use cut Bait or Live Bait for Big Cats

Cut Bait, such as strips of skipjack or cut up creek chubs, bring in the big cats. When using circle hooks, the hook point should not be buried in the bait. Live bait fish are another good choice. These catfish are big enough to take bait fish as large as a man’s hand. The bait fish should be hooked through the back, allowing them to swim freely.

use the Rod, Not the Reel. to Bring in Fish

Once a big cat is on the hook, the angler should use the powerful rod to bring it in. An up and down motion, pulling in the fish and then reeling in slack on the way down, keeps the stress on the rod and not on the reel. Flathead catfish make a run when they see the boat, and the angler may have to let out a bit of line and then play the fish in again.

Baiting a hole for catfish

A good way to get the catfish biting is to bait a hole or an area that you want to fish. To do this you will need to go to a feed store and buy some grain to soak. Milo, horse and mule feed, or even oats are good choices. Get a five gallon bucket with a good tight lid. Now pour the grain in the bucket and run water in the bucket until the grain is covered with water. Put the lid on real tight and let the grain soak for several days until it has soured. (Check the grain after the first 24 hours to make sure you still have plenty of water in the bucket as the grain needs to stay good and moist to sour). After the grain has soaked for three to four days, it's ready to be used.

Take a coffee can, dip out a can full of the grain and throw it out into the area you are going to fish. Take care as it only takes a couple of cans to attract the catfish. Sometimes it may take an hour or so to draw the catfish in. You can do this in several places and move from one place to another as the fishing slows in one place.

Must Know Tips for Every Angler

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.

How To Clean Catfish

When fishing for food, many fishermen that catch catfish will hurriedly throw the fish back because they have a reputation as being hard to clean. However, that simply is not true when one knows what he or she is doing. And catfish have some of the tastiest fillets out of all freshwater fish. Here is a simple guide that will teach you how to clean catfish the right way as quickly and easily as possible to ensure you don’t release your dinner back into the lake ever again.

First of all, you will want a sharp fillet knife and possibly an anti-cutting glove that is made out of steel mesh or Kevlar. Make sure that you have a trash can to throw away the parts of the catfish that you don’t want or need and a large, clean workspace.

Many people mistake the barbs that the catfish have surrounding its mouth as a weapon for stinging, but this is not true. They are actually used by the catfish to find food.

Clean the catfish as soon as possible. You will find that its body is covered with skin, not scales like most fish. This requires some special steps in cleaning and filleting the fish. To begin, grasp the spine of the fish firmly and make a shallow incision all the way around its head with a sharp knife. You will find that the catfish’s skin is thicker the larger it is. Sometimes the skin is so thick because of the catfish’s size that you may have to lay it in a pot of boiling water for a bit to soften it up before making the incision.

When the initial cut is made, you can begin to peel off the skin. This is done by starting at the head where you have made the cut and pulling firmly but slowly back towards the tail. Many times, the tougher spots can be overcome by using a pair of pliers. Once all of the skin has been removed from the fish you can remove its head simply by cutting it off.

Once the head is off, you can begin gutting the catfish. This is done by making an incision in the underside of the belly from where the head was removed all of the way back. Reach in with your bare hands and remove all of the guts that you can grab.

Once this is completed, you can remove the fins and the tail, if you so desire, and rinse the catfish with clean water. If you split the catfish into two separate sections, it will be much easier to ensure that the catfish is thoroughly cleaned.

The catfish can now be cooked to your liking. Just a few of the ways to cook catfish include baking, batter-dipping, deep-fried, and pan-fried.

How To Use Catfish Baits Properly

There is a huge variety of catfish baits. Catfish have no specific food preference, they eat nearly anything although they bite better on specific things. If you are up with NOT catching big catfish, are you sure that you’re utilizing appropriate bait?
Before acknowledging the kind of bait you will be using, the type of environment where you catch them should be considered. If you have an effective bait and immerse in the water but the area where you go fishing is not a good spot, the time you spent was useless.
This type of fish has no definite characteristic; however, they are fond of hiding. It is necessary to gain knowledge about the bodies of water where you will go fishing and discovering the areas where they usually keep themselves.
If you go catfishing, keep moving together with your rod and reels. If you detect a sneaking fish on the surface, grab and toss the freshly prepared shad head. Situate yourself in an area with a good current. Give a maximum of twenty minutes in a certain area. If you can’t catch any, then, it’s time for you to relocate.
If you are up for a catch, immobilize the bait. Try to minimize unnecessary movements, make sure that it is stable and steady. You can have a large catch if you have the appropriate tools and the ability and the efficiency to fish like pro.
One of the best occasions to do catfishing is when waters from the lake rise due to flood water. Catfish will rush through the freshly washed area and look for feed. Make use of the chopped bluefill and shad head in fresh preparation.
You can go catfishing anytime, however, it is recommended to go fishing late at night and early morning. What’s the difference? The circadian rhythm affects their location. At daytime, they rest in deeper portions of the water. When night starts to fall, they rise near the water surface for feeding. During rainy and cloudy days, expect a good catch. Due to elevations of water level, spring and early fall are the best season to fish for channel catfish. These are instances when catfish are highly active and catching them will often be very easy.
For game fishing, catfish would surely give you the fun and exercise you want. Try to work on different locations when fishing for catfish. There are different types of baits. Freshly prepared baits include cut shad, bluegill, perch, chicken livers, small frogs, night crawlers and many more. If you use these items and you haven’t caught anything for almost twenty minutes, try a different spot.  Go with the flow of gulls. They can help you get a good catch.  Examine Foucault currents (also known as Eddy currents); make sure they are not a deterrent to your fishing. When they are in search for food, they go from shallow to deep areas. Always remember: You should look for catfish, don’t let them search for you. You’ll be more successful if you do this.

