Catfish!

beagle

I fished all night long last night, Sunday. I work nights and I am off on Sunday. But to the topic, does anyone like to catfish at night? There was an article about smudpot fishing a while back. I get a latern or two, go to my retired parents lake lot, cast net a bunch of gizzard shad and fish all night. I took seven rods last night and didn't start till 1130 p.m.. I caught fifteen fish, mostly blue cats around three or four pounds, but also caught several small channel cats. I have been doing this kind of fishing for about a year when weather permits and I think it plum addicting. I might need therapy!

beagle

IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w12/mogley98/catfish.jpg[/IMG]

KrisW

thats when the biggest fish feed. we fish at night some, but most of the time we run trotlines after dark.

COLT

...it's a good addiction. I sometimes try and "relax" after bass fishing, by catfishing...but I just can't sit still that long.
It's really neat when they are hitting, too much going on to get antsy...but that "waiting" wears me out.
Blues and channel at the ranch lake...and it seems they are all several pounds...but that can't be, but that's all that are ever caught...which is fine with the people who fish there.

Maybe "little' channel and blue cat don't bite much(?) when they are little? I just don't know that much about 'em, but love to eat 'em...[:p]

What do you use for bait the most? We used chicken livers for the longest...but the lake is NOT ever catfished(or other "fished" either, much)...and I think a BIG bait would/may be the best now.
I don't guess soaking a chicken liver for 30 min., is too good of an indicator...of what is "good"...[:D]

I copied a catfish bait "recipe" someone posted here a good while back...hotdog chunks, and crab boil..and other "stuff"...it's copied so I don't remember off hand.
I have not tried it yet...but anything that don't smell all to be damn*d, or is gross slimey...I think I like
I saw one last week, swam under the boat...and it was HUGE.[:0]
The second biggest catfish Ive ever seen in person...[;)]

beagle

I like gizzard shad best. The shad are cut up, which is a very good way to get very bloody. Threadfin shad are too soft. I can throw a long distance with big pieces of shad. If I am not throwing far, such as this time of the year or if I am fishing in a pond, I like Catfish Charlie B bait (smells like doogy doo), or Danny King's Punch bait(not a very good odor either). Oh, and I am going again tonight with three friends from work. In your pond fishing try the Danny King. It has the directions on the can and you can find it at WAl-Mart. It is made with ground up cattails, the plant, not the animals. I use Eagle Claw lazer sharp treeble hooks, the red ones. Anyway, hate to talk so much.

COLT

beagle quote:Anyway, hate to talk so much.

...heh, heh...YOU don't talk much...[:D]

oldgunner

I love that night fishing too Beagle. Have you tried jug fishing for cats? My brother and I get the big ones that way. Get a few milk jugs or similar, tie on a few feet of line, a large hook baited with cut shad, throw them out, let them float. Some reflective tape on each one helps to locate them by hitting them with a light. When a jug pops up on end and starts bobbing around, snag it with a pole with a hooked(curved) nail on one end, pull it in to the boat, and hold on with both hands!! You're in for a fight. Our largest so far, in Watts Barr Lake has been 46 pounds. When we get a huge one like that, we let it go, but keep anything that is under ten pounds. We get all we want to clean.

beagle

No, I have seen people do this, once in the current of a power plant lake. I just like to catch them on a rod and reel. We caught around twenty Tuesday night. A thunder storm blew in and scared us out early. I found out when I got home three people were killed about forty miles away from a tornando.