Games of Knowledge | Sports and Exercise

Games Guy | June 20, 2011

Catfish are a lot of fun to fish. From children to professional anglers, there are the right kinds of catfish for everyone.

They vary in sizes from small catfish, like Channel catfish, averaging between two and five pounds, to monster catfish, like the blue catfish, that can weigh over one hundred pounds.

Obviously the size will affect what type of fishing gear you buy and use but also the type of bait and the preparation.

If you are looking for some tips on catfishing, you have come to the right place. I have been catfishing since I was young and find the sport still challenging today. Sometimes I take my kids, sometimes I go alone and I have even tried noodling a few times.

Half the battle when catfishing is finding and luring your catfish to your bait. The other half is fighting with the strong willed fish to reel them in. The more you know, the better chance of success. 

Some catfishing advice:

1.  Know The Catfish Species

Every fisherman who catfishes has done some research on the catfish.  First of all they are strong buggers and love to fight you to the end.  Make sure your gear is ready for the challenge. 

Catfish are like garbage disposals. They love everything from peanut butter to hot dogs.  They eat bugs off the surface of the water, other dead fish, aquatic animals like frogs and crawfish and almost anything you throw in the water.  Now the bigger fish are pickier and you need to stay closer to their natural food source. 

Catfish also like to come out early in the morning or late in the evening to feed. The rest of the day is spent in deep dark holes, under submerged brush and logs and in the calmer bottom depths of the river or pond where you are fishing.

2. Know The Type of Catfish You Will Bait

Once you know what catfish you will be fishing, you can buy the right rod and reel for his size. You can also search for the right rig set up and the type of bait you will be using.

You can fish with night crawlers or garden worms, getting the night crawlers from any fishing store, or you can try fishing with chicken livers, shrimp, anchovies or anything smelly that can be purchased at your local grocery store or left overs from your fridge. You can also make your own catfishing recipe. 

You will need to adjust your bait to the size and type of catfish you are fishing to catch.  If you don’t know much about the catfish in your area, find a local guide to learn more or take you out on a trip.

3. Use More Than One Kind of Bait

Make sure to bring a few different baiting options with you on your catfishing trip. I like to bring at least three kinds of bait. That way, I can try not only location but also bait when I am fishing. Make sure you give your bait plenty of time in the water to create a scent trail.

4. Bring the right stuff with you

No one has a good day when they are hot, cold, wet, hungry or thirsty, so make sure you dress in layers, bring some waterproof jackets, plenty of snacks and water. 

5. Picking The Right Month

The last thing you want to do is go catfishing when they are spawning and are too distracted to bite. Make sure you know the cycles of your local catfish and learn their patterns for the best time of year to fish.

6. Know Your Body of Water

Just like knowing the type of catfish you are fishing, knowing the water where you will fish is equally important.  You want to know if there are sunken stumps or underbrush, where the currents are, what creeks or rivers flow into the lake or pond and what other fish and aquatic critters live there.

7. Give Your Location Some Time

If you aren’t getting any bites, then my greatest tip on catfishing is to move to a new location after twenty or thirty minutes of no activity. 

You can find a lot of free catfishing information and tips on catfishing on my site www.CatfishingTipsMadeEasy.com.  I have included a great free mini course to help you become a catfishing expert and have written an e-book full of tips on noodling and catching monster catfish.  The book is called Catfishing Success and is available for immediate download so that you can start planning your next catfishing trip. 

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Tags: Better Chance, Blue Catfish, Buggers, catfishing information, catfishing tips, channel catfish, Crawfish, Dark Holes, Dead Fish, fishing gear, Frogs, Garbage Disposals, Half The Battle, Hot Dogs, Monster Catfish, Natural Food Source, Night Crawlers, Peanut Butter, Professional Anglers, Rest Of The Day, Rod And Reel, Surface Of The Water, tips for catfishing, tips on catfishing

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