Keeping the Boat Still

[jigngrub]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Live Bluegills and/or Eels will always take the bigger cats. Live wild Golden Shiners is another good big cat bait. Fish these baits on a red 3/0 circle hook.

 

[fishndirk]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

I usually use a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook. Are there any advantages to a 3/0 over these? Also, I bought a minnow trap and am going to try that out this weekend. I have a cast net which I can throw off my bow but there's a lot of times when I can't find any schools swimming around. I tried using fresh caught Alewife and Blue Back Herring one time but that didn't seem to produce anything. Maybe that's more of a costal bait thing.

 

[Nightfisher-]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Man you guys use small hooks. lol. I'm using 7/0 Daichii circle chunk lites or 8/0 Gammakatsu Octopus circles. 8-12oz weights. Here we are allowed to use gill nets in the tidal section of the river so catching big gizzard shad to cut up is pretty easy. A 5 minute soak of the net will often catch way more than we can use in a night. Herring works awesome during the spring herring run, but starting this year we are not allowed to catch any. Went out last night and only managed one 12lbr and one around 3.

 

[R Socey]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

I fish the tidal Potomac. I feel that the back, and fourth sway is advantages. I try to keep my presentation near ( not on ) the bottom. More than two hooks is illegal in many places!
Try Kerr Resevoir ( Buggs Iland ). Big cats are easy to catch if you fish whare they are at.

Typical Potomac River cat:

 

[Nightfisher-]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Potomac is HOT for the cats and bass. (and snakeheads) Buggs is a definite awesome fishery too. Can't be bad when the world record blue came from there!

 

[R Socey]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Potomac is HOT for the cats and bass. (and snakeheads) Buggs is a definite awesome fishery too. Can't be bad when the world record blue came from there!

Yea they have Snakehead tournaments - the world record comes from the Potomac. The Bass are about to decline! It's sick with Blue cats. I have caught so many in this class, and I hardy fish for them.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Man you guys use small hooks. lol. I'm using 7/0 Daichii circle chunk lites or 8/0 Gammakatsu Octopus circles. 8-12oz weights. Here we are allowed to use gill nets in the tidal section of the river so catching big gizzard shad to cut up is pretty easy. A 5 minute soak of the net will often catch way more than we can use in a night. Herring works awesome during the spring herring run, but starting this year we are not allowed to catch any. Went out last night and only managed one 12lbr and one around 3.

I use the Daichii circle chunk lites too, I use the 3/0 because I prefer a smaller live bait. I've found the bigger hooks are more intrusive and heavier for the bait to carry around, the live bait doesn't last as long as it does with the 3/0.

My prefered bait is a 4" sunfish hooked just behind the head in the "neck", the 3/0 keeps it nice and lively for quite a while, and the 4" size attracts a variety of different sized predators.

 

[R Socey]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Use Gizzard Shad heads with a couple of inches of the body - guts included! Fish the James or a place thats replete with big cats.

 

[Nightfisher-]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

I usually cut the head off just behind the eyes, then make another cut just behind the pec fins. This gives a nice bloody hunk with brain/gill tissue on one end and the heart at the other. Of course the shad we use are a little bigger than those I've seen being used in other waters. I know a guy who will use one this size as live bait!



And since the thread has gotten completely off topic now and we are posting our kitty pics, I'll go ahead and toss up a couple of mine...

 

[fishndirk]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

I know were off topic but that's ok. Got some good cat info out of it. Ill try the anchor thing out this weekend. I wish I lived that close to a river that carried nice blues. The closest river to me that carries big catfish is Trent River which is almost an hour drive. I do have New River and the White Oak which are closer than that but there is nothing to brag of as far as catfish goes on those rivers. They are loaded with huge gar and bowfin though which are fun to catch. From my experience though what I have seen is that if you are fishing a hole that has gar patrolling it, you won't get a single bite from a catfish so you might as well pack it up and go to another spot if cats are what your after.

 

[fishndirk]

Re: Keeping the Boat Still

Well I went out on the river last night and tried the new and correct method of anchoring my boat in the current. One over the bow far out to hold against the current, one out past the stern about 10 feet back to keep the position left and right and to counter wind. I have to say it worked preaty good! The boat still moved of course but at a very minimum. With the slip sinker rigs I've been using lately you can afford a little bit of slack and line movement and still detect when a fish hits. Current was very light at first but picked up after midnight. Wind was a light gust going in completely the opposite direction but it worked out ok. Despite this all I managed to catch was a 3lb striper bass on my cat rig. Just one of those nights I guess.