River_Lizard
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
- Messages
- 378
Just thought I'd start a new topic on catfishing for 2013.
Here's my run down:
Boat: 24 ft Harris pontoon w/90 johnson
River: James River in Virginia
Bait: Gizzard Shad, Thread fin shad, Crappie (cut bait and live also) taken by Gill Net other than Crappie (rodNreel)
Reels: Tidewater 30's
Line: 80 lb braided yellow
Swivels: 275 lb
Leaders: custom 225 lb 7 stranded steel cable
Hook: 12/0 SS circle hook
Target Fish: Blue catfish from 30 to 100 lbs
Fishing season: Year round
Largest cat: 68.4 lbs
The above set up is what I use to target big catfish, these items are not something you'd use if the average catfish size is 35 lbs or less. I would recommend sizing your tackle to around 80% of the largest catfish that's been caught in your area. (example: If the record in the area is 80 lbs then scale back your tackle for a 64 lb catfish hookup) You'll notice that I'm fishing with 80 lb braid which is probably the weakest link other than the drag system on my reel which is probably 12-14 lbs. Either the fish is going to spool my reel or break the line but with 225 yds of line on my spool I highly doubt a catfish will spool it so it all ends up on the 80 lb line I have.
Bait is a subject that has thousands of answers, it depends on many things, what type of catfish you're targeting, what body of water you're fishing, what the typical bait fish is for that body of water, etc... The list goes on and on...sometimes the Blue catfish likes live bait, other times cut bait. Size of bait plays a role in it also, at times the Blues on the James will eat a whole Gizzard Shad that weighs 2+ lbs whole, other times they like smaller cut baits.
If you're targeting BIG cats, my suggestion is use bigger baits than normal. You won't get as many bites but when you do get a bite chances are your rod tip will slam down and you'll be in for a good fight. I've fished for 4 hrs without a bite and then BAM.....61 lber hit the bait. Some people put 1 or 2 large baits out and then fish with smaller baits on the other rods so they can fight some fish while they're waiting for the larger ones to bite. I'm not one of those people, I set mine up to fish for big fish, I set the clicker, set the drag to assure that the circle hook with set when the fish takes off and then I kick back......take a nap or read a book while I wait.
Blue catfish move...so just because you caught them last weekend on a certain drop off doesn't mean that they'll be there again the next weekend. If you're not getting any bites deep channel, move to a drop off and if that doesn't work, move to a flat. Give a spot at least 30-40 minutes then move if no bites.
Don't drop your anchor.....lower it into the water slowly and shut your engine off as soon as possible. The more you drive over the spot you're fishing or making additional noise the more the catfish will be spooked. If I have to motor over a spot several times I'll mark it on the GPS and come back to it later to fish it.
Blue catfish love 38-44 degree water temps and are really active in the James river during those temps, which can be between Nov. thru Feb..
I can't tell you much about Channel cats other than I like using cut Bluegill for bait and a croaker rig for a setup.
As far as Flatheads, live Bluegill is the best bait for fishing for them and fishing brush piles is one of the best spots to find good FHs.
Here's a 42 lber I caught Jan. 13th, 2013 on the James...drifting cut bait in 12 ft. of water.
Here's my run down:
Boat: 24 ft Harris pontoon w/90 johnson
River: James River in Virginia
Bait: Gizzard Shad, Thread fin shad, Crappie (cut bait and live also) taken by Gill Net other than Crappie (rodNreel)
Reels: Tidewater 30's
Line: 80 lb braided yellow
Swivels: 275 lb
Leaders: custom 225 lb 7 stranded steel cable
Hook: 12/0 SS circle hook
Target Fish: Blue catfish from 30 to 100 lbs
Fishing season: Year round
Largest cat: 68.4 lbs
The above set up is what I use to target big catfish, these items are not something you'd use if the average catfish size is 35 lbs or less. I would recommend sizing your tackle to around 80% of the largest catfish that's been caught in your area. (example: If the record in the area is 80 lbs then scale back your tackle for a 64 lb catfish hookup) You'll notice that I'm fishing with 80 lb braid which is probably the weakest link other than the drag system on my reel which is probably 12-14 lbs. Either the fish is going to spool my reel or break the line but with 225 yds of line on my spool I highly doubt a catfish will spool it so it all ends up on the 80 lb line I have.
Bait is a subject that has thousands of answers, it depends on many things, what type of catfish you're targeting, what body of water you're fishing, what the typical bait fish is for that body of water, etc... The list goes on and on...sometimes the Blue catfish likes live bait, other times cut bait. Size of bait plays a role in it also, at times the Blues on the James will eat a whole Gizzard Shad that weighs 2+ lbs whole, other times they like smaller cut baits.
If you're targeting BIG cats, my suggestion is use bigger baits than normal. You won't get as many bites but when you do get a bite chances are your rod tip will slam down and you'll be in for a good fight. I've fished for 4 hrs without a bite and then BAM.....61 lber hit the bait. Some people put 1 or 2 large baits out and then fish with smaller baits on the other rods so they can fight some fish while they're waiting for the larger ones to bite. I'm not one of those people, I set mine up to fish for big fish, I set the clicker, set the drag to assure that the circle hook with set when the fish takes off and then I kick back......take a nap or read a book while I wait.
Blue catfish move...so just because you caught them last weekend on a certain drop off doesn't mean that they'll be there again the next weekend. If you're not getting any bites deep channel, move to a drop off and if that doesn't work, move to a flat. Give a spot at least 30-40 minutes then move if no bites.
Don't drop your anchor.....lower it into the water slowly and shut your engine off as soon as possible. The more you drive over the spot you're fishing or making additional noise the more the catfish will be spooked. If I have to motor over a spot several times I'll mark it on the GPS and come back to it later to fish it.
Blue catfish love 38-44 degree water temps and are really active in the James river during those temps, which can be between Nov. thru Feb..
I can't tell you much about Channel cats other than I like using cut Bluegill for bait and a croaker rig for a setup.
As far as Flatheads, live Bluegill is the best bait for fishing for them and fishing brush piles is one of the best spots to find good FHs.
Here's a 42 lber I caught Jan. 13th, 2013 on the James...drifting cut bait in 12 ft. of water.
