Welcome To Catfish Unlimited.Com
Learn more about the catfish, catfish farming, catfish cooking and just about everything related to catfish from the resources on Catfish Unlimited.com. Some common names for catfish - spotted catfish, river catfish, channel catfish.
|
|
Catching Catfish
Here are just a few different methods of fishing for catfish that I have used over the years to catch catfish.
|
I have been fishing for catfish most of my life and have learned a few tips and tricks and different methods to catch catfish. I`m not gonna tell you all of my secrets for catching catfish but I will help get you started.
Being a sucessful fisherman requires experience, dedication and most of all, patience. There is no substitue for experience when it comes to catching catfish.
Just remember this, no matter how good a fisherman you are, sometimes the fish just don`t bite, it happens to all of us at some time. Be persistent and learn from your mistakes and you'll have success catching fish!
The "whiskers" on a catfish are loaded with sensory cells that enable them to locate their food by smell. Take advantage of this by using baits with strong odors: chicken liver or gizzards, shrimp, cut mullet and commercial and home made stinkbaits.
Other baits work well too, especially earthworms. Many catfish become active just before dusk and at night, and fishing success is best during these times. Fish on the bottom with a sturdy #2 to #4 hook and a heavy split shot sinker.
Rod and Reel
There are a lot of things to consider when fishing for catfish with a rod and reel. Like what fishing rods to use when fishing for catfish, what type and brand of fishing reel to use (spinning, baitcasting, etc), what brand and size line to use, what type of hooks to use for catfish, where to fish for catfish, baiting the hole or chumming for catfish, and more.
Good old fashioned rod and reel fishing. Nothing gets the blood pumping better than a tangle with a big ole catfish on rod and reel. I spend most of my life fishing for catfish with rod and reel, and I wouldn`t trade that experience for anything.
Trotlines
Fishing with trotlines is a simple and effective method of fishing for catfish. Running trotlines is a great way to catch a lot of catfish. But, there is some work involved.
It takes a little work and preparation to set them out, but once you do, the fun never ends. Trotlines can be used in shallow water or deep water also in lakes, ponds or rivers, just about any time of the year.
Trotlines are commonly used to catch eating sized catfish, yellow catfish which are also called Yellers, Flatheads and other names, just depends on what part of the country you live in.
The trotline is made up of a long line, with hooks placed at set intervals along the line and anchored or tied off at both ends. Trotlines will commonly be 50-100 feet long and have anywhere from 25 to 50 hooks on them.
There are a lot of tricks to running trotlines. Some of the things to consider when setting and running trotlines is, location to set your trotline, hooks to use, the tension of the line on the trotline, how much weight to use, hook spacing and more. Most states have regulations on trotlines so you want to check your local laws about fishing with trotlines.
Juglines
Many of the "serious" catfishermen would rather use juglines over any other form of setlines. Jug Fishing is one of the most popular forms of setline fishing for catfish there is. Jug Fishing for catfish is fun, simple and fairly easy to do.
The advantages to jug fishing over setline fishing is that when fishing with juglines you can spread out your fishing jugs over a larger area. They are easy set and easy to move. Jug fishing is most commonly done for catfish from the eating size all the way up to huge trophy blue cats. Many fishermen will target huge blue cats with juglines and have a lot of success juggin for these big cats.
Jug Fishing is a simple and easy way to catch catfish and you can catch a lot of catfish, plus it is relatively inexpensive. All you need is a boat, some catfish bait and some fishing jugs and your ready to get started.
A jug line consists of a float, a mainline that`s adjustable for length, with a weight on the bottom, a float on the top, and hooks tied to leaders off of the mainline. Catfishermen also fish juglines "free floating" or "drifting". That way they can cover a larger area of water.
Most states have laws on jug fishing and juglines, so make sure you check the local laws in before you get started.
Juglines can be fished in deep water or shallow water and typically have anywhere from 2 to 5 hooks on them.
With Jug Fishing or "Juglines", there is no "sitting and waiting" like people often do when rod and reel fishing.
Bank Lines - Bank Poles
Fishing with pole lines (also known as bank lines or bank poles) follows closely to limb line fishing. Fishing with bank lines you cut yourself a few green flexible tree limbs about 6 foot long. About three quarters of inch diameter is good, and rig them up with line and hooks and find locations in the river or creek bank and shove them into the bank about 2 feet. Bait it up and come back in an hour or so and take off the catfish or flathead and repeat. Bank lines are very effective and work well for flathead catfish and channel catfish.
Limb Lines
Limb Lines are pretty simple. Just get into a river or creek and find a flexible tree limb that hangs over the water and tie a line to it with your bait hanging in the water. This is an effective method to use fishing for catfish in rivers, creeks and works well for channel catfish and flathead catfish.
Noodling
Fishing by hand is a unique and potentially dangerous type of fishing where the fishermen use their bare hands instead of any type of tackle to catch a fish, primarily a type of catfish.
To accomplish this, the “noodler” inserts a hand down into holes under mud banks, rocks, or inside of hollow logs in rivers, lakes, and ponds and wiggles those fingers in the hole until the catfish inside attempts to swallow the hand.
The noodler then must pull the fish onto land or a waiting boat without being pulled under. Two can often work as a team to catch a fish more easily.
Once a catfish is found in its nest, the noodlers must block off all exit holes with their bodies, rocks, or burlap bags. Once all other routes of escape are blocked, the noodler should uncover one hole just enough to reach their hand into the lair.
Extending a hand as bait, the noodler allows the catfish to bite down upon it. Catfish often spin in the water to tear and pull at meat, so attempt to neutralize the fish’s movements as much as possible.
The noodler can pull the fish out with the hand, poke a hole through the catfish’s lower jaw and run a rope through it to help pull the fish out with, or, if employing a hook, use it to extract the fish.
If using a rope, tie it to a tree or some other stationary object on land first. To noodle alone, requires that the angler be skilled and know the dangers associated, all of these techniques listed above should be followed.
Also, safety being more of a concern, a noodler of limited experience should have a safety line tied to a permanent object on shore to help in retrieval of the fish as well as pulling oneself free of obstacles in or under water.
|
|
