cattin

[maddhatterr]

Well its gettin to be that time of year when the air and water are warmin up everyday and the nights are gonna be warm and hummid before we know it....smells like cat fishin weather! So what is your cat fish bait of choice? Me, I perfer a stink bait....regular ealry in the season and a blood formula as the water gets warmer...and fresh blue gills if you got the time to send down to meet there 10 lb. makers......whats your bait of choice.....other than turtle and eel bait(chicken livers)....what type of rig do you use....Inike a little brass and glass to make some noise....it has been the difference sometime for me to beat the skunk if you know what I mean. Ever catch one one a senko or even a rapala....A riend of mine caught a 12 lb.er on a senko dureing a bass tourniment.....Cats are a preditor and not a bottom broswer like many think....happy huntin:)

[catfishonthelake]

My standard cat rig is an egg sinker rig with the lightest piece of bait that I can get away with. I catch a ton of of cats on livers (and a few stripers too), but I have to admit that I've hooked my share of turtles and eels with them. I'm gonna give your stinkbait a try, although I think I'm going to be on the trophy hunt this year and fish bluegills most of the time. I'm going to WV in a couple weeks and will be spending a few nights on the Monongahela fishing for shovelheads. I've caught a few small flatheads from the James in VA, but I'm still waiting on the 20 or 30, or 80-lber. Ain't nothin I love more than catching catfish. BTW Hatter, not sure if you've heard of them, but if you do a lot of river fishing, there are sinkers called no-roll sinkers. They're just like egg sinkers with the hole through them, except they're flat and won't roll along the bottom (and eventually get wedged under a rock) with the current. They make them from 1/2-oz all the way up to 5-oz. They'res a place in Illinois called the catfish connection that you can order them, and everything catfish from. I think they even have your stinkbait. We should definitley get together one night and compare notes.

[Tommy]

"I've caught a few small flatheads from the James in VA, but I'm still waiting on the 20 or 30, or 80-lber. Ain't nothin I love more than catching catfish. "

I used to live down that way, if you're fishing the lower James, you should try for blue cats, they can go up to a hundred pounds, BUT they only eat LIVE fish, don't bother with anything dead. And if you eat what you catch it is hard to beat a 5 pound blue cat. You might want to try the Chickahomony river, its clean, runs into the james,

Good luck

[MattyFish]

My favorite bait for big cats has to be raw beef hot dog strips with a strip of bacon, or if your fishing where theres bigger 15+ lbs small blue gill(alive with tail cut off) fished with a piece of sponge soaked in a stink bait just above the blue gill or piece of hot dog or bacon on the hook after its hooked through the back of the bluegill.
both are deadly in hopatcong and deleware river let us know how you do.

[shucker]

I also go with the egg sinker setup,livers sunnies and eel chunks are the bait of choice.Evening or after a good rain have been the best times for me,try to located the deeper holes and undercuts also any fallen timber will hold the kitties as well.

[maddhatterr]

Agreed...if your huntin monsters, live blue gills are the wat to go, but you have to put your time in cause they are few and far between. I like to use a good size circle hook attached to 15 lb. flouro about 16 inches then to a barrel swivel and then some brass and glass(to click) and then an egg sinker....
For stink I use a tube rig and a trebble hook but I cut off one of the hooks right at the bend and the rest is the same as the live blue gill rig....on a slow night I will tap my rod to get that brass and glass chimeing away....another thing I learned is that if you are fishin a canal I have done much better casting just yards from the bank right into the weeds than out in the middle...


And NEVER walk away from your rods when they are baited and in the water...when you come back they might be gone...or at least tie them to something...have had cats just about pull my rod right in to the drink...


What type of rods do you prefer? I think a nice soft rod is the ticket...like an ugly stick. But I always find myself useing a stiffer rod even though I beleive that a softer one is better. Your thoughts.....

[shucker]

Ugly sticks are the way to go,and yes DONT leave that rod had one almost take mine the other day and I was sittin next to it.I'll have to try that bead trick never heard that one before.

[catfishonthelake]

I have a pair of identical combos that I think are top-notch for catfish and carp. I have 2 St. Croix, 7-foot, MH action Premiers, both with the small Okuma Epixor EB 20 baitrunners. Not a huge fan of Okuma, but these were the smallest baitrunners around, and still may be. Shimano has a new 4000, but I still think it's too big for most freswater. The Okumas are perfect and I've had minimal problems. On rare occasions, the baitrunner won't engage, but I've come to know how far it should go when you flip it, so I haven't had any problems lately. They don't make the EB20 anymore. I got one, loved it for fishing herring on Hopatcong, and managed to snag one more on Overstock.com before they disappeared from the face of the earth. For bigger cats and bluegills, I use either a 7-foot St. Croix Tidemaster heavy-action or a 7-foot Crowder E-Series light for a spinning rod and I have a couple conventional reels with clickers that I use on a 6 or 7-foot premier musky rod. These are the rods I'll have in WV for the blues and mudcats.

