Catfish are popular amongst many types of fishermen. There are 37 catfish families and these species are found in both freshwater and saltwater, depending upon the type of catfish. Perhaps one of the most distinctive traits which catfish possess is their catlike whiskers, or barbels. It is hard to mistake a catfish for another type of fish due to this visible attribute.

Catfish are creatures of habit, during the day they tend to hide around submerged rocks and logs where they can shelter themselves from any possible predators. It is at nighttime when these unique fish seek out the open water to find food. Catfish are plentiful in number with regard to family and species type. They are found in various areas throughout the world although certain types of catfish stay within certain regions.

Catfish vary in size, depending on their age and what variety they are. They can range anywhere from a few inches to a few feet and come in a variety of weights as well. One unique trait which a catfish possesses, in addition to the familiar barbells, is the lack of any scales. This also makes identifying a catfish quite an easy task for beginner and advanced fishermen alike.

The catfish eats a variety of foods which come within its reach. Items such as smaller fish, water insects and more all make up the eclectic menu for the catfish. For the avid fishermen out there who target catfish as their selected catch, there are a few tips which make fishing for catfish that much easier. The first tip is to fish for these varieties at nighttime when they are out and about.

Since they tend to hide during the daylight hours, fishermen who are looking to catch catfish should do so when night falls. As for bait, there are a few items which catfish are more drawn to than others. Tantalizing items for the catfish include live bait such as shrimp, chicken liver and worms whereas lures in the form of spoons, jigs and spinners will all do the trick of catching some catfish.

Catfish are a unique type of fish which many fishermen look for when they are out on the water. Fishermen who desire to reel in some catfish are sure to find that the previously mentioned tips may help them to land that perfect catch.

There is a website that has great information on most species of freshwater fish. It has details that pertain to each species of fish such as habitat, spawning, eating habits, the best lures and baits and more, the website is called: Fishing Stringer, and can be found at this url:

http://www.fishingstringer.com

By Robert W. Benjamin

Catfish Fishing Tips

By Kim C Carson

Kim Carson has fished in Southern California lakes for 20 years.
For more fishing tips visit:
http://www.carsonaffiliatemarketing.com

The Best in Fishing Bait For Catfish

By Craig Petersen

Fishing is a hobby men and a lot of women enjoy, but having the right fishing bait for catfish is a very important ingredient to bringing home all those delicious mouth-watering catfish for an outdoor fish fry with your friends and family. Knowing which bait works the best for catfish will give you a fishing adventure you’ll remember for years to come.

Dead minnows are a wonderful bait to use when fishing for catfish. Live minnows tend to attract a lot of bass and that can interfere with the catfish you’re after today. Catfish really don’t care, live or dead, they’ll go after either so save the live ones for a day of bass fishing. Use the dead minnows with a bobber system to suspend them a foot or so under water especially in the summer and spring months and in shallow water.

Sardines, anchovies and shad are other favorite catfish baits. These work well in water that is deep and used more when you are drift fishing. Another favorite fishing bait for catfish is crawfish, this is a delicacy for them. The meat from the tail works best but crawfish can be used as live bait as well but the pinchers need to be removed if you’re fishing on the bottom or use a bobber rig to keep the crawfish off the bottom.

Shrimp is another catfish delight. These should be shelled before being hooked as the catfish prefer the shelled shrimp. The larger shrimp can be cut into small chunks while the smaller ones can be placed on your hook whole. Some people soak the shrimp in garlic oil, vanilla, anise oil, or any number of other things to add another scent to bait shrimp.

Night crawlers work very well too, catfish love worms. Worms are easily found at any bait and tackle shops, especially from the spring months into the winter. When you bait your hook with a worm make sure you don’t leave a long end hanging lose because a catfish will suck the worm off the hook before you know what happened. Place only enough weight on your line to allow your worm and line to drift naturally along the bottom with the current for the best results.

Chicken livers or gizzards are also great bait for catfish. Make sure they are fresh and not frozen. Place these on your hook and just wait for the catfish to come calling. The only draw back to using chicken gizzards or livers is they come off your hook easy after they get wet. It’s best to use a treble hook so you’ll get a little more time out of this bait.

