Catfishing

Downriggers for Catfish?

2006-06-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

The eight pound downrigger ball was holding my bait at the desired depth as the water rushed past at close to 4MPH. Suddenly a fish struck and the line released. After a good fight, the target of the exercise was brought over the gunwales. Not a coho, or a lake trout. Not even a walleye, but a big channel cat. Have I discovered a way to troll J-plugs in lake Eerie for monster cats? No, just an interesting new way to utilize existing equipment in the quest for better catfishing.

Often, the key to successful fishing is bait placement. I know that sounds a bit simple, but allow me obfuscate it by way of explanation. See, fish don't have mass transit systems, they don't have SUV's and they don't even have mountain bikes. They live in a much more three-dimensional world than we do, yet they have no elevators. For a fish to travel ten feet is often quite a journey; to travel thirty or fifty or more is like a road trip. I understand about seasonal migrations, and open water schooling fish, and all the other exceptions. My basic point is that to catch fish, the precision of your bait placement is often MUCH more important than the bait itself. I once heard a great axiom from a famous television fishing personality (Roland Martin, maybe?). Whoever it was said something to the effect that [in bass fishing] you can have the exact right lure, presented at the exact right way at the exact right time of day; but if its in the wrong spot you'll catch nothing. Conversely, if you put a spark plug directly in front of an active largemouth, he'll likely hit it.

As it turns out, a great deal of our fishing tackle, equipment, and techniques are geared toward the primary purpose of putting the bait where the fish are. Think about your boat, your fishing weights, your anchors, etc. The technique described here is a method that I developed to help precisely place baits for large river catfish.

I'll start by describing the problem. There is a very large snag on the edge of the main river channel. In this particular cast, it is an entire cottonwood tree, roots downstream, in 20-25 feet of water. After taking several very nice channel cats from the perimeter of the brush with more traditional methods, I started to probe deeper into the cover. My efforts yielded even bigger cats, but bait placement began to be a real issue. Estimating the location to drop a 2-ounce sinker so that the current would drift it to the right place before it settled in 25 feet of water proved to be a challenge that cost me many rigs. I increased the size of my weights almost to the point of being silly. That managed to increase the amount of money I lost every time I got hung up. And of course every time I snagged up, it had the possibility to disturb the fishing.

I finally hit on the solution, drawing back to my days of trolling downriggers on the St. Croix for midsummer pike and walleye. I didn't have a downrigger, and didn't want to go to the bother of purchasing cannon balls or anything. I did have some 6oz mushroom-type decoy anchors, and I had some clothespin-type releases for my planer boards (TEASER: look for an upcoming article on using planer boards to catch cats!). So I tied the 6oz weight directly to the end of the 80lbs Tuf-Line on one of my muskie rods, and set out for the snag.

When I got to the snag, I idled the boat into position directly over the location I wanted to fish. I lowered the weight (on the muskie rod) straight down to the bottom and left the reel in freespool, and placed the rod in a rodholder. I then moved the boat upstream to an anchor position. Once anchored, I tightened up the line to the 6oz weight and put the muskie rod back in its holder. Now, I had a 6oz anchor exactly where I wanted to place my bait; and I had a heavy line from my boat to that anchor. The line had about a 30 degree angle on it, coming more or less straight upstream. So now I rigged up a circle hook on one of my cat rods and clipped on a 1oz rubber-core about 18" up from the hook. Once baited with fresh cut-bait, I half-hitched a rubber band to the line about 12" above the rubber core, and half hitched the other end to a large snap swivel. I clipped the snap onto the 80lbs Tuf-line and sent the bait down to the waiting anchor.

Using this configuration, the bait slides down the heavy line to the anchor, and waits for the bite. The rubber band breaks when the fish is on (with circle hooks, he's generally already hooked). The fish is brought in, the hook rebaited, and sent down on a new snap swivel. I've literally caught half a dozen good sized cats without moving the weight, with all those snap swivels just piling up down there.

One of the problems associated with this technique is that the extra line in the water can be an obstacle when fighting big fish. Incidentally, I did try pinch-pad type downrigger releases, but found the rubber band approach to work better.

This method allows extremely accurate bait placement in difficult environments. It also shows how angling knowledge from multiple species in many different situations can be put into play to solve challenging technical problems. Since that first experiment, I've used downrigger balls up to 8 lbs to hold bait in specific locations. Varying weights, releases and boat positions gives a variety of presentation options.

Pike on Flathead Technique

2006-06-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

I was on Lake Of The Woods this last Memorial Day weekend with a great group of guys from my church. We were primarily targeting walleyes, with a here-and-there side-bonus of pike. After we had some close encounters with WUS's (walleyes of unusual size), I ran into Baudette and picked up a dozen nice 5-8 inch sucker minnows. My plan was to rig them on smaller circle hooks and slowly drag bottom. You see, even on what may arguably be some of the finest walleye fishing in the US, I'm still just a catman at heart.

My plan didn't work so well on the walleyes, I just had smaller ones shredding my sucker without actually taking it. And others in the party were hooking up with nice fish with a simple jig and fathead minnow. So I abandoned the tactic, but left the suckers in the baitwell...just in case.

Towards evening, my self and my two boat partners were limited out on walleyes with several hours of daylight remaining, so Mark said we should go cast for some pike. For reasons I won't go into here, my bow-mount electric motor was unusable, so I decided to just let Mark and Malcom cast spoons and spinners while I stayed at the console, controlling a weedline drift with the outboard. Then I remembered the suckers and rigged up a classic (if downscaled) version of my favorite flathead float rig. A simple circle-hook under an inflated water balloon, with some sizable splitshot in between. I lip-hooked a 6" minnow and just flipped it out a ways from the boat.

