How To Setup Catfishing Limb Lines

Catfish fishermen have been using limb lines to catch catfish forever, and with good results and a minimum of effort as well. Limb line fishing really is a hands off way to catch a large number of fish, and nature supplies most of your gear! Just remember that you have to check your lines often, or your fish will not be fresh and your lines will tend to get all tangled up, and check with the game and fish to determine what is allowed in your area before you fish.

You can limb line fish for catfish whether you have a boat or not. Just get out on the water in your boat, or set out on foot in areas where you know there are catfish in the water, and look for limbs that hang out over the water. Your limb lines for catching catfish will have to be strong. You can really catch some monsters this way, and you don't want them getting away. Look for long, strong, limbs that have some flexibility or 'give' to them. The only exceptions would be if you are limb line fishing for catfish in a pond or other location which harbors small catfish in waters with little or no current. Then, you can use lighter line, lighter weights, and smaller limbs.

One of the great things about limb line fishing is that you can fish at different depths simultaneously. Begin by cutting several lengths of good fishing line in an appropriate test strength. Tie on a hook and a weight. Use strong, sharp hooks, but don't think they have to be huge. Small hooks bring in some very good sized fish, and they are less visible to the fish, making them the better choice, so don't use a bigger hook than you need. Add enough weight to the line to keep your hook down in the water. You will need bigger hooks the stronger the current is. Many jug line fishermen put their weight on the end of the line and attach a leader above it to put on the hook. If this works for you, you should do it, but in my experience, it causes a lot of tangling. If this seems to be the case with you, just put your weight above the hook and eliminate the leader.

If the water is deep along the bank, you can probably just attach your line from the bank, bait it, and put it out into the water from there. If the bank goes into the water gradually, you will have more trouble getting the line over the limb and far enough out into the water, and having a boat in these circumstances really does make it a lot easier. I have seen fishermen use a brick to weight the line, and just throw it out into the water, but you better be careful of the hooks when you do it in this manner. When limbline fishing for catfish, anglers usually set lines deep in the water in areas where there is current, and this can work, but remember that if you are fishing at night, the cats come up to the surface to feed, and you can catch them at much more shallow depths too.