There are also some lures and prepared fishing bait for catfish on the market today. Your best bet with these is to find someone who has had a lot of experience with lures and prepared baits and try those that have been proven to work. The bait shop owner can give you some tips on what’s been working lately and recommend some brands to try.

You can find more information about fly fishing at our site.

Fishing Rigs – What is the Right Tackle For Big Catfish?

By Mark Fleagle

There are no set specifications on what tackle you should use for big catfish in the over 20 lbs range, but if you have been a catfish angler for any length of time you understand that big fish like a 30 lbs blue catfish or a 25 lbs channel catfish will need some very powerful tackle. Our article today will focus on some suggested tackle.

When you are fishing big rivers and there is a strong current you need to go big on your tackle. A good surfcasting rod and reel combo spooled with 30 to 50 lb fire wire fishing line is a good start. The surf rod will get your catfish bait where it needs to be, and will help you when your fighting your big catfish. You will be able to cast your large baits into current areas and with the proper catfish fishing rig you will be able to keep you catfish bait on the bottom. When you fish strong current areas you will need a good supply of 4 to 5 oz pyramid sinks the are the best bet to keep your bait from rolling. You will also need hook sizes from a 5/0 to 7/0 size range. A simple fishing rig would include the pyramid sinker tied on the end of the line and your 5/0 to 7/0 hook tied on about 3ft up the line with a loop knot. You could use gizzard shad or skipjack herring cut bait cut in large chunks.

If you are drift fishing for big catfish such as blue catfish and channel catfish you may want to use a 7 to 8 ft medium power bating casting rod, or medium action open face reel rod with either a bait casting reel or a open face reel spooled with 30 to 50 lbs fire line. Make sure which ever reel you chose it matches your rod selection and is designed to use large pond test lines. The reason I suggest you get fire line is because the large test lines such as 30 to 50 lbs test have a diameter size about ½ of what monofilament line is. For you catfish bait fishing rig I suggest you use a what is called a three way swivel rig.

To Make a three way swivel fishing rig tie the three way swivel onto your line first. Next tie a 8 to 12 inch dropper leader with a 3 oz to 5 oz pyramid sinker. Next tie your 50lb test fire line leader 16 to 28 inches in length with a 5/0 to 7/0 hook. Just a note if the current is extremely strong you will need to go with a larger pyramid sinker, because you need to hold on the bottom to be successful.

For fishing large reservoirs a pontoon boat works great for fishing for large catfish such as blue catfish and channel catfish. But if you are fishing rivers they are not a good idea. If you plan on fishing large rivers with strong currents a good suggestion would be a 16 to 20 ft aluminum deep v designed hull boat. You want to have a larger boat so you have the room to maneuver when you are trying to land a large trophy blue catfish or channel catfish.

Well folks that concludes my article today about catfish fishing rigs and tackle. Have a great day and we wish the best of luck on your next fishing trip.

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Fly fishing with spinning gear is often referred to as using the “fly and bubble technique.”  Knowing how to effectively use the fly and bubble technique will allow you to catch more fish. You’ll be able to catch trout and other species where lures and bait are just not working.  The FLY and Bubble (FB) technique  is effective for panfish, trout and bass.  It allows the angler to use tied flies.    It can be used in places that don’t allow bait or lures fishing.   This method can be used from a boat or on the shore.   The key to this method is the bubble ( bobber ) filled with water.  The bubble is designed to slide up and down the fishing line.  The bubble becomes the casting weight taking the fly along for the ride.   FB is one of my favorite methods of fishing for trout because I can use the same spinning equipment that I already have.  And because the FB rig is so simple I can switch to another method of fishing and switch back again with ease.

What Tackle to Use

You probably have most of the equipment and tackle.   Let me start with a list and then discuss each item.

• Spinning Rod
• Spinning Reel
• Line
• Leader
• Swivel
• Bead
• Bubble
• Fly Assortment

The spinning rod should be a 6 to 7  foot ultralight, light or medium action.  But the key spec to look for is line weight.  Choose a line weight of 4, 6 or 8 lbs.  Most rods have all this info. printed on the rod just above the handle.  Most of the time I use a 7 foot light action rod.