While working the reed edge, a nice pike rolled on a buzzbait, but repeated casts with various lures yielded no results. As we drifted past, my boat mates shifted their attention to an upcoming turn in the weedline. I pitched back to the location that the pike rolled, as we drifted away from it. I set my rod down and backed the boat a few feet to control our drift. Within 30 seconds, my rod started to climb over the side of the boat. I looked up to see my balloon half submerged. Not knowing if I was on a weed, I simply started reeling with my rod tip pointed at the balloon. It quickly became apparent that there was a fish on. The circle hook had worked like a charm.

I was running a medium action rod, with 8 lbs test Trilene XL. There was no steel leader, the mono was tied directly to a 3/0 Gamakatsu circle hook. Luckily, as circle hooks are supposed to do, this particular toothy pike was hooked firmly in the corner of the mouth. When I got her in, she was a healthy, heavy 38 inches (about 17 lbs), my third biggest pike ever. As I released her, I reflected on how my catfish rigging experience had proven so useful in this situation. Often we get stuck in a rut as to how we think about certain fish species, when much of what we learn from one species can be applied to others.

If you've been following the articles this author has written, you doubtless have seen this at work in the fact that as an avid muskie and pike angler, I have brought insight and attitudes about those species into my catfishing arsenal. In this case, there was a bit of payback; with my catfishing skills helping to catch a nice pike.

I also wanted to include a picture of this incredibly nice 41 inch fish that one of my boat partners caught the next day. Mark was fishing with a lure designed and built by me when he hooked and landed this pig. Fifteen minutes before, he had hooked one that was a bit smaller, and we lost her and another of my original lures.

Cut Bait For Flatheads?

2006-05-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

I was alone in the 14 foot jonboat on an overcast, muggy August morning. I had one rod on the front side of a piece of brush on an outside bend of the Minnesota River. The rod sported a rather large, 2 inch by 4 inch piece of sheephead fillet. The current was heavy, but the bait clicker on my Diawa could hold the bait still. Suddenly the rod jumped to life, sounding like a 16" Stihl chainsaw. I grabbed the rod and let the hook find home. A nice 25 lbs flathead...my first on cutbait.

As with any discussion regarding baits for catfish, this one is sure to arouse some controversies. Some die-hard flathead chasers may even consider it heresy. But my goal is to catch more and bigger catfish, not to follow convenstional wisdom. So let's explore the myth and reality of using cut-bait for flatheads.

The scene I've described was the first, but far from the last instance where I've caught decent flatheads on cut bait. Was I fishing for flatties? No. I was fishing for channels, but what a nice bonus. Since then, I have never intentionally set out to specifically catch flatheads on cut bait; but I have probably boated several dozen "accidentally" while fishing for channel cats. So, having spent alot more time targeting channel cats, I may well have caught more flatheads on cut bait than on live bait.

Everything I've read and heard about fishing for flatheads tells me that live bait is the only possible bait. Of course, the first flathead I ever caught was on a #5 mepps spinner...so there goes that wisdom. And, I've seen several decent flatties caught on a gob of nightcrawlers. I do believe that flatheads don't care much for "dead" offerings. So why do they slam cut bait with seeming regularity?

Over all the instances of flatheads on cutbait, there are some common circumstances. If we explore these commonalities, we may be able to discover an overall pattern. Here are some of the things I've noticed.

It is always daylight when I catch flatheads on cutbait.
The piece of cutbait is generally quite large, as I'm usually targeting big channel cats.
The cut bait is generally "twitching fresh".
It has always been on my favorite rig, with a swivel and a superline leader of 14-30".
The water has always been relatively deep. In the area of the Minnesota where I usually fish, that means over 10 feet.
There has always been fairly strong current.
The majority have come on the top end of outside bends, with brush. The top end of outside bends offer the combination of deep water and strong current.

Let me hypothesize with regards to these parameters. I believe that in strong current, on the rig I've mentioned, the cut bait will often be quite active in the water. I've witnessed this by sometimes getting terribly twisted line when a swivel fails. I've never caught a flathead on cutbait in slack water, although conventional wisdom says that flatheads prefer slack water. I believe that the cutbait is almost acting like an artificial lure, spinning and flipping around. The flathead likely believes that it is a live baitfish.

I further believe that the flatheads spend the daylight hours in deeper water, near current; but in cover. That pretty much nails down the location I've presented...outside bend with cover. To further isolate the location, we move to the top end of the outside bend, where there is enough current to keep the cut bait "alive".

According to true scientific method, I must now test this hypothesis by attempting to reproduce the situation, and observing the results. Although I've never specifically targeted flatheads this way, I will do so in an attempt to prove the hypothesis. (I know, rough work but somebody has to do it :-) I will, of course post the findings of these experiments.

Wild Leeks

2006-04-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here is John with a bundle of wild leeks (also called ramps) we harvested this morning. We're thinking next spring we're going to spend a week on the river, eating nothing but wild plants and channel cats! Well, it sure would be fun, anyway.

My thanks to the guy that was kind enough to show this nosey yankee what he had in his bag that day...I had no idea these leeks were around.

Still Off Topic

2006-04-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should title this post "Back Country Foraging...Take 2". Well, it's that time of year. Hopefully I can get some slack. There are just so many wild edibles out there in April and May that I just can't help it.

This is John with some fiddleheads we harvested . Fiddleheads are the tender young shoots of the ostrich fern. They are quite delicious, tasting kind of like asparagus, with a hint of celery.

John cooked up some noodles and sauteed the fiddleheads and some fresh morels in butter and garlic. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some fried catfish fillets.

Morels In Minnesota

2006-04-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't on-topic for this site, but I think most catfish-chasers also spend at least some time in the woods and fields in search of wild edibles. And none is probably more sought after than the wonderful morel mushroom.

