how to catch catfish?

Question

I have a paddle boat that you pedal with your feet and I like to catch catfish i need to know all the ways to catch em and please go into detail i have heard of jugging but don't know how to do that or how to rig up what you need i have heard about trot lines but dont know how and our water shed has lots of trees sticking out of the water and then some open area so please help

Answer 1

Chicken Liver
Blood Bait
Cheese Bait
Live Bait
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/catfish/gofish/begin.html

Answer 2

Experts agree, catching catfish doesn't take anything too fancy. Catfish are hard to spot, as they spend most of their time in the murky waters. They prefer to spawn near rocks and other underwater structures, so having a topographical map of the lake you are planning on fishing can really help to locate the fish. Although catfish are true bottom feeders, many fishermen have success fishing their bait at different depths until they find the fish. In warmer water, the catfish tend to feed in shallower areas, but usually they completely avoid the clearer waters.

Once you have found an area where catfish are spawning, keep fishing that same area for the next 4 to 6 weeks, as different species of catfish will move in to the area and breed at different times.

Now what you use as bait, can vary from night crawlers, minnows, and shad, to liver, corn and pretzles. Most fish have noses for smelling food, catfish have an unusually strong sense of smell due to the fact that they can actually smell with their entire bodies. So anything that smells a lot seems to work well. Some of the most effective baits are those that are left out in the sun in a plastic bag and allowed to rot for as long as a month. Chicken and beef liver, canned ham, and shrimp work very well. Practically anything that is rotten and smells fowl will work fine. As a general rule, begin by dragging it deep and then work the bait shallower if there is no action on the bottom. Just keep adjusting your depth until you find where they are feeding.

Try using a Carolina Rig, for fishing cats. The slightly floating bait makes it easy for the catfish to find, and allows a little slack in the line between the bait and the sinker, so that they are not prone to spit it out right away, when they feel resistance on the line.


Fish early. Fish can be caught in the evening at dusk, but dawn is better. Get started when there is just enough light to see what you are doing. In the summer months in Kansas, we find that 5:30 to 8:30 AM is the best time of the day to fish.
Chum. Catfish love a meal of grain. If you chum and fish at the same place at the same time each day, there will be plenty of catfish at your fishing hole. We use sour milo, which has a pretty strong odor. Most of the fish we catch have a full stomach and intestines of milo. Soak milo in water for several days. We use 5 gallon buckets with a tight fitting lid.
We use Bob's Cheese Punch Bait. Like the sour milo, it really stinks, but it works. Catfish have a powerful sense of smell, unfortunately they prefer a smell that repulses humans -- good catfish men have weak olfactory senses. Note: to keep peace with your wife, don't suggest to transport sour milo or punch bait inside your vehicle.
Tie a rig with a weight about 10 inches above a treble hook.
Keep a tight line with the weight just off the bottom and hold your rod in your hand with a finger on the line. You don't get a second chance, so you have to be ready to set the hook. Many fish are very skilled at taking the bait off the hook and some bites are gentle enough that you will never detect it, yet alone react fast enough, if your rod is not in your hand. Two rods (Kansas limit) in rod holders won't catch as many fish as one rod in your hand.

Answer 3

Cat fishin is best done at dusk/night. Use chicken liver cubed up for bait, 10 or 12 pound test line and small weight. Since they feed from bottom, leave a good amount of line after bobber.
VERY IMPORTANT: Use a net to get reeled in catfish from water. They have sharp spine thingy. Wear a glove to grab fish to hold and use plyers to unhook.

Yum!

Answer 4

I'm telling you this works... Cheese munchies, get a bag or two go out and just crumble them up along side of boat. Put a minow on your line and start catching them. My fiance tries everyhting in the world that's all i use and I catch more and bigger fish than him. Catfish really love the pretzels.