The key for the reel is also the line size.  Spinning reels have the line size and capacity printed on the side of the spool.  Mose reels are designed to use three sizes of line like  2# 4# 6# or 4# 6# 8# or 6# 8# 10# and so on.  If I want to use 6lb line, I would look for reels marked with 4 – 6 – 8, that way I can change to lighter or heaver line.

For the line, use 6 lb monofilament.  There are hundreds of lines and brands to choose from.  Look for these qualities like low memory and limp.  A good line to start with is Berkley Trilene XL.

Leader size should be less than the main line.  If  the main line is 6lb then use 4 or 2 lb leader.  Buy a fluorocarbon type leader, one of the advantages is, fluorocarbon is invisible in the water.

A swivel is used between the casting line and the leader.  Buy #12 or #14 black swivels. Some people recommend using ball baring swivels but that type are expensive so I use normal swivels.

There are three types of bubbles that I know of.  The tear drop shape , oval with pointy ends and round.  The difference between bobbers and bubbles is bubbles are designed to be filled with water.  Both the round and the tear drop shapes use a piece of surgical tubing attached to plugs at each end of the bubble.  Pull the plug out to fill with water.  The line from the reel goes through the tubing.  The oval bubble uses a hollow tapered peg.  Push the peg out to fill with water and the fishing line is feed through the center of the  peg.  All the floats can be bought from Cabala’s stores or on line.  To buy larger quantity and choose from more sizes and colors on line go to Rainbow Plastics. They have some other neat products you should look at.  Buy some of  the middle size bubbles to learn this fishing method.  The oval bubble is the one that I use the most and it is the cheapest.

One bead is needed.  It is used to protect the knot on the swivel from chafing by the bubble.  I prefer a glass bead but plastic is alright.  Size isn’t important, the only requirement is that the hole in the bead slips over the knot.  I use 8mm ( 1/4 inch ).

What Fly Should Be Use?

Fishing flies is a huge subject and over my head.  I would suggest buying an assortment of flies to start and add to it as you go.  One web site to check out is Orvis.  Select the Fly Fishing department in the left sidebar.  They have an assortment of 20 flies for $9.95 and the shipping is free.

Knots to Learn

Knots are one of my interests.  I could make a web site all about knots but there are already many sites devoted to knots.  When using fluorocarbon leader you should use the Trilene Knot to tie to the fly and swivel.  Go to this link to see an  animated Trilene Knot being tied,   www.animatedknots.com.

How to Rig

Rigging is easy.  Pull some line from the rod tip.  Feed the end of the line through the bubble.  If using the oval bubble feed the line into the small end of the peg and out he large end.  With the tear drop bubble the line should enter the tapered end and out the fat end.   Thread a bead onto the line.  Next tie a on the swivel using a Trilene Knot.  Measure 5 to 6 feet of leader from the spool.  Now tie the leader to the swivel.  Straighten the leader by pulling it through a leader straightener.

How to Use This Rig

Choose a fly and tie it on.  To start use a wet fly or you might try a foam fly.  Fill the bubble about half full with water.  I would recommend using a side arm cast for this rig.  Practice making short casts and try using light finger pressure on the rim of the real spool.  A good cast is when the bubble slows and drops onto the water quietly and the fly leader straightens out past the bubble.  That is where the practice comes in. For now reel in the slack between the fly and bubble.  Keep the rod tip down and wait.  If using a wet fly it will slowly sink and swing in an ark until the fly is under the bubble.  Slowly reel in about 4 feet of line and wait.  When the bubble moves across the surface the fly will move up and forward and  if the bubble stops moving the fly will continue to slowly move forward and down.  This is one way to give some life to the fly.   Another way to fish this rig is to completely fill the bubble with water.  Drop the bubble in the water and not how long it takes to sink one foot.  Now cast the rig and when the bubble hits the water count off the depth you want the fly to be at.  When you retrieve the bubble and fly will stay at the same depth almost all the way back.

I have just covered the basics of FB.  In future posts I will cover, fly selection, presentation and more detail on equipment selection.  I welcome all of your questions and comments.

Mike