I generally begin looking for morels in Minnesota about a week after Easter. The peak generally occurs around the last week in April. A good rule of thumb is that when the walleye bite slows down in pool 4, you may as well go after mushrooms. Weather patterns have some impact on peak, but you can generally expect to see them around the last week of April, into the first week in May.

A great way to spend a warm spring afternoon with the kids. My son John and my youngest daughter Dani Jo went with me on this expedition after morels. We had to work hard, getting way back into the thick stuff to find this mixed bag of black and yellow morels. They are running a bit small this year, but it has been dry for a couple of week.

Incidentally, I ran into a guy at one of my morel hotspots who was picking some kind of wild onion-like plant with an edible bulb. I think he said they were ramps, which is another name for wild leeks. I'm going to try to find some of those in a few days as well. I bet they fry up real nice with some morels and a couple of fresh sauger fillets...

Catfishing For The Impatient

2006-04-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, catfishing had a certain flavor to it. There was an expected pace...a specific pattern. Basically, we would find a reasonable looking spot, cast out chicken livers and wait. And wait. And sometimes wait some more. In fact, in my childhood and through my teenage years I can't remember changing locations at all. It was a game of patience. When I rediscovered catfishing several years ago, all that changed.

If you've read my previous articles you'll know that I've spent most of my adult life (some fifteen plus years) chasing primarily large, toothy predators...northern pike and muskies. My primary tactics on these predators was to keep moving, covering water, searching for active fish. When I started catfishing again, this technique just kind of stuck with me. I believe it has enabled me to be a much better catfish angler than I ever was before.

Although I employ several tactics, the aggressive, run-and-gun method I learned while muskie hunting is generally my favored approach. Before I explain in detail the methodology, let me explain that I primarily fish mid-sized rivers with plenty of brush and cover. Also, I will almost always exclusively use fresh cut bait during this technique. I find cut bait the most consistent performer, and it removes one more variable from the equation. In other words, cut bait is my "search lure" of choice.

I'll start with a known good location and bait up. Set the rods and wait exactly fifteen minute. If there is no action, pull anchors and move. I literally use a wristwatch, and if I'm fishing with someone else, I'll generally announce the "deadline" for getting bit. Depending on the size or complexity of the cover or structure I'm fishing, I may just fish it for fifteen minutes and then reposition the baits or reposition the boat for another ten or fifteen minutes. It is important to stick to your timeline, and be disciplined. A morning can melt away quickly if you spend thirty minutes on four separate unproductive locations.

Here is a typical morning employing the run-and-gun for channel cats on a favorite local river:
5:00am - setup on known good current break/eddy location with brush.
5:15am - no runs, a couple of fickle hits. pull anchor and run up river.
5:25am - setup on front of rocky ledge with topside brush.
5:28am - sporadic run, missed fish.
5:35am - good run, boated 10lbs channel cat
5:40am - boated another 10 pounder
5:55 am - no hits in fifteen minutes, but had 3 decent hits and 2 fish in 30 minutes, so will stick it out for another 15 minutes.
6:10am - no further hits, pull anchor and move.
...

From this brief glimpse, you can get the picture. It helps to have the mindset of "eliminating" spots. I know most people would spend more time on the second spot after boating two decent cats in 30 minutes, but the technique as I've described it has put lots of big cats in my boat.

One of my favorite things to do in a local river is to go brush-hopping. I like this technique best when I'm fishing alone. This allows me to more easily fish with just one anchor, to more readily reposition the boat. In this version of the technique, I motor to the top end of a brushy shoreline; often one that has 15 or 20 good snags along a half-mile stretch of river. I set anchor and fish one rod from the stern of the boat. If you're wonderingwhy just one rod, Minnesota's arguably silly state law says you can only fish with one hook at a time in open water. Sometimes these snags are only really big enough for one bait anyway. I'll often only give these small, isolated snags just ten minutes to produce fish. Then I pull anchor and drift into position above the next snag downstream. This particular variation has produced some incredible catches from seemingly insignificant locations.

Although this technique is quite a bit more work than the average camp-out-all-night in one spot catfishing escapade, it has tremendous potential to produce large fish, and numbers of fish. It has the added benefit of helping you learn the river more quickly. Give it a try and don't be afraid to move the boat.

Unique Bait Placement Technique

2006-04-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

Some years ago I discovered a very unique method for precise placement of very large flathead baits. The technique works equally well with other baits, and is really quite enjoyable.

The problem was, I was fishing with live sheephead that weighed over one pound. Oddly, none of my flathead rods are rated for 16oz. baits. I do have some very heavy rods I use, and I could kind of "toss" the poor baitfish out there; but my bait placement was quite inaccurate.

Then one day I was float fishing for flatheads, having a large sheephead suspended below an inflated balloon. In this method, I would typically position the boat directly upstream of the location I desired to fish, and simply float the bait into position. This technique can be quite productive, but it often takes several attempts to get the depth set correctly. On this particular day, I was fishing the upper branches of a large dead tree that had long ago fallen into the water. As I navigated the balloon into the branches, it hit a sharp stick and popped. I typically use a fairly large weight in this situation (something like 2-3 oz) so of course the whole rig sank immediately to the bottom. I figured it was in good position anyway, so I set my baitclicker and put down the rod to begin blowing up another balloon.

Within a couple of minutes, a flathead picked up that bait and was subsequently boated and released. As I reflected upon my good fortune of having accidentally gotten my bait on the bottom, in almost perfect placement, I began to wonder if there was a way to do this intentionally. Not every spot I fish has such a convenient balloon popper built in, you see. Then I hit upon it. My son has a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun; the kind with the single-cock lever action that holds like a hundred BB's in the tube outside the barrel. Using such a weapon, I could precisely control where the balloon is popped.

