catching channel catfish

7thswan · #1 04/19/09, 08:54 AM

A friend has said DH can fish all he wants , in his stocked pond. It is stocked with channel catfish. So far tried worms and cheeze-no luck. Please give me some hints. Thank you all.

Shushy · #2 04/19/09, 08:56 AM

I have good luck with redworms, they are a smaller version of a dew worm. What time is he going fishing? I find that I catch most of mine early morning or night fishing. You could try stink bait as well but I never had much luck with it and I dont like to handle it..period...yuck!

7thswan · #3 04/19/09, 09:06 AM

He can go when ever he wants, yesterday went about 4:30. Do you use a bobber or let it go to the bottem?

homesteadforty · #4 04/19/09, 09:10 AM

Catfish find food by smell, so anything that gives off more smell works better. Look up stink baits (there's a ton of homemade recipes) or for something a little less smelly to humans... cut a piece of liver into chunks (the blood soaks out in the water and provides the smell).

fantasymaker · #5 04/19/09, 10:05 AM

My hint would be to go fish for something worth eating.Who would eat a vulture? Catfish are the aquatic equivilent.Heck apparently even the guy that stocked the pond doesn't want them!

sunflower-n-ks · #6 04/19/09, 10:34 AM

JUST as it gets totally dark. They seem to go into a feeding frenzy then. I have been out with a grandson and his friends where the fish would take the bait before it would even settle to the bottom. They would reel in fish faster than I could keep the hooks baited. We used chicken liver or worms. This would be in either a stocked pond or the river.

One trip to the river, the GS was causing problems so we needed to leave. I finially cleared the tangle in my line, threw the baited hook out and it did not have a chance to settle when a 30 in channel took it. I had to drag it in while gathering supplies to leave.
My DD had just reeled in one the same size.

Get settled in a little before that, they might start biting early, but be prepared for that surge at dark and then, of course getting back to your vehicle in the dark unless you are camping over night.

If the owner doesn't mind, run a trot line overnight for some fish for the freezer.

Windy in Kansas · #7 04/19/09, 10:43 AM

I always had good luck with the natural fish bait (only thing it is good for but disgusting) and that would be liver.

Stink bait, ha, we were always told to spit on our baited hook just before throwing it into the water. Guess we didn't brush our teeth enough if they thought we should spit on the bait.

mrpink · #8 04/19/09, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

My hint would be to go fish for something worth eating.Who would eat a vulture? Catfish are the aquatic equivilent.Heck apparently even the guy that stocked the pond doesn't want them!

catfish is some of the best tasting fish there is to eat.

as to catching them I've used cut bait, worms, shrimp, chicken livers, hot dogs, dough balls and lots of other stuff. night fishing works best and don't us a bobber catfish are bottom feeders.

greg

buffalocreek · #9 04/19/09, 11:43 AM

Cats also like nightcrawlers and shiners or chubs. Shiners are my bait of choice when I setline.

DAVID In Wisconsin · #10 04/19/09, 12:19 PM

Nothing better tasting in this world than good ole catfish!

texican · #11 04/19/09, 12:47 PM

I wish more folks were like fantasymaker... just means more for me.

If the fella is feeding his fish, I'd use the same thing for bait.

My nieces and nephews come and fish off my pier all the time... they still dislike using my advice on bait, they'd rather use their fancy lures and baits. I put on a piece of bread, and catch them hand over fish.... of course, I feed day old bread on a regular basis.

As far as OP... use something smelly, let the bait sit on, or close to the bottom... bobber is optional... just keep a taut line... when the line jerks, snag to set the hook, and reel in fish...

Iddee · #12 04/19/09, 01:49 PM

Use what they eat most. Take the smallest hook you can find, put a tiny piece of worm or bread on it, and catch minnows or small bream along the bank of the pond. If less than 3 inch, use whole. If more than 3 inch, cut into 1 inch pieces. Best bait you can get, unless the owner is feeding them. Then use what he feeds.

Iddee · #13 04/19/09, 01:52 PM

I have to laugh at people like fantasy maker. They eat all kinds of veggies grown in chicken poo, cow poo, horse poo, bat poo, and rotten fish. "fish meal", but shun away from a scavenger animal. HA! HA!. HA!.

PS...Chickens are scavengers.

Beeman · #14 04/19/09, 01:54 PM

Chicken livers, buy a container and leave it out until later when you go fishing. Cast out a ways and drag the bottom.

Marshloft · #15 04/19/09, 02:36 PM

Catfish are the best tastin,,, bar none....
I learned a trick a few years back that works for the bottom feeders such as catfish...
As an explanation,,, start with hook/bait,,,, 12 inches above that put on a bobber,,,, another 12 inches put on a heavy wight...
The weight will sink to the bottom,,, but the bobber holds your bait just off the bottom..
Does that make sense???

soulsurvivor · #16 04/19/09, 03:41 PM

I'm the world's laziest catfisher. I set up my lounge chair and cooler on the bank. Then I bait my hook on 14 lb testline on my heavy duty cat pole. On this line I have a weight near the hook and a bobber a few feet up from that. Throw the line out, park the pole in a weighted fishing bucket. Lay down in the lounge and wait for the bobber to disappear. My best bait is nightcrawlers, the bigger the better and threaded up the strongest most barbed hook I can find in the tackle box. I also keep a pair of heavy duty pliers to help me hold the catfish while I get the hook out, not the other way around.

I've had most success catching catfish in late afternoon to early evening. Depending on how late in the day it is, more toward dark, I'll switch to bottom fishing and do away with the bobber.

DW · #17 04/19/09, 04:01 PM

catfish...but the only people who know how to cook it live near the Mississippi!

big rockpile · #18 04/19/09, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

My hint would be to go fish for something worth eating.Who would eat a vulture? Catfish are the aquatic equivilent.Heck apparently even the guy that stocked the pond doesn't want them!

Thats right!Lets go catch some Carp

big rockpile

ericjeeper · #19 04/19/09, 05:20 PM

Why do they come to the top to eat "catfish floater"
Our old farm pond had big cats. We would feed them daily in a circle that was made out of plastic well pipe.
Them dudes had mouths big enough to catch a dessert plate. and bodies the size of a mans leg..
I just put 100 in my new pond. And they are coming to the top to eat the 1/8 inch floating food too.

o&itw · #20 04/19/09, 05:58 PM

It might be a bit early for channel cat to really be biting much yet in Michigan.
You might have a lot better luck in about a month.

You can use lots of things for bait... I somtimes use chicken liver, because we don't much care for it. Night crawlers, cut up rough fish, etc all work.

If the fellow is feeding the fish, the hands down best bait is cheap hotdogs (no kidding) take a slice about 3/8 of an inch wide and curl your hook through from the side so that the hook is all buried. Use large hooks.

Since unfed fish tend to have a "routine" you might try a trot-line or "jug" fishing, since you don't have to be there at the time they are feeding.