Catfish Tips

Some of the best baits to use to catch catfish are shrimp (medium sized) and chicken livers. Be sure and remove the shrimp's skin and tail.

Crawdads are also great for catching catfish. The most productive way to use these is to use the tail after removing the shell. Just put the white meat on the hook. Sometimes it won't stay on the hook very well, but keep trying, it will be worth it.

Other baits you can use for catfishing are:

Clams
Worms
Bologna
Minnows - dead or live
Hot dogs
Cheese - American or Cheddar are best
Snails
Small fish - dead or live

Have you got a favorite catfish bait? If so, let me know in the comments section so I can try it.

There's nothing better than sitting down to a good catfish dinner, especially when you have caught them yourself. Sharpen up your catfishing skills and you'll soon be eating good.

There are many varieties of catfish such as the leopard, the shovel billed, the saltwater cats, the flat heads and the channel catfish, to name a few. The most plentiful and popular is the channel catfish. When you are eating catfish nuggets in a restaurant, then they are most likely channel catfish. Channel catfish are easy to catch and sure taste good.

The best bait to use to fish for catfish is live bait. Some of the more popular ones are minnows, worms, grubs, leeches, small sunfish and crawdads. The top choice would be the nightcrawler when you are fishing for catfish.

Make sure you have some sturdy gear that will handle a large catfish if you're lucky enough to hook into one. You can use a 10-15 lb test line with a medium heavy pole. With this you can handle a fairly big fish. Although they need to be strong, the hooks don't have to be really large. Even a small hook can hold a large fish.

A good rig to use is a sliding sinker using an o-ring to keep it from sliding to the hook and tie a 16" leader to the hook. This way the cat won't feel any resistance when it picks up the bait. Leave the creel open and let the catfish run with the bait and then set the hook. This way you will have less chance of losing your catfish.

Using nightcrawlers as your main bait when using the sliding sinker rig makes a good combination. Sometimes this will depend on the area you are fishing and sometimes crawdads and small minnows are the best to use. Try to find an area with a point, cove, dips, or large rocks to really do some good fishing in. Behind a point or rock when fishing in a stream or river where the current won't be so strong will likely bring in many fish.

A lot of people use homemade baits such as liver, stinky cheese, fermented cornmeal or sour corn. These baits will not always assure you of catching a large catfish but some fish can be caught using the homemade baits. But using live bait or even a freshly killed bait can usually always do the trick. Nightcrawlers tend to be the best bait to consistently give you the best results.

Tackle about 6 feet long and a spinning reel will do the trick in catfishing. If you are looking for a real battle with the catfish, use some heavier lines.

One good rig for catfishing is a sliding sinker with an o-ring, because you don't want it to slide down to the hook, and then tie a 16" leader to the hook. The fish won't feel any resistance and will pick up the bait.

Fish in an area that has some type of structure such as rocks, a dam, dips, etc.

Don't fish in an area that has too much of a strong current because your bait won't stay in place and you would have to use a heavier sinker.

Big catfish can usually be caught when fishing in a medium or large lake off the deep part. Just use a nightcrawler and slip sinker rig and you can catch plenty of big catfish.

Although a lot of people consider bass fishing as the angler's favorite, catfishing is right up there with them. Some facts that make them popular is that they love to eat and you can fish to your heart's content when you find them. They will always come back for more. Although they may not always be as challenging as bass, they will fight with a vengeance and give any angler a good battle.

One species of the catfish family is the bullhead. There is the black bullhead, the brown bullhead, and the yellow bullhead. Although similar in nature, there are a few differences to distinguish them including their color.

The yellow bullhead catfish, unlike the other bullheads, likes clear water with lots of heavy vegetation. They like weedy, small lakes, ponds, slow moving warm streams and some larger lakes that are weedy. They like to eat live fish, insects, and even small bits of weed. They are not strong fighters but you will get lots of hits.

The brown bullhead catfish can usually be found in deeper, larger lakes although you can find them also in small ponds and lakes. They like a pretty warm water temperature, between 70 and 80 degrees. They will feed on insects, plants, worms, small fish, mollusks, and leeches. They are not real strong fighters but will give you a little action, according to their size.

The black bullhead catfish is the most common and will usually grow larger than the other bullhead species. They like streams and lakes with little current and muddy bottoms. Their diet is the same as the brown bullhead. Their great taste makes them popular with anglers.

Another species is the flathead catfish. They get their name from their flattened forehead. They differ from others also because of their squarish tail and protruding jaw. They like large rivers with soft bottoms and are sometimes called 'mud cats'. They will eat mostly live fish but sometimes will eat clams and crayfish. They don't like rotten food, so use lively, fresh bait to catch these cats. In deep water they will give you quite a fight. Trotlining and noodling will catch you more flatheads than using a rod and reel.

Some other types of catfish species are the channel cats, white cats, and blue cats. Whichever catfish you are fishing for will give you a good time and lots of good eating. Make your next fishing trip a catfishing experience.

Catfish can be pretty hard on your fishing gear. You need to have an outfit that can handle a large catfish if you hook into one of them.

You could go with a medium heavy pole and 10 to 15 pound test line. A pretty big fish can be handled with this outfit.

The hooks don't have to be real big but they should be strong. A small hook can hold a pretty big fish.

A good rig to use is a sliding sinker with an o-ring to keep it from sliding down to the hook and a 16" leader tied to the hook. This will allow the fish to pick up the bait without feeling the resistance. Leave the creel open on the reel so the fish can run with the bait and then set the hook. This will get you a good hook set with less chance of losing the fish.

My favorite recipe for fish is to mix in a bowl:

2 cups of cornmeal
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of oregano

Mix these all up together and in another bowl mix:

2 eggs scrambled
Olive oil (just a little bit)

First dip the fish into the egg mix and then into the dry mix. Pan fry them until they are golden brown on both sides.

To make a great meal serve them with french fries, potato salad, baked beans, or rice.

Now sit down and eat up!

A lot of people like to make their own homemade catfish bait. A lot of fish can be caught with these dough balls. Catfish are scavengers and bottom feeders usually. They will eat what other fish won't so the homemade baits work well.

Some of the formulas for these baits include liver, blood meal, stinky cheese, fermented cornmeal and sour corn. These will catch you some fish but freshly killed bait or live bait work just as well or better.

We can fish right off the little island in our lake and also off our pier. From my back door to the lake is about 30 feet. We sit out on the back porch in the mornings, drink coffee, and watch the fish jumping.

Catfish rigging is not real difficult. For drift or swift water fishing just put an egg sinker on the line. Then tie on a barrel swivel and about an 18 inch long leader. This way the bait can move and bounce around the current while being dragged.

If you are going to be fishing in still water just tie the hook on a leader about 18 inches from the end of the line. Tie a half ounce ball sinker at the end of the line. The bait will then be a foot or so from the bottom and the water action will move the bait.

Be sure and use the right size hook for the size of fish you expect to be catching. Usually a 3/0 or 4/0 hook will be appropriate when catching an average size catfish.