The Best Tips To Successful Catfish Fishing
Catfish can grow to be absolute monsters of our lakes and one of the biggest questions that gets asked is ‘how can I increase my chances of catching them?’ because after all they are one of the more aggressive and hard hitting of fish out there.
Well, you happen to be in luck because we are going to outline our top ten best tips for the next time you pick up your fishing tackle and venture out to a local lake that’s a hotspot for these types of fish.
Tip Number 1: Fish at Night and in the Day
There is one massive misconception when it comes to catfish and that is, fishing at night is the best time to catch one. This isn’t exactly true because records show that there is relatively no difference to the amount of catfish caught at night to that of daylight hours. If you get speaking to the veteran fishers out there they will tell you that fishing in the day is preferable because a lot of novice fishers have read that night time is the best time.
Tip Number 2: How to Hold a Catfish
Widespread rumours claimed that catfish can sting you but this isn’t true, they can however penetrate skin with dorsal and pectoral fins so when you handle them you need to have a certain level of carefulness. Like any fish you need to hold them with a very tight grip as they are going to try and wriggle free, but with catfish in particular you will need to place your hand behind the back of the dorsal and pectoral fins.
If you do get caught by the fins they can be painful to say the least.
Tip Number 3: Good Catfish Rods
They say that a fisherman is only as good as his tools allow him to be, and selecting a rod for Catfishing is no exception. You should look for a 7” rod at minimum that has plenty of flex; this will allow you to catch most type of Catfish from blue, channel and flathead species.
Tip Number 4: Use a Fish Finder
If you are out on a boat then using a sonar device, which are also known as fish finders could be the key to success for you. The first thing you need to do is get used to the technology, by learning how to read the sonar equipment, because once you have this mastered you can then be a lot more productive in your fishing and catch monster sized catfish.
Tip Number 5: Simple Bait for Blue Catfish
If you are fishing for blue catfish then the bait is simple. Don’t go spending tons of money on the wrong bait because all you really need is fresh native bait in whole form such as threadfin shad or gizzard shad. His kind of bait will certainly produce better results for you, but also throw some alternatives into the mix.
Tip Number 6: Get The Most Popular Rig
One rig stands out like a sore thumb when it comes to successful catfish ventures and that is the Slip Sinker Rig. Why is it so popular? Simply because it does the job intended…catching catfish for you! So get yourself one of these rigs and learn how to tie it as you won’t go wrong and the best part is that you can catch any type of catfish by using this.
Tip Number 7: Ways on Catching the Catfish
There are understandably a number of different ways that you can catch Catfish but some ways certainly come out as more effective. Strolling and drift-fishing are just two of the ways that come out on top, and these tend to be very similar to each other. Strolling methods are usually rods that run off the back off a boat as opposed to the side of a boat, and a motor is used to power the boat as opposed to the wind.
Tip Number 8: Where to Catch Catfish?
Catfish are a popular fish species so you don’t have to move heaven and hell to find them, but what you do need to understand is that fish do move so where you see catfish in an area of the lake now, you won’t after an hour has passed. The key is don’t go looking, just fish as you see them.
Tip Number 9: Food Sources are a Good Spot
Despite our last tip Catfish naturally move towards areas where food is plentiful, and more often than not you are best locking in on sources of natural food which have fell into the water. Whether it’s an area where people have thrown food into the water or an area that offers food to them, it’s always worth spending some time observing.
Tip Number 10: Don’t Give Up!
Finally, fishing can be tiresome and you can be out for hours but like any other type of hunting keep in there and you will be successful.