And thanks for the tips on the James man. I was there a long time ago and haven't been back since. I was on a road trip and camped near Natural Bridge and fished the James at night. I actually learned about the live bait that night. I had two rods out, one with livers and one with live bait. The live bait got nailed 10 times while NOTHING touched the liver. I won't even drop a stink bait in big cat water anymore. All bluegills.

[catfishonthelake]

BTW, that Okuma/St. Croix combo is the same one in the picture on the most recent thread with the 15# carp. It handled that fish like a champ. I was even able to steer him away from the weeds without popping the hook out.

[Lard Almighty]

My favorite bait for big cats has to be raw beef hot dog strips with a strip of bacon, or if your fishing where theres bigger 15+ lbs small blue gill(alive with tail cut off) fished with a piece of sponge soaked in a stink bait just above the blue gill or piece of hot dog or bacon on the hook after its hooked through the back of the bluegill.
both are deadly in hopatcong and deleware river let us know how you do.I may be over thinking a little, but is there a particular brand of hot dog that works the best?

[MattyFish]

I may be over thinking a little, but is there a particular brand of hot dog that works the best?
i prefer the ball park that claim to be 100% beef with skin on them stays on hook better and has a pretty strong scent but i have caught them on many different brands i would just recommend the ones with skin and i cut my hot dogs in half long ways and make little 1-2inch sections and then hook two pieces on the hook i find it to stay on the hook better when casting like this rather than hooking a whole chunk of hot dog.
ps got to fish a privite lake last night in wayne nj Pacakanack lake caught 9 channel cats biggest was pushing 12lbs on my scale other were all about 7bs, with tons of pesky bullheads to keep me busy also

[JoeLongo]

I prefer to use a light setup. I have two ultra lite ugly sticks and have 4lbs mono. I typically like to use chicken livers, a dough mixture, and bluegills. I also fish a crazy setup. Think of a three way setup, with three small treble hooks attached with each type of bait on there. Been doing this for years, very successful

[acabtp]

So, most of the streams and lakes in north jersey will have bullheads in them at least... but where are some good waters up here for channel cats other than Hopatcong (too busy for my liking) and the Delaware (too far)? I limited out on them once ice fishing at Mt. Hope Pond, but that seems to have been a fluke and I haven't caught any there since. Not trying to get anyone to burn any spots or anything, just looking to hook into some bigger fish.

Are they only active at night? Or is that just a better time because most other fish are less active?

[vinntastic]

WHEN I GO CARPING I USUALLY GO FOR CATS ALSO AND THAT IS ON THE PASSAIC RIVER,I MAKE MY CORNMEAL,AND I GRAB 2 HOTDOGS AND I NUKE THEM FOR 45 SECONDS TILL THE GREASE POURS OUT :eek: THEN I SLICE THEM INTO NICE SIZE NICKLES,A REAL CATFISH KILLER... NUKE EM THE CLOUD OF STINK AND GREASE DRAWS THEM RIGHT IN...ENJOY;)

[maddhatterr]

So, most of the streams and lakes in north jersey will have bullheads in them at least... but where are some good waters up here for channel cats other than Hopatcong (too busy for my liking) and the Delaware (too far)? I limited out on them once ice fishing at Mt. Hope Pond, but that seems to have been a fluke and I haven't caught any there since. Not trying to get anyone to burn any spots or anything, just looking to hook into some bigger fish.

Are they only active at night? Or is that just a better time because most other fish are less active?
Catfish have sensitve eyes. But an overcast day is good conditions, you can catch them during the day but night is more productive.....and have never done well in the morning...I usually like to start fishin about an hour before sunset and if I'm not into them heavy by 10 or so I generally call it a night...as far as spots, I'm not from north jersey but any deep slow hole, especially on a bend in the river with under cut banks, or fallen trees, next to cement walls, rock walls, near bridges or where a pipe crosses the underwater. I like to fish canals and rivers myself...and I do not target bullheads just channels. If you use a stink bait you generally will only catch channels.....good luck

[Wilson]

Went cat fishing today in a private pond at my in laws 55 and over community.
Caught 10 in 30 minutes. Worms or Gulp minnows, either one worked well.
Pix is probably the average size buy I did catch a couple I'd guess 8-9 lbs.
All fish caught on 4lb. test on my Trout rod with a #2 hook in the middle of the day with bright sun. All released to fight another day.
Also caught 2 dinker LMB.