Another Catfish Angler

[river angler man]

Hello All!!!! I've never actually belonged to a website like this and certainly have never written in any forums ever but hey why not start here? Can't live a sheltered internet life forever right???!! Anyway my name is Shawn and I'm very happy to be apart of this community,usually these kinds of groups are often filled with pubescent teens looking to stir up some trouble but from what I've seen there are a lot of people here actually being helpful members of a community-What!!Crazy!! I'm 24 and before this year I hadn't fished since I was a kid but starting in mid May of this year I've been going Catfishing twice a week or so regularly. I've only caught 6 channels all year in going so often so you know I'm horrible at it, I usually don't catch any on the vast majority of days, I'm pretty sure I'm making very basic errors about things like rigging my pole and properly baiting my hook, but what the heck I'm pretty much brand new to this and hopefully I'll get better. I usually fish in Lake Springfield, sometimes on the James River. If anyone who knows what you're doing, or even if you don't I'm really not serious about it it's just only for fun to me, wants to get together for some bank fishing I'm totally game!! Again just happy to belong to a group that has a similar interest as me(even if I'm really bad at it!!!)

[gurzik]

Welcome, and glad to have you.

[junkman]

Welcome. I can remember as a kid and teen I fished more then I slept I think. the 10 ft. flat bottom was in the truck from early spring to late fall. boy were those the good ol days. then you get married and have kids and your responsibilities change. Still like to fish but don't find much time for it. what kind of bait do you usually use? maybe some of us can help you out. Mark

[river angler man]

Welcome. I can remember as a kid and teen I fished more then I slept I think. the 10 ft. flat bottom was in the truck from early spring to late fall. boy were those the good ol days. then you get married and have kids and your responsibilities change. Still like to fish but don't find much time for it. what kind of bait do you usually use? maybe some of us can help you out. Mark

Well for the longest time this year I was using chicken livers and found myself always missing with setting the hook. A conservation official said the missed connections were probably "squaker" catfish or crayfish. So recently I switched to dip bait. He recommended "sonny's" but I couldn't find it so I just got a couple of others. He also said not to buy the dip worms, instead to "tear off a small piece of cheap sponge, the kind they have at Dollar General or Wal-Mart" Which I've done a few times but haven't gotten anywhere. It seems like it only stays on a few minutes or so because every time I reel it in it's completely gone. Thank you for your offer of help!

[mic]

Well for the longest time this year I was using chicken livers and found myself always missing with setting the hook. A conservation official said the missed connections were probably "squaker" catfish or crayfish. So recently I switched to dip bait. He recommended "sonny's" but I couldn't find it so I just got a couple of others. He also said not to buy the dip worms, instead to "tear off a small piece of cheap sponge, the kind they have at Dollar General or Wal-Mart" Which I've done a few times but haven't gotten anywhere. It seems like it only stays on a few minutes or so because every time I reel it in it's completely gone. Thank you for your offer of help!

Try shrimp soaked in anise oil or a bait spray in a plastic bag on a circle hook. I've also had luck dunking them in dip bait. The oil or dip gets them to the hook and the texture keeps them there. I've had shrimp last five or six fish.

[junkman]

Mic you suggested just what I was going to. I just go to wall mart and buy a bag of mediums. I saw a recipe the other day that I have in the fridge soaking which I am going to try. It sounds strange but I have seen it work in some of the big rivers. Take a package of cheep hot dogs and cup them up in chunks, then place in Ziploc bag and ad two cups water and one package cherry kool aid. Let soak for a few days then use. Pretty cheep bait so worth a try as well.

Fishing might start getting better for the cats have been on the nest but should be off or coming off.

[mic]

Mic you suggested just what I was going to. I just go to wall mart and buy a bag of mediums. I saw a recipe the other day that I have in the fridge soaking which I am going to try. It sounds strange but I have seen it work in some of the big rivers. Take a package of cheep hot dogs and cup them up in chunks, then place in Ziploc bag and ad two cups water and one package cherry kool aid. Let soak for a few days then use. Pretty cheep bait so worth a try as well.

Fishing might start getting better for the cats have been on the nest but should be off or coming off.

I like the anise oil (black liquorish smell). It seems to work just as good at the garlic bait oil, but you smell better at the end of the night . I should add...make sure the bag is in container in the fridge. If it leaks...you figure out the rest.

Did you try the hot dog thing? If yes, how did it work. I bet it would be killer on yellow bellies in a farm pond. Probably could fish it under a bobber.

[junkman]

No I haven't used the hot dogs yet, still soaking up the kool aid. I seen them use them onetime on tv. They used them on jug lines in the Missouri river and yes they were tearing them up. Figured I would try them this weekend for I just got a tip on a fishing spot on a Truman tributary.

[mic]

No I haven't used the hot dogs yet, still soaking up the kool aid. I seen them use them onetime on tv. They used them on jug lines in the Missouri river and yes they were tearing them up. Figured I would try them this weekend for I just got a tip on a fishing spot on a Truman tributary.

Please post a report.

[vonreed]

If I had to fish Lake Springfield for catfish, I'd be on the upper end away from all the people. You can catch some sometimes below the dam at certain times of the year, but they get fished out from to many people fishing there constantly. I've been fishing the James River basically all my life and if I had to get down to using some of these funky baits people use, I"d just take up trout fishing or something. If you wanna catch some catfish in the James you gotta get away from all the people and easy access points. Go upstream or downstream to get away from the easy spots. After you do that you'll get into some fish. The only bait I ever use for catfishing is what I can catch when I get to the river. Either get a cast net for minnows, or get a small bait net for catching crawdads. But if you want the best possible bait there is for catfish, go after the Leopard Frogs that are on the bank. They will flat tear them up and not many people know about it either. So good luck and I hope you take some advice, for your own sake, lol. Hope this helps.