Games of Knowledge | Sports and Exercise

Games Guy | June 16, 2011

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Catfishing rigs are nothing more than the way you set up your line with weight and hook to catch a catfish. There is no need to have a compicated catfish rig to hook a vast catfish. There are many different ways and types of rigs out there, however I have found that the simpler the better, a weight, strong hook, and /or bobber works with the right catfishing bait.

One of the simple catfish rig is the deep catfishing rig. This kind of rig requires using a good, sturdy weight rather than a hook attached to the end of the line. Placing the weight at the end of a line, will help you avoid snags. The weight should be about one ounce or so, and tied to the end of the line with a palomar knot. You will find that a palomar knot is very useful when attaching a weight, hook etc to a line. The palamor knot will not come loose easily but they are easy to tie. With a palomar knot the line will snap before it unravels.

You need to tie you hook on about 12 to 18 in. up from the end of the line. You will need to tie a dropper loop to attach your leader and hook. If you want, you can use a wired leader to keep the line attached to your hook from getting wrapped around the line attached to your weight. If you’re going after smaller channel catfish or other catfish and are using chicken livers, worms, or dip baits, then use a smaller hook like a number 2, all the way up to a 2/0. Use an 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook if you’re angling with shad or perch catfish bait and are looking for those elusive immense catfish. Setting the hook is easier and the catfish will be less likely to get away by straightening the hook.

If you’re looking to fish in shallow waters, make a shallow catfish rig. To make a shallow catfish rig you will need good catfishing bobbers. You can put a bobber two to three feet from the hook  depending on the depth you are trying fish. Betweem the bobber and hook and a split shot or 2. Give some consideration to the bait you are using and the size of catfish you want to pinch before picking out a hook size.

Each catfishing rig, catfishing equipment, has it’s own purpose. There are some things you would want to think about when setting up a catfishing rig, such as temp conditions, and time of year. You’ll be able to grab larger catfish with ease by setting up the right catfishing rig.

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Tags: catfish bait, catfishing equipment, catfishing gear, Catfishing rigs, channel catfish, Chicken Livers, Circle Hook, Dropper Loop, Fish, Many Different Ways, Nbsp, Ounce, Palomar Knot, Rig, shad, Shallow Waters, Snags, Split Shot, Three Feet, Worms

Games Guy | June 13, 2011

The first thing to know about catfishing bait is that is depends on the type of catfish you are trying to catch.  If your catfish are small, they are much more flexible and will bite on almost anything. But if you are going after larger catfish, or even the monster catfish out there, you will need a bait choice that they naturally feed on. 

Picking a bait food that is already a food source for the larger Catfish is the best bet.

Below are a list of some of the more popular catfishing baits. You are sure to find your best catfishing bait by experimenting with these options while fishing your local pond. 

When shopping at the grocery store or your local butcher, pick up a few chicken livers to try. You will hear many anglers talk about chicken livers as a great bait for catfish. You can then cut the livers into pieces that are the appropriate size for the catfish you are baiting.

An easy bait to grab at a bait shop or dig up in your backyard are night crawlers or garden worms. These work well for the smaller catfish but don’t try them to hook any monster fish. You need bigger bait for those guys.

Try catching frogs or crawdads near your pond and then use those for your bait. All the catfish in that body of water will love your bait. 

Shrimp or anchovies are an easy bait to grab at the store.  For the shrimp or prawns, make sure you take off the shell before putting it on the hook.  You can also increase the smell by soaking your shrimp in fish oil, which is an easy purchase at the store also.

Live perch, minnows or shad are great for the larger catfish. For this bait, you can purchase your fish or you can catch your bait and then use the fresh catch to attract the catfish you are after. This makes for a lively afternoon and you may need different types of rig set ups for the bait fish versus the catfish.

Stinky cheese or marshmallows work for smaller catfish that are really just garbage eaters and will bite at anything that smells appetizing.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can try your hand at homemade bait.  The point of homemade bait is to mix different foods together, make it as smelly as possible, add a bonding agent, or something that will keep it on your hook, seal it up in a tub and leave it out in the sun for about a week.  You and your neighbors will know when it is ready as the smell becomes almost unbearable.  Common ingredients range from peanut butter, cut up raw fish, smelly cheese, corn flakes, corn meal, garlic powder, fish juice or fish oil and so on.  You can learn specific homemade bait recipes all over the internet.

Fresh mackerel, raw fish or sunfish are great for the larger catfish baits.  Flathead catfish are especially fond of sunfish.

If you have mussels in the body of water near you, you can use those as well or you can buy them at the store.A word of warning for catfishing bait. If you bait isn’t smelly enough, the catfish won’t bite. Catfish have a very strong sense of smell so you need to make your bait as smelly as possible. A few tips include adding garlic powder or fish juice. 

You can learn more catfishing tips and catfishing bait ideas with a ten day free mini course on catching those monster catfish.  Kick up your fishing game a few notches with the best catfishing bait ideas and catfishing tips.

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Tags: Bait Fish, Bait Shop, Best Bet, best catfishing bait, Body Of Water, catfish bait, catfishing bait, catfishing baits, catfishing tips, Chicken Livers, Crawdads, Fish Oil, Food Source, Garbage Eaters, Marshmallows, Minnows, Monster Catfish, Monster Fish, Night Crawlers, Set Ups, shad, Stinky Cheese, Ups