COLD RIVER FISHING

[howtobass.com]

im going cat fishing on the river this weekend... and its gonna be cold.. i think low 24 and high 53..... any tips for catchin the cats in the cold river? I have worms, chicken liver and shrimp... anything else i should consider?
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[tkishkape]

Without knowing what river you're fishing, I'll assume that there are blue catfish in it.

Your best bait is cut shad or skipjack from the same river you're fishing in.

Rig up a large sinker (preferably a no-roll) Carolina style with a 18" to 24" leader and a large very sharp hook, no smaller than a 2/0. Securely impale your bait through an edge to allow plenty of clearance for the fish's jaw. If the bait fills the gap, use a smaller bait or a larger hook.

The bite can be very light or possibly extremely agressive in the winter, so be sure to keep your rod in your hand or in a sturdy rodholder.

The baits you mention may work, but the fish in the river prefer to eat their standard fare... shad or skipjack.

Be sure to return and post a fishing report with pictures!

Good Luck and better fishing!
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[howtobass.com]

[size 1]wow! thanks for the information.... hopefully will catch some fatties... LOL.... now i just have to figure out how to catch the shad =0) [/size]
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[Tarpon4me]

Dude, you're all over it tkishkape! [cool]

Now, i'll assume that the inhabitants are channel cats. This is where the worms and chicken livers would be quite effective. A little trick with the chickenliver, freeze them first. They work just as good and they'll stay on the hook better and remain fresher for longer. Channels like deep holes, structure, and a mild current.

Blue cats tend to appreciate a little bit more of a stronger current, and still hold in the deep holes, but don't need structure. I've caught huge blues on the previous mentioned cutbait, right in the middle of a current rip in a sandy bottom hole. Also, for blue, make sure it is FRESH cut bait. Channels will eat the stinky and old, blue's and flatheads like fresh or alive.

I use the same or similar rigs that tkishkape uses. The only difference is that I use wide bend hooks instead of plain shank hooks. Kahle or wide bend both work well. I also like large circle hooks on occasion, especially when I use live bait.

I normally target flatheads, which requires live bait. Here, you won't catch any live bait until it warms up. There's no shad in my local river, it's bream or nothing. Usually, the tackle stores on larger scale rivers and lakes carry live suckers or shad, places like Santee Cooper that are world renown for big cats. If you can buy live bait, and know there are big flatheads in the river, that's the way i'd go. I dig live bait. [cool]

Also, make sure your equipment can take the abuse. Hooking into a 60 pound blue or flatty is like hooking into the back of a slow moving cow. Cats are torquey, so don't be fooled by thier sometimes slow movement. I say sometimes because i've had big cats make blistering runs, enough to damage a lesser rod and reel combo. []
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[tubeN2]

Hey T4me, I hear your praise on the Kahle, Circle, and wide gap hooks. Have you every tried the Octopus Hooks?? I am starting to use those more now for the insfore shark species just because of their performance.

You can tie your favorite knot on them or use the good ole "Snell" knot for the straight pulls.

The quality gear part is also correct. I thought it was funny watching an X brand reel actually explode on me while hooking up on a decent sized Mud Marlin.

The Drag smoked like a chimeney and the bearings finally overheated to the point of making a loud bang inside the reel. I ended up just having to double button the spool and hold the line until I was able to bend the hook out of the poor fishes mouth.

I never got a check after sending the report in with the damaged reel. I think they had some of those extra low grade chineese bearings in them. If I would have known, I could have put some of those NMB Japanese bearings in.[cool]
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[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]Which river are you fishing ? [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]How deep is it and what kind of catfish are you targeting ? [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Not all catfish with take the same baits, and different baits will work better for different kinds of catfish at different times of the year and in different bodies of water.[/size][/black]
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[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]Yeah TubeN2, I also use a variety of hooks for different applications. I like the Kahle, circle and octopus hooks for the specific advantages each one has. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Also, any time I use a hook with a turned eye, I tend to use a snell knot for the straight pull. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]If the hook has a straight shank, I will sometimes use other knots as the case may dictate. For example, when I am carp fishing a hair rig with a hook that has a straight shank, I'll use a knotless knot. If I am bottom fishing with that same kind of hook for catfish, I might use a palomar knot.[/size][/black]
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[Tarpon4me]

Mmmm, never really gave the Octopus hooks a shot yet.

[url "http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?id=0030840&navCount=7&parentId=cat20291&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20166-cat20291&parentType=index&indexId=cat20291&rid="][/url]

That's a picture of a Gamakatsu Octopus hook. I don't like the offset eyelet on the hook. And when i'm using a hook like this, I never tie right to the hook, so shank tieing isn't an option. I always have a steel leader attached because I mostly target fish with sharp teeth.

For shark, I like my mustads:



Braided steel leader,and spro super heavy swivels. I have some super large circle hooks I tried on shark, but I found my hook up rate to go down with shark when I used circle hooks. Just with shark though, nothing else. I know octopus hooks are a tad bit different in design, I can see where they might have a better hook up rate. Do they make a octopus hook without the bent eye?
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[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]That picture is actually an Octopus circle hook - notice the barb.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Here is a regular Octopus hook:[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Here is an Octopus hook with a straight shank:[/size][/black]
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[Tarpon4me]

COOL! Thanks for the pics fishhound. I looked on the Cabelas website and found those pics, but I didn't see a plain shank octopus hook. Doesn't look much different than a standard plain shank hook, other than the shorter shaft. What's so good about them?
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[tubeN2]

The part I like most about the Octopus hooks is that if you look at them with the barb in inline with the shank, there is a slight offset which makes it work like a "True turn" hook for Bass with the same benefits of a Circle or Kahle hook.

They are almost self setting and usually results in some semi-perfect lip hook ups.[cool]
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[Jen_Carroll]

[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Just wanted to check in and say how awesome you guys are!!! The information you have stored away in your noggin is amazing! This is why Big Fish Tackle is the most incredible forum out there! You guys rock! [/size][/font]
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[Tarpon4me]

BFT only "rocks" because of the awesome members we have! With out the members, BFT wouldn't be anything. Thanks Jen!

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[tubeN2]

Hey Jen. First of all, thanks for the flowers. Second of all, all the information in the world does no single person any justice.

We actually learn more by sharing with each other. Just like Tarpon4me said, If it wasn't for the awesome members on this site, we would have no one to share the information with and that wouldn't be good.

Our noggins would probably swell up like our egos and then they would explode and scare all the fish away.[unsure]

Thanks for all that you share with us too. We are always rooting for you in your toruneys.

Good luck and Git er done.[cool]
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[Jen_Carroll]

[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]So true guys! When I visit the tackle stores and marinas on my tournaments, I always have BFT info to give out to everyone I meet. It is an incredible feeling to KNOW that BFT is a superior site and that it is the BEST fishing forum/info site out there and I am so proud to be a part of it! I love being able to tell everyone that I meet “when you join BFT, it will be an experience like no other!”[/size][/font]
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[howtobass.com]

well guys.... and women =0) us guys got back from the fishing trip.... 4 lines in the water from 7 til 5 p.m. and only had a bite! I couldn't believe it. we tried different rigs, baits and locations.... better luck next time i suppose... but thanks alot for all the tips! it will help out next time for sure... im just going to wait on some warmer weather... =0)
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[Tarpon4me]

Sorry to hear about your luck! But, that's fishing. LOL, sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, you can't make the fish bite. I've been on the water in perfect conditions, fish on the sonar, and couldn't get a sniff. []

Better luck next time!

Bryan D.
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[tubeN2]

That is why they call it fishing, not catching. Don't give up.[cool]
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