Some catfish questions

[UltraFace]

Hi, Im pretty new to fishing in general so here are some questions I've been having. I mostly do river fishing, at night.

What time of night is the best time of for catfish in general?

Must shrimp or liver be fresh? Do they not care for frost-bitten bait?

Also what other fish can be caught at night?

Thanks.
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[thunderbunn]

i dont know about which time at night would be better for cats but the liver and shrimp works better fresh buts cats will eat anything and i think every kind of fish can be caught at night but dont quote me on that[]
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[tubeN2]

Welcome aboard UltraFace and thanks for your question.

Cats are active day and night. It seems like they are more actively feeding at night or in the darker times.

Fresh Shrimp and chicken livers are good. It is better to freeze the livers before going out to fish. It helps to keep them on the hook longer.

There are many other types of fish that will bite at night too.

Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Walleyes, Musky, Pike, Carp, Trout and many others.

What type of fishing do you plan on doing at night?? Maybe we could give you some more tips here.[cool]
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[mattscru]

Again like tube said welcome aboard. Cats really do seem to bite all the time, but I know alot of people that will only fish for them at night. If you can find rooster liver in your area the stuff is awesome. Its alot tougher than chicken liver and stinks a whole lot worse. Its almost impossable to throw off the hook. Cats can be very opertunistic depending on the species so the condition of the bait dosent always seem to matter. I have a friend who would always let chicken liver sit out in the sun a few days before he went fishing. The stuff was rancid but we would always catch more fish off it than fresh liver. Recently I've caught alot of channel cats off live minnows and if you catch a bluegill you can make cutbait which is another one of my favorites. Hope that helped you out some, if you have anymore questions feel free to ask these guys on here have alot of info to share.

Matt
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[UltraFace]

Thanks to everyone who responded. The rivers I usually fish is the San Jaoquin and Merced river in the central valley of Cali. It seems that bass and catfish are the most popular in these rivers. I would like to catch as many different types of fish as possible, however I have only been able to catch catfish. Due to my school and work schedule my fishing takes place usually at night after 10:00.

A few nights I used shrimp and it killed, but lately they've only been nibbling at it and never seem to take it. I will try liver very soon.

Thanks fellas.
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[tubeN2]

I bet that the nibble you are getting are the Panfish nibbles. Catfish won't nibble, they CHOMP! lol

If you want the Bass in that area, you should use some Tube jigs or Plastic Worms. I am very familiar with those rivers. Pumkinseed and Ghost Grey are good colors there. Be sure to hook them weedless.[cool]
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[UltraFace]

Hey guys, I ended up catching my biggest fish in my life tonight. It was at least 14 inches, I think it was a channel cat. I know this is not very big or anything, but to me it is, and it put up a good fight. I wish I had a camera with me so I could have had pics, but next time I will for certain.
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[tubeN2]

Way to go. Now you can go out and catch another[]

Did you use any of the recommendations from here??? I also like to use Velveeta Cheese on a cheese hook. Try it out some time.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We are always open for more fish reports.[cool]
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[Santaaa]

Hey a 14 inch channel catfish is a nice size catfish. I have not gotten to fish for catfish in awhile as I have been busy. I think I may go tomorrow if I can. 14 inch is good size for eating. My best this summer was 30 inches. I have heard catfish are best in Spring and Fall.
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[MinnowMagnet]

I like to fish the first 2 hours after dark.
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