Five Tips for Catfishing

Easy to say, but impossible to define, right? Every angler worth his salt has an opinion on what works and what's worthless. If more than half agree on any configuration of gear, then it's probably a pretty good set up. With that warning in mind, the best recommendation is to keep your tackle as simple and easy to use as possible.

Tip # 1: Use the Right Tackle
Easy to say, but impossible to define, right? Every angler worth his salt has an opinion on what works and what's worthless. If more than half agree on any configuration of gear, then it's probably a pretty good set up. With that warning in mind, the best recommendation is to keep your tackle as simple and easy to use as possible.

The fancier you buy, the more money you spend. A six foot pole with a tough spinning reel is good for most cats under a foot and half. Lighter lines (ten pound test) will give you a fine fighting feel and land all but the largest fish. Jump up to a twenty pound test if the fish are larger, and if you know there's a monster down there, you may want to go for a fifty pound test rather than lose it and weep.

Tip # 2: Use a Sharp Hook

And while we're talking gear, don't forget where the fish meets the line. Sharp hooks are an absolute necessity for catching catfish. Splurge on the best. Cats are strong. They can throw a hook that doesn't set right.

You need to get that son of a gun set deep in its mouth with the first pull on the line, and for that you need the sharpest hooks you can buy. For older hooks you might consider sharpening them with a whetstone. And keep them dry when you're not using them. Rust is your enemy.

Tip # 3: Use the Right Bait
There probably never will be a total agreement on what is the right bait, and you should ask around in the local bait stores about what works well in a new area, but experience comes down on the side of chicken livers and raw shrimp.

Freeze the livers before you use them, and make sure their still partial frozen when you slip them on the hook. They last longer in the water that way. If you like shrimp, take the time to remove the skin and the tail.

And don't move the bait around too much. It's one thing if the sinking bait looks like it's floating along with the current; it's something else if the darned thing is bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. Just let the bait sink and then tighten up your line.

Some folks swear by locusts, or grasshoppers. The cats eat 'em because of the vegetation in their bellies. Others are sold on cut herring or other bait fish.