear the average lite tackle outfit to pieces. Especially where I fish I need heavy gear. I'm usually within a few feet of a bridge pilon or lots of submerged stumps and limbs. If you don't have tough enough gear, they'll tangle you up; and that's all she wrote. Initially, I power the fish out of the structure, keeping my rod tip up fairly high as to attempt to keep him from diving back down. Usually, this tactic forces them to run sideways instead of down. Sometimes I have to give and drop the rod, but not often.
As far as bait, I use nothing but live bait. Exclusively....... Live bream, shad, crappie; what ever I can get my hands on that's kicking. I like them about hand sized or bigger. I hook the bait directly behind the dorsal fin and above the lateral line.
Alot of times i'll drop a rod or two down for channel cats as well. My favorite bait is definately chicken livers. Next best would be night crawlers. I've never really had much luck with stink bait. I use the same rig that I do for the big boys, just down sized to match what Fishhound normally uses.
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