My next trip flathead fishing saw me toting this airgun along with an ample supply of balloons. The technique is basically to rig up as if you were simply going to cast into the location, and then attach an inflated balloon. Float the bait into the exact position you want to fish and then shoot the balloon with the BB gun. The balloon pops, the bait drops, and you are in the strike zone.

A few tips for using this technique:

Make sure your balloon is firmly inflated, an underinflated balloon is much harder to pop. I typically use water balloons.
If you're using a slip sinker, attach the balloon directly to the sinker using a rubber band. That way there will be no balloon residue on the line to interfere with slip sinker operation.
Be sure you comply with all local laws and regulations regarding the use of an air gun. In some places, even these innocuous little guns need to be cased during transport.
Have fun, my son loves to use this technique for obvious reasons.

Ok, so they're not catfish, but...

2006-04-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

While fishing on the Mississippi River with my buddy Darrell, we pounded these two limits of 12 saugers between 15 and 18 inches. We caught them on jig and minnow in 18 feet of water on flooded timber. We actually boated close to 40 in five hours of fishing. Darrell also caught a small sturgeon. I kept secretly hoping to hook some catfish, but I never did. Anyways, they sure eat nice, and at least I got on the river.

I wonder how many of these saugers a nice flathead eats in a day?

New Catfishing Site

2006-03-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

For those who have been following this blog, the publishers have started a new, more dynamic catfishing site. www.catfishscience.com will feature the same articles published on catfishing.blogspot.com, only better.

We will continue to publish new articles here as well as on www.catfishscience.com , but more features will be added to www.catfishscience.com as it progresses.

DAYLIGHT RESERVOIR TACTICS PART 1

2006-03-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

DAYLIGHT RESERVOIR TACTICS PART 1
By Contributor - Patrick Hopkins

As I ease up to the launch right at dusk, I see the back up lights on a couple of trailers as they head out for an evening of chasing cats. Talking to these fellas is always a challenge, as we all have our thoughts on the best methods of catching these head shakin brutes. We exchange pleasantries, they ask ask how the fishing was, I being just like them respond "off and on". So I proceed to load the boat and head for home to fillet the half-dozen 4 pound eater size male channels I had kept for the day.

I almost exclusively fish the large man made resevoirs in central and southern Iowa. On these bodies of water the philosophy of 95% of cat anglers is to run up into the crick (creek to those northerners) arms after dark and still fish with prepared baits or chicken livers. Sure this works, but why spend all night catching mainly small fish and feeling lucky to hook into 2 or 3 ten pounders through the summer. Certainly there had to be a better approach, over the next few articles I will attempt to explain a few of them that have worked for me over the years.

To be completely honest these daylight tactics came about as much from searching for more large fish as it did from necessity. When my wife gave birth to our daughter, our nightime fishing excursions had to come to an end. Being a true outdoors person with several 15-18 pound channels and a few 27 pound gobblers to her credit, she was not about to let our new bundle-of-joy finish her fishing days. So if you are ever on one of these resevoirs and see a thin dark haired gal on the bow, with a red headed 4 year old casting a spinning rig for Wipers, come on over and say "howdy" as that would be us.

Now let's get back to those big resevoir cats that I was talking about. First let me explain my gear and tackle. As far as rods go, my preference is a good e-glass or glass composite with a moderate action and medium or medium-heavy power. I really like the good old 7 foot medium power Ugly-Stik trigger rod. Reel choice is nothing but personal preference as long as it has a good drag and bait clicker. Now about line, I'm not here to get into the superline vs mono debate. Let's just say I strongly lean towards good mono. The "good mono" I use is Envy green Ande' Premium with a clear leader. In all the research I've done no mono holds a Palomar knot better than Ande'. (I guess 90% of Blue Marlin fisherman can't be wrong) Use the lightest weight line you can get by with and still maintain control of a 30 pound plus fish. In my case that happy medium is 15 pound line. I'll go into more discussion on the light line in upcoming articles. When you look into my hook box, all that can be seen are three styles. The Eagle Claw Circle Sea #L702 and Daiichi bleeding bait wide gap circle #D85Z make up the cicle hook assortment. I carry both styles from 1/0 to 5/0. The third is an Eagle Claw Kahle style(I cant find a number on these at this time) ranging from #2 through 4/0. Of course there is also an assortment weights, floats and swivels in my bag as well, these will all be discussed as they come into play.

Now that I have introduced myself I look forward to posting many more articles. These will cover many rarely used tactics that I have used to be fairly consistent at boating some large daylight cats.

Using Slip Bobbers

2006-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever tried to use a slip bobber while fishing in current? Not that easy is it? For years I had read the merits of slip bobber fishing for cats in moving water, but being a simple boy from Iowa, I generally stuck with my trusty slip sinker. I always had intentions of trying it, because Doug Stange always made it sound so FUN. I have been using slip bobbers with great success in slow or non-moving water for years, the challenge here is using them in moving water.

My first couple of experiences were awful. I kept snagging my bait on the bottom, or else my bait would drift aimlessly off where I didn't want it to go. Either way, it proved completely maddening and worse, unproductive for me. Now I'm the type of guy who doesn't just write off a technique because it didn't work for me the first couple of times...I generally assume that there is something I don;t understand. So I went back to the books, and then began to experiment in earnest. Here is what I came up with.

First of all, I think most folks generally fish shallower water than me with slip rigs. I was trying to fish in 8-14 feet of water. The point here is, shallower water is easier to manage with a slip bobber rig, but I've learned how to fish the deep stuff.

