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Hi. i am new to fishing cats.
I have a bit of a problem. I have been after the catfish here on j priest in Tennessee for a few days now. i think i have finally tracked down where the catfish are by talking to some local anglers. i tried a new spot where i could hit the river channel from the shore. i got one cat that night but the reason i did not catch any more was i kept losing a lot of tackle on the rocks. what is the best rig for fishing rocky spots. the depth i am fishing ranges from 5 feet with a massive drop off to 20 then another drop to 30 to 40 feet. A way to see what i am talking about is this channel looks allot like stairs underwater with each step being a ten foot drop.
I am using chicken liver with pantie hose to hold the bait on to night a web sight told me to use. is that i good idea?
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[black][size 3]Hey Mike_C,[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Welcome to BFT ![/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]What kind of catfish are you targeting ? By the bait you are using(liver), it sounds like channel cats.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Chicken liver will work, but a better choice would be cut bait - something like shad or skipjack herring. The fish you catch with cut bait will be larger on the average than it will with liver. You can cast it farther out into the river channel and it will stay on your hook better than using liver. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Cut bait is also a better all around choice for a bait if you have Blue catfish in the area where you are fishing. Both Channel cats and Blue cats prefer cut baits to just about anything else - especially the larger fish.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]In case you are fishing for Blue catfish, If you can reach the bottom of the last drop off (bottom of the stairs) where the main river channels is, with your cast, you will probably find that you will have less rocks and more and bigger fish - that is where the big Blue catfish will be.[/size][/black]
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Mike,
welcome to bigfishtackle
I dont see much differance using nylon stockings or spawn sack. and if you are beating on the wall it is probably a good idea. as far as I know cat fish dont chew tidbits.
I cant see a liver hangin on the hook under that heavy curent bouncin on them rocks.
just be sure to tell the wify that you have hungry rats and thats why her stockings have all them holes.[sly]
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I would think large shiners from a bait shop would fall in the catigory of shad, {some one correct me if I am wrong}
White fish from the local bucher shop might do the trick as well.
if you are aloud a couple set lines per person and there is more than one person in your group, you might want to try an oscar mayer shad on one rig.
we dont have the biguns yu'all have down there, but the kids who do best around me use the mayers brand shad and do quite well might I add...
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[black][size 3]The prepared shad baits can and do work, but, you will have much better results with fresh cut bait. If you can get frozen anchovies in your area (sometimes bait shops have frozen chubs, anchovies, shiners etc. also check at grocery stores) they also work well at times. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Fresh caught creek chubs and suckers also will do as a cut bait. In some areas, you can catch the baitfish with a pole and line with small flies or worms on small hooks or jigs.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]Check with a local bait shop in your area for info on where you can catch some baitfish to cut up. Bait shops can often tell you where that are or, they may have info on a supplier nearby.[/size]
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[black][size 3]Mike,[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Check out Robbie's first link for photos of some great examples of rigging (in his post directly above this post).[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Here are a few examples of my river/current slip rigs as well. In this photo the third rig from the left is one that I use for very snaggy or high current situations. The shorter the leader, the less the bait moves in the current and the less likely it will snag up.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Here are a couple of the break-away rigs that I use. The top one in the next photo is a flat current sinker tied to the main line with a light 6-8 pound test mono line (you can use lighter line depending on conditions and the weight of your sinker). Notice that I use a regular swivel (instead of a three-way) to attach the dropper line with the breakaway sinker - that way the set-up is still a slip sinker rig. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]The bottom one uses a very small snap swivel attached to a rubber band that is wrapped around a rock (in case you find sacrificing costly lead sinkers too painful) - the rubber band breaks when the rock is snagged.[/size][/black]
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Nice job, you guys beet me to it. I was just going to tell him about the break-away setup. This is the main rig i use for sturgeon and i have to deal with the "steps" like he is. It works good most of the time but other times it doesn't matter. You are going to loose gear no matter what you do. This setup will reduce that greatly.
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It's a little costly, so I don't use it much, but if you can get your hands on those lindy sinkers they work good with a slip sinker type rig. The ones I'm talking about are banana shaped, with a wire comming out of the bottom. The top is filled with Balsa, so it stays upright on the bottom. The wire tip is the only part touching and it gets hung up in the rocks alot less. However, you have to put up with your bait moving around alot more.
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IF the shad gizzards have been kept frozen, they will be exellent bait for channel cats. However, although easier than chicken liver to hold onto the hook, you will have the same casting issues and the pantyhose will come in handy. Best bait you can get will be either fresh or frozen cut shad. If you're in Tennessee, there should be lots of places that sell frozen cut shad. If not, go into business for yourself.
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great job man...
And I cant add anything more than stated above by some people.
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]. does the pre packaged cut bait work as well as the fresh stuff? i have never had good luck catching shad with throw nets. there is a store near the lake that has jars of shad gizzard. do you think that may work?![[Image: skipjack.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/katchaser/skipjack.jpg)
]. When i get another chance to go fishing again i will diffidently put a lot of what you told me to work. The good news tonight is that tonight had to been the best fishing i have ever had. it started slow with me and my friend fishing the bottom of the old river channel with pre packed cut bait from wall mart plus a box of worms had two rigged with worms and two rigged with that cut bait. at fist we had no luck. then a boater came by the shore doing some night fishing for bass. I asked him if he was having any luck, then asked what his depth finder was showing him. he told me that the depth finder was seeing fish suspended about 16 feet of water and they where big. I remembered a video on google that showed how to set up a slip bobber and went about setting one up for that depth. turns out it was the best thing we could have dun. the first cast turned up a nice pan sized cat. then it was on from there. we started pulling out 17 to 16 inch cats right and left. we stoped counting at 30 lol. i ended up catching a small blue gill and i cut it up into 2 chunks and replaced the other cut bait that had not got any thing that night. on that blue gill i got the biggest cat i have ever got. it was a huge flat head that was as long as my arm. so i set up a small rod for brim and purch and used those as cut bait.