How to Catch Catfish

How to catch catfish starts with the basics. What tackle do you need and where to find them? The choices in bait and rigging tips. The basics give a foundation to build on to improve your skills.

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People do enjoy catching catfish. The fish is second to only bass in popularity. Some type of catfish is swimming in the waters near you. How you choose to go after catfish is your choice.

Some people buy specific rods and reels for catching catfish. Since this is helpful for some species of catfish. But the average angler likely has a rod and reel that is suitable.

Tackle for Catching Catfish

An average angler with a medium power rod can go after catfish. The majority of catfish are about 2-8 pounds. You will catch a fair amount in the 8-12 pound range also. If you fish enough for them. The larger fish are rare and take more skill and knowledge.

If you do live in an area with a larger population of the big fish. A medium-heavy power catfish rod is worth buying. There is a lot on the market ranging from $30 to $100. The reels run from $50 to $150 for a fair to a good model. It is easy to put a combo together for less than $100.

You need the right line for the rod and reel. On a medium power all-around use rod. A 10 lb test is a good strength for basic catfishing use. For the use of medium-heavy power rods, a 14-20 lb test works well. These are test strengths for monofilament lines.

The area or waters you fish determine the line. In rocky areas, a monofilament is a better choice. It has abrasion resistance for rubbing on the rocks. The line has shock strength also. Shock strength helps keep the hooks in the fish.

In places with weeds or a few rocks. A braided line offers more strength for larger fish. You can spool on more of the line to get longer casts also. Braid is thinner in diameter and softer. It lacks the memory found in monofilament too.

Where to Catch Catfish

Catfish are a hardy species. The fish survive in waters with low oxygen levels. Some species handle pollution, temperature extremes, and poor conditions. If there is a food source the catfish tend to do fine. Catfish do have habitat and behavior tendencies also.

Catch Channel Catfish

Channel catfish are abundant throughout the eastern and Midwest of the United States. You will find channel catfish in most water in these regions. This makes the fish easier to catch.

Channels like gravel or sandy bottoms, but do go on mud flats too. The fish moves into shallower areas to feed. As an omnivore, the fish eats everything. These fish will eat live or dead, stink bait, and anything edible.

The popular baits include cut bait and chicken livers in many areas. In others, minnows and nightcrawlers work well. The bigger fish tend to eat live or cut baits, and smaller fish prefer minnows or nightcrawlers.

• Shad
• Skip Jack
• Bluegill
• Minnows
• Nightcrawlers
• Chicken Livers
• Hot dogs
• Stink Baits

Any of the above baits work. Which is better depends on the region and waterway. I have used all the baits. In the river near me, minnows and nightcrawlers do well. At a lake in my area, chicken livers and cut bait are best.

In other regions, the fish prefer shad, skip jack, and stink bait. The simple fact is you need to try the bait. Then decide which is best in your waterways.

Blue Catfish

You find blue catfish in rivers and large lakes. This species likes deeper water. The fish prefers sandy or rocky bottoms in the waterways. In Rivers, they seek areas with current. They like slight to moderate currents and avoid fast currents.

Blues rarely feed in the shallows or on the surface. Plan on fishing the deeper waters on a river or lake. These fish feed a lot. They get big because they eat most of the time. Using the right bait will catch blue catfish.

The best baits for Blues are live or cut bait. Big fish like bigger meals, think bigger baits.

• Shad
• Skip-jack
• Bluegills
• Suckers
• Creek Chubs

The above list is the better bait to catch blue catfish. The other baits that work but tend to be less effective are the following.

• Minnows
• Nightcrawlers
• Chicken Livers
• Hot Dogs
• Stink Baits

The fish will eat many different food sources. They prefer a larger live fish. Shad and skip-jack are the most popular bait. If you cannot use live frozen works but live bait is better.

Catch Flathead Catfish

An adult flathead catfish is a solitary predator. The adult fish is aggressive to other flatheads. You will not find schools of larger flathead. The other species will maintain a loose school as adults. Their behavior is different than other catfish. The fish has its own genus of pylodictis due to its behavior.

The fish rests in the deep water or in large brush piles on bends of the river. This is the habitat for most of the day. In the evening the fish moves out and sometimes toward the shallows to feed.

If there are riffles or rapids near deep water or brush. These are the feeding spots the fish likes. Flatheads are a bushwhacker predator. They dart out of cover to catch the prey. They will not engage in long chases like channels or blues.

Live bait is the best for the fish. Bluegills, shad, or skip jack are all good choices.

• Bluegills
• Shad
• Skip Jack
• Creek Chubs
• Suckers

You can use frozen instead of fresh. There are times fresh or live bait is not an option. Place the dead bait in the same spots as the live bait. A feeding fish does not pass up an easy meal. Yet, the live bait does help draw in the fish.

Bullheads

This is the smallest of the catfish anglers’ target to catch. You will find them in smaller lakes, ponds, and streams with few predators. In larger waters, the bigger catfish eat the bullhead. If you find these fish, there tend to be a lot of them. Plus are easy to catch.

The fish is like a cockroach in feeding habits. It eats anything including raw sewage. It is a scavenger looking for easy prey or food. The smaller size is a disadvantage for catching live prey. This limits the fish to small minnows, nightcrawlers, and insects.

Use worms, nightcrawlers, minnows, or anything edible. This fish will eat hotdogs, bread, dough ball, and even marshmallows. As a result, the baits only need to be easy to get and small to fit in their mouths. Think of them as road kill scavengers for the water.

Rigs to Catch Catfish

Rigs to catch catfish use a circle or octopus hooks. These are sturdy hooks that stay in the fish. You can use baitholders but they tend to fail. The circle is the best hook to use.

A circle hook does not need a hookset. It will slide into the edge of the mouth and grab. The fish’s fighting pressure sets it deeper. An octopus hook does need set. They run the risk of gut or hooking deep in the fish’s mouth or throat.

The majority of anglers pre-make the rigs using hooks and swivels. You can keep them in a bait binder or CD cases. On the water, you slide on the sinker and tie on the rig.

Sinkers to use include coin or teardrop slip sinkers. The coin sinkers use a sinker slide and slip sinkers the line goes through the weight. A few of the rigs use a float also.

The float keeps the bait off the bottom. You can float the bait a few inches to feet off the bottom. Plus have the bait a few feet below the surface. The one technique the float is on the leader to fish near the bottom. Fishing a few feet from the surface uses a lightweight and slip float.

Setting up the surface float place the bobber stop on the line. Add weight and tie on a swivel. Then attach the leader. This technique is good for channel catfish.

Conclusion

Catfish are abundant and usually easy to catch. The flathead is an exception. You need to find the habitat and use the right bait. The tackle is nothing fancy. Catfish gear is in the lower cost range. You can use an average all-around combo also.