Catfish Tips and Techniques - Must Know Tips For Every Angler
Catfishing is great fun, and you can do it almost anywhere. Once
you get used to it, you'll be amazed how many you can take home, and
how many big suckers you get. Here are some basic tips everybody should
know about catfishing to get more bites.
- Timing is everything. Go out and fish in the early mornings and evenings. That's when catfish are looking for food, like you're bait. At those times, they come into the shallows where they're easier to catch. You can always catch cats at any time of the day, but it takes lots more skill.
- Go where the cats are. If you are fishing in a stream, look for a deep spot. Catfish tend to hang out along the bottom and look for food there. If you are fishing near a river, try casting your line right around where the river spills into the creek. This is where you'll find lots of those river cats looking for food.
- Catching cats in a river. The best place to catch catfish in a river is just upstream from some kind of obstruction, like rocks or log jams. This is an area where they'll be creeping around on the bottom looking for food, moving more slowly, and it's more likely that they'll find your lure. If you're going to fish on the open river, you can catch cats this way too, but it's better if there's been a recent rain.
- Use live baits. Catfish prefer live baits, and especially stuff that is stinky. They have serious noses on them, and they love smelly stuff like shrimp, guts, other fish, bits of tuna, hot dogs, etc.
- Switch up your bait. Just like human beings, catfish get sick of eating the same old thing all the time. If you rotate your bait every now and then and experiment with new things, you'll get lots more bites. They aren't picky eaters, they'll eat just about anything.
- The right hook. In general, if you want to catch bigger fish, you should use bigger hooks. For catfish, the best hooks to use are 3/0 or 4/0. A little experimenting will give you a better idea for yourself. Compared with other kinds of fish, it's pretty easy to catch catfish with smaller hooks, so I would go small to begin with. You'll catch some big fish with small hooks, but if the hooks are too big, you won't get any of the little ones.
- Chumming. This is a technique that will definitely get you more bites. Chum is little balls of prepared fish food that you can either buy at a shop or make yourself. All you do is throw the chum into the water and then fish like you regularly do. The chum will attract the cats and you can sit back and reel them in. It takes a bit of trial and error, because some spots are better for chumming than others.
- Timing is everything. Go out and fish in the early mornings and evenings. That's when catfish are looking for food, like you're bait. At those times, they come into the shallows where they're easier to catch. You can always catch cats at any time of the day, but it takes lots more skill.
- Go where the cats are. If you are fishing in a stream, look for a deep spot. Catfish tend to hang out along the bottom and look for food there. If you are fishing near a river, try casting your line right around where the river spills into the creek. This is where you'll find lots of those river cats looking for food.
- Catching cats in a river. The best place to catch catfish in a river is just upstream from some kind of obstruction, like rocks or log jams. This is an area where they'll be creeping around on the bottom looking for food, moving more slowly, and it's more likely that they'll find your lure. If you're going to fish on the open river, you can catch cats this way too, but it's better if there's been a recent rain.
- Use live baits. Catfish prefer live baits, and especially stuff that is stinky. They have serious noses on them, and they love smelly stuff like shrimp, guts, other fish, bits of tuna, hot dogs, etc.
- Switch up your bait. Just like human beings, catfish get sick of eating the same old thing all the time. If you rotate your bait every now and then and experiment with new things, you'll get lots more bites. They aren't picky eaters, they'll eat just about anything.
- The right hook. In general, if you want to catch bigger fish, you should use bigger hooks. For catfish, the best hooks to use are 3/0 or 4/0. A little experimenting will give you a better idea for yourself. Compared with other kinds of fish, it's pretty easy to catch catfish with smaller hooks, so I would go small to begin with. You'll catch some big fish with small hooks, but if the hooks are too big, you won't get any of the little ones.
- Chumming. This is a technique that will definitely get you more bites. Chum is little balls of prepared fish food that you can either buy at a shop or make yourself. All you do is throw the chum into the water and then fish like you regularly do. The chum will attract the cats and you can sit back and reel them in. It takes a bit of trial and error, because some spots are better for chumming than others.
Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is
committed to providing the best saltwater fishing information possible.
Get more information on catfish tips and techniques here: http://www.askcatfishfishing.com
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