| Catfishing over baited holes |
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| Written by C.A. Douglas | |
| Friday, 18 July 2008 | |
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Here when it gets hot the Slab Crappie can get lock jaw. It's when we turn to Catfish to keep on fishing with success. The hot summer Catfishing can be a bonanza , even if you have guests with limited fishing abilities. I have guided for several Crappie.commers in the past. We fish over baited holes which some call chumming. You may need to check to see if it's legal in your state.
The first step is to locate a channel or other drop where Catfish are known to live. I usually catch Catfish around certain stumps , pallets, or Crappie condos while Crappie fishing. This is where I bait them in. Start by feeding either soured grain or ''sweet 9 horse feed.''. The sweet feed will sink dry and is the least messy. I pour a sack (50 lbs) in the first day and 1/3 or more of a sack every day or so. They will usually congregate quickly , but the longer you bait a spot the better. When you fish , do not pour in all the feed till after your through fishing. Just toss in handfulls to get them feeding and repeat when the bite slows. I like to bait 2 or 3 spots to stay on lots of fish. The Catfish you catch are usually full of feed and it will be spilling out of their mouths at times. They are gluttens and will continue to feed as long as they can swallow.This calls for a little different method than most use for Catfishing. I use 16.5' Black Widow poles without reels. Attached is a line about 14' and a #1 Eagleclaw bait hook baited with Catalpa Worms or your favorite bait. The reason for no weights as the fish will not hold on as well if they feel any extra weight. We anchor over a hole and set out 6 poles . Then scatter handfulls of feed and wait for the action to begin. At times it can be so fast and furious we have poles pulled out of the boat while trying to land fish.This is why we use Black Widows , they will float. It's not unusal have several on at once. Normally a pair of fishermen can limit out ( here it's 10 per person) in 2 hours or so. Get out there and have a little fun during the slow times. Great way to break in a kid to fishing. Excellent way to gather a bunch of fillets for a summer time fish fry too! Here are some Crappie. commers ''SLUMMING'' catching Cats while I guided last year.
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 July 2008 ) |
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