Tips to help make you a better Catfish fisher

* The catfish is more of a night fish. During the hot daytime hours they are in the deep pools, 
hiding under debris or logs, but they can still be caught. At dusk it is usually the best time to start 
fishing. In the spring and in the fall you will find more catfish then in the summer, but you can still 
try on cool evenings. Try out one area of the lake for about 15 minutes. If you don't catch anything 
in this time period, you are probably in the wrong area of the lake. Move along and try a different 
area. When you throw in the line, start pulling it in slowly, zigzagging the path. As soon as you feel 
a slight tug, pull once hard to ensure the fish gets hooked, then steadily pull the fish in.

* When catfish fishing a lake with a manmade current or natural current, always anchor your boat 
on the upstream side of the submerged river channel. It might not even seem like there is any 
current, but if you have had high water or if they generate for electricty, there will always be a 
small amount of current flowing through the lake. Fish the submerged river channel just like you 
would any other river with the current taking the smell of your bait downstream.

* The cycle of Blue Catfish is exactly the same as the cycle of the Shad or other baitfish you have 
in your lake. Don't kid yourself: pay attention to your fish locator. The masses of Blue Catfish will 
always be somewhere around the masses of Shad. Look for the bait, catch some bait, cut them up 
and driftfish with a carolina rig through the schools of baitfish.

* Dont be scared to fish in 30 to 50 feet of water: Blue Catfish can tollerate deep water yearround.

* Always fish for Flathead Catfish with live bait and remember, there is a difference between live 
bait and lively bait. Make sure your bait is really squirming: the more vibration in the water, the 
better the chance for a Flathead find it.

* Believe it or not, but wintertime is the best time for Blue Catfish. Catching the fresh bait can be 
hard, but after that has been accomplished, look for huge schools of fish in the submerged river 
channel. It might take 4 hours to find the schools, but once you've found them, anchor your boat 
somewhere on the top side of the channel and cast your baits from the top of the river channel to 
the bottom of it. Wait 30 minutes and move. If they are there and in a feeding mode, it will be fast 
and furious action.

* The biggest blue catfish often come from water below the 40-degree mark. Most other gamefish 
are sluggish in water this frigid, but not blues - they'll bite aggressively and put up a world-class 
fight.

* One of the best baits for a big flathead catfish is a live bluegill (where legal to do so). Fish it 
under a float in shallow water, or below a heavy sinker on the bottom of a river. Use stout tackle - 
when hooked, a flathead usually heads straight for cover.

* One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to catch catfish is on juglines. Wrap a length of 
strong monofilament line around the neck of a plastic milkjug. Pull out the desired length (6 to 10 
ft. is usually plenty) and secure the remainder in place with a sturdy rubber band. Rig a stout live 
bait hook at the end of the line and a heavy sinker (an old spark plug or wheel weight will work) 
about a foot above the hook. Use liver, worms, minnows, shrimp or prepared catfish bait. Put out 
several jugs away from heavy boating traffic, then get set for fun as catfish try to make off with 
them. Always check local regulations before jug fishing.

* In Spring, catfish often move around shallow rock banks to spawn. They can be caught using live 
minnows or prepared baits drifted shallow beneath slip bobbers.

* Catfish naturally lay and swim near the bottom 90% of the time. However some times on overcast 
summer days Flatheads and Channels can be caught 5' to 7' from the surface. Most Catfish can 
usually be caught along the banks after a good rain storm. They will come to the surface to feed 
on washed in bugs and insects. So at these times you might ignore the foot off the bottom rule.

* Channel Cats like Prepared Blood Baits and Hamburger Baits best when the water temperature 
is above 78'degrees.

* A longer Rod makes for better hook sets and longer casts. It also allows you to pick up your line 
quicker. A 9 to 10 foot long rod is usually sufficient. Most pay lakes 17 to 20 lb test line is 
preferred as long as your drag is set right. A good reel is essential because they have smooth, 
even given drag systems. The thinner the line the better in clear lakes especially because it is less 
likely to spook the fish and makes the bait look more natural in the water.