Next, don't be afraid to use alot of weight. By alot, I'm talking 1 to 3 oz of lead. Remember that this will require a large float as well. My favorite rigging is generally to use a foam float in the 1.5" diameter range with a 1.5 oz rubber-core sinker strapped on about 18" above the bait. You want the float to be a little more than half submerged with the rig at rest. As I've likely mentioned in other articles, I have never had any real success using circle hooks under floats. So I'll use some form of standard hook, probably a limerick or Eagle Claw baitholder; depending on the bait, etc.

The bobber stop is also important. I only use the kind that are tied of thread and come on a tiny straw. You want to make sure to tighten it down somewhere close to where you expect to need it. I typically only use monofilament for float fishing, and generally around 14 lb test Trilene Big Game. This will stand up to repeated moves of the bobber stop, which you'll need during your adjustment phase.

The biggest key to success is patience. It will take multiple tries to get your depth set right, expect to take 10 or 15 casts to get it right. The magic here is that in my experience, if your bait is reasonable and you're in a good location, the fish will generally tell you when the depth is right. Here is my typical sequence for float fishing.

Anchor directly downstream of the target area.
Set your depth at least two feet shallower than the minimum water depth you expect to encounter.
Bait up and cast upstream, above your target. Remember that the float will immediately start its downstream travel, so you'll have to place the bait far enough upstream that by the time the bobber stop hits the top of the bobber, you're in the target area.
Keeping your rod tip high, allow the bobber to float back toward you, taking up slack to keep line off the water. It is important to take up slack at the proper rate, too slow and your line will lay on the water and begin to pull your bait. Too fast and you will be pulling your bait.
Keep an intense watch on the bobber at all times. You can determine alot by watching it. Often there are currents towards the bottom which will be indicated by a tilting of the top of the bobber. I cannot stress enough how critical it is to watch closely.
If the bobber hangs on the bottom, the top of the bobber will tilt toward you and then start to go under water. In this case, set your bobber six inches shallower.
If the bobber returns without a strike, and without catching bottom, set it six inches deeper and repeat the process.
Keep in mind that you may have initially misjudged the current in the target area, and your bait landing zone may have to be adjusted for the bait to drift through the target area. I have even had to reposition the boat to enable drifting through the area I was targeting. Do not be afraid to reposition the boat.

There you have my basic technique for setting up and fishing with slip bobbers for cats. Pay special attention to item #5 above. I'll sometimes fish this technique in a new spot just to get a better understanding of the currents and structure in the area. Remember to be patient during the initial probing phase, it will generally pay off once the depth gets right.

Best Bait for Flatheads?

2006-01-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

Discussions around the best bait for any species of catfish can become...well...spirited. There are literally hundreds of baits to choose from when selecting fare for channels and blues. The choices for flathead fishing are more limited, but everyone seems to have their own favorite and are not afraid to tell you about it. My initial forays into flathead fishing were thwarted by the Minnesota DNR. You see everything I read, heard or saw told me that the absolute top bait for flatheads is a live green sunfish...hands-down winner, no need for debate. Problem is, a person simply cannot use a live green sunfish (or any other sunfish) for bait in the state of Minnesota. After considering the idea of moving to a more catfish-friendly state, I decided to try some other baits.

Apparently bullheads are an acceptable bait in Minnesota. I saw several posts on message boards reporting flathead catches on the upper Minnesota River on bullheads. Easy to catch (just go walleye fishing and you're sure to catch a boatload), and very durable; this is a very good bait alternative. The problem is, I have not had consistent results catching flatheads on bullheads. The bullheads I do fish with are of the 7-8 inch variety.

Another bait alternative is suckers, or sucker minnows. I really enjoy fishing with big suckers as here in Minnesota you could potentially hook a big, toothy fish as well. I've had some success catching flatheads on suckers, although I've honestly caught more flatheads on chunks of sucker than on live suckers. The biggest problem with suckers is acquiring the bait in the first place. If you happen to live next to a stream that is loaded with white suckers, you're in business. If you have to buy them; you'll soon go out of business. They are not terribly plentiful in the waters I catfish, so the only time I ever really fish with them is when I catch them on my "bait rod" (more about that in a minute). A typical bait sucker for me is around 10-14". Any bigger and I usually use them for cut bait.

About my "bait rod"...I typically carry a medium-light action spinning rod spooled with 6-8 lbs test mono, rigged with a #2 aberdeen hook, a 3/8 oz slip sinker with a splitshot between the hook and slip sinker. This is my bait rod. I bait this hook with night crawlers or angle worms or doughballs, or whatever I have on hand and use it to catch my baitfish. Remember that in Minnesota, you're only allowed one hook, so I cannot simultaneously fish for bait and catfish. This makes my baitfishing time very important. The faster I can catch acceptable bait, the sooner I'm angling for whisker fish. Here in Minnesota, the list of things you cannot do is MUCH longer than the list of things you can do. In fact on a local radio personality's talkshow, one of the taglines is "from the state where nothing is allowed". The list of things you cannot do includes "Using whole or parts of game fish, goldfish, or carp for bait...". So, no carp or goldfish either. Of course I generally catch 5-6 carp for every sucker that I catch. And since I'm not actually on the river to carp fish...but wait. What are these extremely plentiful rough fish that are easy to catch and nobody really pays any attention to?

This brings us to the final flathead bait to be discussed here. The lowly sheephead, or freshwater drum. I began using sheephead as a "last resort" one day when I hadn't had time to go to my bullhead lake, and I could not catch a sucker no matter how I tried; of course I was catching a sheephead every 3 minutes on the bait rod. I had successfully used sheephead for cut bait, but would a flathead eat a live sheephead? I decided to try it out. I put a 12-14" fish (that's about a pound and a half sheephead, folks) in a bucket of water and motored to the predetermined flathead locale. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon, and I rigged this giant sheephead on a 14/0 circle hook with a 3 oz bank sinker. I figured he'd slip my bait clicker so I clipped off half of his tail with my side-cutter. Then I pitched him up near the brush I was fishing. A flathead picked him up in less than 10 minutes. It ended up being my biggest to that point, at over 40 lbs.

