Catfishing Question

[MSUFisherBear]

Hey all,

I'm hoping to chase some whisker fish at some point over the next few days. I've been seeing and hearing lots of good reports from the upper end of TR from some of my wife's family. As always, there seems to be a few more places to fish and a few less people to rub elbows with on Bull Shoals this time of year, so I'm thinking there might be a little more room to breath and hopefully not be too interruptive to other fishermen.

I've never really fished Bull Shoals for catfish and am wondering what others think are some good baits and/or rigs. I normally do most of my catfishing with the slip sinker rig (like you do for trout with powerbait). Any other favorites for those that have fished it more often?

I'll likely be fishing from the bank. Wrestling cats in the kayak isn't always fun.

[oneshot]

I've always liked Sonney's Blood Dip Bait, Carolina Rig no matter where I fish for Channel Cats.

 

oneshot

[mojorig]

We have been trying to figure out a way to effectively sample catfish. One of the biologist in the office knows a guys that does really well trotlining Bull. He uses hot dogs. He places hot dogs in a zip lock bag. It also puts red Kool-Aid and garlic powder in the bag. He soaks the hot dogs for a couple of days and puts them on the line. I know that sounds crazy but he has been effective catching catfish lately. The fish have been in shallow pocket and the line is ran down the middle of the pocket. You might try the same method but using it on a Carolina rig.

[MSUFisherBear]

Great advice and I appreciate the tips! May try a few different baits to figure out what they are really striking on.