There are over 40,000 species of fish. I happened to fall in love with catfish. One of the best tips that I can give you is to learn as much as possible about catfish as you can. I will try to cover the basic`s Fish detect danger and find their food by their sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing. Fish with well developed sense of sight are usually predators; they eat smaller fish and or other aquadic life and their sense of smell is not as well developed as bottom feeders, which are mostly scavenders. SIGHT: A fishes eyes are on the side of it`s head, so it can see behind it as well as in front of it. Fish that find their food mainly by it`s odor, as do catfish, have small eyes. HEARING: Vibrations travel greater distances and faster in water than in air. Fish usually don`t here fishermen talking because these sound waves are in the air, but banging on the boat set off vibrations in the water that might frighten the fish away. A fish detects low frequency vibrations such as foot steps on the river bank, changesin pressure or current direction. SMELL and TASTE: Smell and taste are closely related,but smell is effective at a distance, while and object must be touched to be tasted. Odors given off by alarmed or injured bait attract predator fish.Thus, a catfish might seek a wounded (hooked) Shad used for bait. Catfish have taste organs on their whiskers that help them find their food. Natural baits with strong odor work best for catfish.
More fish are caught on natural
baits than anything else, mostly because natural baits have a
fimiliar shape, movement and odor. Catching fish with natural
baits,though requiring less skill, will sometimes require much
skill in finding your bait. Here is a list of natural baits that
I have used and have worked well for me. 1. Minnows
2. Shinners
3. Creek Chub
4. Shad
5. Skipjack
6. Crayfish
7. Bluegil ( check local laws )
8. Goldfish
I`m not sure on the laws everywhere, but here in WVa. a person may have in his possession no more than 50 minnows nor more than a total of 100 aquatic animal life unless obtained from a licensed dealer and a bill of sales is provided.
Catching your bait can sometimes be more challenging than catching Catfish. I use a 3 ft. 3/8 in. mess throw net. I fish from land and from a boat and do well in both places. When fishing from land I am usually close to a locks or a dam. Shad and Skipjack usually school aroud these places. I can usually catch my bait there. When I`m fishing from a boat in the river I just ride around until i spot schools swimming around. Close to the shore, up in and around tributaries,creeks, and drain run offs are good places. Bluegil is one of my favorite baits but it is against the law to catch them with a net and almost impossible on top of that. You have to catch them on a fishing pole. I am lucky to have a small creek nearby that has loads of Bluegil and Creekchubs which are almost as fun to catch as catfish. Other good places to find Bluegil are close to shore, around structure, and farm ponds.
Shad and Skipjack die very easy and are almost impossible to keep alive. So the next best thing is to keep them fresh. Put them on ice and they should last through the day or night. Bluegils,shinners, ect. stay alive fairly well as long as you use a aerator bubbler
For live bait fishing, hook through the muscles on the back near the dorsal fin or through both lips or through the tail. Do Not Hook Through The Backbone !!!!!!!!!! This will kill your bait.
If my bait is 6 inches long or under I will use the whole bait, if my bait is small I will put several on one hook, especially at night. When I have bigger bait like Skipjack 6 inches or longer I cut them up in about 1 inch thick slices. Using the head to !!!!! Sometimes the head get better hits and strikes than the rest of the bait. When using bluegil the size of your hand , if I don`t use them whole I cut them in half. The head half and the body the other half.
If you have any interesting tips or techniques email mail me at wvflathead@yahoo.com and I will be glad to add them to the page.
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