I believe that flatheads are not terribly picky eaters. The best bait is fresh bait, the fresher the better. It needs to be lively, and it needs to be well rigged. Otherwise, any legal bait in the appropriate size, placed in the right location will do the job. I don't think sheephead are any better than any other baitfish, but availability is their key to success. Use whatever bait is readily available, and spend more time with your bait in key flathead locations. Spend less time worrying over the which bait to use.

My Experience With Circle Hooks

2006-01-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

I first started using circle hooks in the summer of 2001 after reading an article in In-Fisherman. My original plan was to test them on catfish, and migrate them into my overall fishing arsenal for everything from crappies to muskies. In part, my plan worked.

I am [un] fortunate to live within 40 minutes of a Cabela's store...well, actually two of them now. I was able to walk in and peruse the selection of circle hooks to judge sizes and get a feel for their overall physical dimensions. Had that not been possible, I would have doubtless mail-ordered several wrong-sized hooks before settling on something that works.

With circle hooks, size is more important than with a standard hook. You really need to pay attention to your bait size and your intended quarry size. I think generally you are better off going too big on a circle hook, rather than too small. In addition to this, circle hooks generally run smaller than regular hooks with the same size designation.

I started out targeting relatively large (5-15lbs) channel cats on the lower Minnesota River. My first hook choice was about a 2/0 Gamakatsu. I had some hook-ups and some misses. I understood that I was still under a bit of a learning curve so I didn't get too concerned about the misses. The biggest problem was that the 2/0 hooks with the somewhat odd bend were simply not big enough to hold my typical cut-bait offering. The exposed gap was very small and I was forced to hook the bait VERY close to the end.

After some experimentation, I settled on what is still my favorite circle hook for larger channel cats, a 5/0 VMC Vanadium Sport Circle Hook (model# 7384BN). I can't find them locally anymore, but you can get them online ( for example, see Jann's Netcraft ). I still have a package of 25 that you couldn't get from me if you tried. Anyway, they are the prefect size, and the round bend positions the bait better than most "circle" hooks that have a kahle-like bend. Granted, 5/0 may sound pretty big, but I've gotten very close to 90% hookups fishing this hook and have been very happy with it. I've also hooked the occasional 40lbs flathead that hammers my cut-bait as it spins in high-current areas.

For live-bait rigging flatheads, I'll typically use either a 12/0 or 14/0 Eagle Claw seaguard circle hook, depending on the bait size. I'll generally either harness the bait, or I'll use a rubber band through the nose to hook up the bait. My flathead baits are generally way too large to hook directly. I'll cover more on baiting options for very large baits in a later article.

I've successfully used circle hooks in smaller sizes while ice fishing with tip-ups. Using a 2/0 Daiichi with 4-5 inch shiners has proven deadly on northern pike. Using 1/0 or smaller with small shiners or large fatheads has put several walleyes on the ice for me. Circle hooks are a natural for tip-up or rattle-reel fishing because the hookset is otherwise so difficult with these fishing methods.

Tips for using circle hooks:

Use a hook that is big enough. With the bait attached, there should be plenty of gap left.
Make sure the hook point is exposed and will remain exposed. This means when fishing cut bait, be sure to remove any scales that may stick to the point. Sometimes I'll even trim away the leading corners of the cut bait to make sure it doesn't "foul" the hook point.
Like all hooks, keep your hook points sharp. A circle hook relies on a sharp point to do its work.
Do NOT set the hook. Just apply steady pressure until the hook finds home. On bigger fish, you can then lean back into them. When targeting larger channel cats, I generally just point the rod tip right at them and start reeling steadily. When I feel them solidly on the line, I raise the rod tip in a steady sweep.

What is a circle hook NOT good for?

Float (aka bobber) fishing. I have not been able to find a successful combination of float and circle hook that would consistently catch fish. I've tried various sizes/combinations for panfish and catfish. For fishing under a float, I prefer a standard hook.
Drift fishing. I have not tried drifting for cats using circle hooks (by the way, watch for an upcoming article on drift-fishing cats...I think my brother has had some success drifting with circle hooks). I have unsuccessfully tried drifting for walleyes and crappies with a circle hook. I was in a boat with three other guys that were hammering big crappies and eater walleyes while I kept missing fish on my circle hooks. I experimented with several sizes and weight combinations, but simply could not get consistent hook-ups. Perhaps I'll try this again in the spring.

Small Rivers

2006-01-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

This past summer I spent a fair amount of time on a small river near my home. By small river, I mean most places it is easy to cast across. More of a creek, in most parts of the country; although I'm not sure there is such a thing as a "creek" in Minnesota...

Small rivers like this are ideal places to learn about the nuances of reading current and finding fish. Around here these small rivers get very little fishing pressure, and generally hold good poulations of fish. I've found that generally the fish run a bit smaller; but that doesn't mean there aren't quality fish available.

The reason I find small rivers to be excellent learning opportunities is that the relatively small geography (or would that be hydrograhy?) allows you to quickly ascertain if you're in the right spot. Contrast that to fishing the Mississippi, where you could "read" the river and be within 25 feet of the right spot, but never know it because you don't get a single nibble. I guess the feedback is generally quicker on a small river. Most spots can be eliminated with just a few bait placements.

The experience gained learning to read the smaller rivers can then be used to help dissect larger spots on larger rivers. The knowledge is almost directly transferrable. If you learn where to place your bait in relation to an eddy on an outside bend on a smal river, you'll likely be close to the right spot on a large river.

