Need A little Help

[Wattie]

Howdy, I've been fishing for most of my life except through my 10 - 15 birthdays(Moved off of lake Norman) Now I have my license and go fishing at least every weekend and I still can't get any catfish. I've used night crawlers, hotdogs, large shinners (dead and alive). I was wondering what I'm doing wrong and what are some good tips
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[tanman89]

Never forget the old Catfishing standby bait, chicken liver. I've also heard of people catching them on shrimp, cut bait, cheese and even Ivory soap. Good luck[fishin]
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[bytebull]

We need more information. Are you now fishing small ponds, Rivers, ditches or streams or still on a large lake?

What part of the country are you now living?

Baits and fishing techniques are different for each of the above mentioned water types and what area of the country you are in.

Here in NE Arkansas we can catch 30 to 70lb blue cats at the river on blood bait and cut pork chops marinated with garlic salt. At a pond not 1/8 a mile away neither of those work and we have to catch a few small 1 to 2 inch sun fish and stick them with a knife in their side then fish them on the bottom in the very middle of the pond to catch large cats.

See what I mean? There a lot of variables so try to post a reply with what type of water your fishing now and where you live then we might be able to give you more precise advice.

Here's a pic of a good haul I got last fall:

[inline Catfish2.JPG]
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[Wattie]

Ok thanks guys. I go fishing on lake Norman off of a public fishing pier about 50 ft long.
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[bytebull]

Mussels can be used as bait, but cut fish probably offer the best prospects. Blueback herring, threadfin and gizzard shad and alewives, all of which can be found in Lake Norman, all make good cut bait for big catfish.
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[Wattie]

Thanks, I think tomorrow I'm going to head out there and try some chicken livers. Hopefully that'll have some results
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[my2bucks]

you can also use carp meat about 2" strips that are about half an inch thick it works wonders
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[BackwoodsInvent]

Have you ever tried a bag of stink bait balls? They are really nasty, but apparently with cats--the nastier the better! If you're going to use stink bait, buy some treble hooks with built in coils. Pressing the stinkbait into the coils keeps the bait on your hook. Good luck!
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[theazfisher]

try inflating the worms and try stink bait. i get my stink bait form bass pro. try a craw dad and chicken blood mix and a chicken liver and chicken blood mix
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[fisherman]

Try fishing after dark. When things quite down after dark the big ones like to come in for an easy meal. A lot of the bigger ones get caught in early spring and early fall too. Also try different areas that don't receive heavy pressure, and target structure where their food lives.
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[Wattie]

A week ago I went fishing at the same ol spot I usually go to. I caught a bunch of little bream to use for bait. So I cut one up and put it on a hook and casted it out. About 30 mins later I was bringing it in and noticed something large on the line but it wasn't struggling. Got it even closer and noticed about a 50 lb common snapping turtle. Once I got him/her close enough to the shore to get to the hook out it started struggling and my 10 lb line snapped. So I don't think I'll go back for a while. [:/]
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[theazfisher]

I know what you feel I caught a big pained turtle and i got it to shore and the dam thing snapped my 6lbs line and I was pissed
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[Wattie]

Well guys I went out today to test my luck. Almost everything was almost perfect. There was an overcast, and not that many people boating. The water was a little bit choppy but thats comman in this area. I caught a bream and cut it up for bait. Still I didn't catch anything all day except that little bream. What could have gone wrong?
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[theazfisher]

what time of rig are you using ? how heave is your wight?

you should look wen was the last time it was stocked

if you have a bass pro near you. you should use try
Catfish Charlie Blood it's the best with in 5 min i had a nice cat
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[FinsAndFeathers]

Chicken liver all the way! I have a local lake that holds tons of cats in it. They aren't the biggest fish out there with an average of about 14 inches, but they strike like crazy. I've found the chicken liver works the best by far.

[KCBaitAndTackle]

If you're fishing at the same spot every time, try moving down the pier a bit. I've read alot of stories of catching alot of good eaters off of piers and jetties.