Something to Learn From Carp?

2006-01-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have recently discovered a very large (and growing) population of North American carp anglers. I was investigating some new piece of gadgetry, and I stumbled across some very interesting web sites and online user communities revolving entirely around carp fishing. I was a bit surprised, and then intrigued.

See, I've caught my share of carp. Both accidentally and intentionally. As a teenager, we would chase monster carp on the St. Croix river in Wisconsin using doughballs made of 2 to 3 slices of Wonder bread. We specifically underpowered ourselves with light action rods and 6 lbs test. If a fish broke off...well...it was just a carp. Let me tell you, those sessions taught me a great deal about handling big, powerful fish. I've often fondly remembered those days of hot drag washers as I'm releasing a big cat...might not have landed it without all that practice.

So back to the websites...as I was browsing through all of the products and gadgets they have available, I was astounded. Here I am, a veritable cornucopia of angling lore and knowledge, and I have no idea what these carp guys are talking about. What is a rod pod? A bait boat? Hair rigs? Feeders? Boilies? Spods and catapults? What are these guys talking about? I guess a few years ago I could have passed it off as stuff "those Eurpoeans are doing". But now, it is hitting mainstream North American angling. See www.carp.com and www.carp.net or Google "carp fishing". You'll see what I mean.

The concept of spodding particularly got my attention as I thought "there must be a way to use this catfishing". I guess that is how I justify purchasing items that I have no real need for. All in the name of innovation, I suppose. So I'll be looking more deeply into the wares of the carp fishermen, and trying to find new ways to adapt some of their techniques and rigs to the world of catfishing. Did you know some carp baits have hemp seeds? Is that legal?

Superline or Monofilament

2005-04-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

Should cat-chasers choose the old standby monofilament line, or select one of the newer superlines? This is a good question, and one that probably defies absolute resolution.

Much depends on fishing style, location, presentation, etc. Let me back up a bit and remind our readers that I effectively defected from the extremely hi-tech world of musky fishing to re-invent myself as a catfish angler. I still _really_ enjoy chasing muskies, but these days, nine times out of ten if I'm in a boat and it ain't duck season...well, it's likely I'm drowning a chunk of cut bait in water that looks like a $5 espresso drink from Starbucks.

In musky angling I used only superlines. I would hit the water with 5-7 rods spooled with varying weights of superline, mostly Tuf-Line as that was (and is) my favorite of the superbraids. The primary reasons were diameter and sensitivity. For my crankbait rods, I spool up the thinnest 25-35lbs test line I can find, because I get better distance on the cast, and better depth on the retrieve. If you've ever spent an afternoon chucking and retrieving a huge "Ernie" crankbait, your back and shoulders will thank you for every extra inch you can gain on cast and depth.

When I started catfishing again, I opted for only monofilament. I spooled all my cat rods with solar green Berkely Trilene Big Game in weights from 17 to 35 lbs. The primary motivation here was that the green line showed up remarkably well against the turbid waters I frequent, and the I could snap the mono with a leather glove if it got hung. Ever wedge a 2.5oz egg sinker in some boulders and try to break off 65lbs Tuf-Line? You could use that stuff for anchor rope. I also liked the abrasion resistance and the shock resistance of the mono. With my style of catfishing, sensitivity is generally not a concern.

I look back on these decisions, and setups and realize that the best solution in both styles of fishing is to use both types of line. I am certain that I have lost muskies at boatside on a superline/stiff rod combination that would have been boated on monofilament. I am equally certain that I have missed hooksets on nice cats because of line stretch that could have been avoided with superline.

Here's what I mean: it is very difficult to keep a musky hooked up on a short (say 3 foot) line whan he's got a 4oz wooden jerkbait hangin off his face. He's got all that weight to throw around and use as leverage. Most musky rods (especially jerk-bait rods) are necessarily stiff and have fast actions (ever try to cast a 2oz bait with a 5-weight flyrod?). Adding a zero-stretch superline to that mix makes it very, very difficult to land that really-mad-getting-you-wet-on-the-short-line toothy critter.

In catfishing, sometimes we end up in a situation that is less than perfect for a hookset. Some extra bow in our line, boat drifting in to the bait, fish running at you, etc. You probably know all the reasons... Often we recover just fine, we've got a high gear-ration reel, and pick up that line extra fast, and slam the hook home. Other times, we do our best, try the hookset and only get a spongy feeling that makes a cat-chaser's stomach flip over. Often, I think the extra 3-4 inches of stretch may make the difference here. Fishing is like baseball in a lot of ways. You have to play the odds, be aware of the statistics, and realize that although you're playing on a big field, it's a game of inches.

My answer to the question is really still evolving, but I think there's not only room for both, but necessity for both line types in the cat-chaser's arsenal. I think this summer will find me with more of my musky rods in the jon-boat, and some of my cat rods in the musky boat, too. I think I'll try a 14" sucker minnow on a big circle hook hanging under a balloon on a weed edge somewhere.

Micro Spots

2005-03-23T00:05:00.000-08:00

I have spent a great deal of time catfishing alone. You see, I like to get up really early...there's something about the river at 4:30am with a cool fog laying in and the barges working. Alot of catmen like to hang out past sundown, but I like early morning. Maybe it's the duck hunter in me. Anyway, it leads me to the topic at hand, namely fishing micro spots on medium to large rivers.

Several summers ago, I spent most of my time alone in a 14' jonboat on a large local river. I began to develop a hit-and-move strategy that would have me fishing 15-20 different locations in a six-hour fishing trip. This particular river has lots of wood and brush along the edges. My strategy was simply to anchor upstream from a likely looking piece of brush, drop my cut bait on the upstream edge of the cover and set my watch on the seat where I could see it. If, after 7-10 minutes I had not been bitten, I would reposition the bait on the cover. Another 5-7 minutes and I'd be pulling anchor and moving.

This strategy really paid off on this river because of the abundance of small pieces of brush. I found I could easily put together good catches even on tough days. You wouldn't believe how many ten to twelve pound channel-cats I pulled off of tiny little pieces of brush.

Often, there are only one or two cats in these micro-spots. These spots are often tough to fish with more than one or two people, as there is typically not enough room to place more than a couple of baits. These small spots get overlooked, however, and can really pay off big if you're willing to move around alot.

Details

2005-03-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

Details, details, details. Some of my fishing buddies enjoy giving me a hard time about my preoccupation with details. I guess it comes from being a full-time software developer and part-time fisherman. In software, it pays to be meticulous. I believe that the same holds true in angling.

Rigging and knots are one area where some people think I go overboard. After having lost too many big cats due to knot failure, or failure of terminal tackle; I developed some techniques that really work. It's not some radical new approach, rather it's a combination of proven features put together in interesting ways. I will describe my absolute favorite riggings for catfishing local rivers.

I generally use 17 or 25 lbs Trilene Big Game in Solar Green (I like the visibility against the muddy and/or stained waters I fish). On the business end, I tie a bimini twist about 30 inches long. I really like using a bimini, as it adds so much to the overall strength of the rig. If you've never tied a bimini twist, now is a good time to start practicing. It takes me both hands, both feet and my teeth to get one tied. You can find instructions on tying a bimini [ here ].

Most times, I'll use an egg sinker from 1 to 2.5 ounces, sliding on the monofilament. Then I add a plastic bead and tie on a heavy crane swivel using a Trilene knot. This gives me a bead for the sinker to hit, and FOUR wraps of mono around the crane swivel. I really like the durability of this setup.

On the bottom side of the swivel, I tie a leader of 35 or 50 lbs test braided micro-dyneema superline ( I like Tuf-Line, which happens to be what I use on most of my musky rods). This leader is generally between 12 and 20 inches, depending on the conditions I'll be fishing. I use a palomar knot [ instructions ] to connect both ends of the leader. I like the superbraid because it is thinner and softer than monofilament, and I believe the catfish is less likely to "feel" it than heavy monofilament.

On the business end of the leader goes a good quality 5/0 or larger circle hook. More about hooks in a later article.

I generally tie up several dozen "leaders" ahead of time, each leader consisting of a hook, a length of superbraid, and a swivel. I wrap these around small pieces of hardboard or 1/4" plywood and secure them with rubber bands. That way, when I'm on the water, I can tie on a new leader without spending time tying the extra knots.

Here is a drawing of the completed rig. Click on the image to view a larger version of it.

Snow Still Flying

2005-02-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

It's about 20 degrees and the snow is coming down. A buddy of mine caught some walleyes last weekend on the Mississippi, it was much warmer then.

I bet guys from Minnesota have the cleanest, most organized tackle in the country. Not just because they are uptight Scandanavians, but because they have 5 months of winter to contend with. I reorganize my stuff about every six weeks during the winter. Of course gear is cool. More gear, more cooler. That's probably why I like duck hunting so much. All the gear.

Speaking of gear, a short introduction on the tackle I generally use is probably in order. I primarily fish medium to large rivers, from a boat, in northern states like Minnesota. My primary waters are the Minnesota river and the Mississippi. This plays greatly into my selection of rods, reels, line, etc. Keep in mind that in Minnesota, you can use only one hook at a time. And a treble hook (if not part of a lure) is considered three hooks.

I prefer baitcasters, typically larger ones like Diawa Millionares and Abu-Garcia 6500 series, they MUST have a bait-clicker. I generally like rods in the 7-8 foot range, with some good backbone. I like monofilament in rivers, and all I use is Trilene Big Game.

My Favorite Rod:
Ok, my absolute favorite rod in the whole world is an old Berkeley Grey-Fight flippin stick with a Diawa Millionaire 300s spooled with 25lb Trilene Big Game in solar green. The butt-cap is missing, and some of the foam is torn away so when I'm fighting a big one, the exposed end of the blank leaves little smileys on my stomach. I remember on particular outing where I was catching dozens of very nice channel cats in the rain. I got home and my wife will not let me in the house with my "fishing clothes" on. I take off my shirt, and her disgust turns to genuine concern "What happened to your stomach?" she asked. She was thinking I'd rolled around in some poison oak, or contracted some strange tropical disease. I looked down, and saw that a small patch of my stomach was covered with tiny "smiles" from my favorite rod. I'm not sure it was my favorite rod before that day.

I don't want you to get the wroing idea. I typically head out on the river with 8-10 rods rigged and ready. Generally these rods have differing linewidths, weights, rigs, hooks, etc. I am no resppector of rods when I'm looking for fish and developing a pattern. But, when I settle into a pattern, I'll re-rig my favorite if it makes sense to do so.

Getting Started

2005-02-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

I'm in Minnesota. Its early February. That's why I'm writing stuff instead of fishing. I guess I could fish through a hole in the ice (yes, you can catch catfish that way!), but it's unseasonably warm and as I crossed the bridge over the Minnesota River on my way to the office this morning, I started thinking about warm, foggy June mornings and twitchy-fresh cut-bait...I guess its time to start sorting the tackle...again.

I've got a bunch of stuff I want to write about, but I'm also looking for contributors. If you've got an article you'd like published here, please email it to me at catfish at solidigm dot com .

Mission

2005-02-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

The mission of this website is to provide informative and innovative information about angling for North American catfish species; including channel catfish, flathead catfish and blue catfish.