The Right Catfish Fishing Hook
Catfish fishing can be one of the most fun and exciting fishing you can do. Choosing the right catfish fishing hook will depend on what type and size catfish you are trying to catch. Choose a hook too small and you will never catch the really big ones. Choose a hook to large and if you don’t catch the big one you may not catch anything at all.
When catfish fishing you should always have a variety of sizes in your tackle box so that you can adapt to the catfish that you catching. I generally keep sizes 1/0 to 6/0 bait holder hooks. I almost always begin with a 1/0 bait holder hook. I have caught catfish over 20 lbs with this hook. They are great for channel catfish of all sizes and will certainly allow you to provide plenty of good tasting fish for your dinner table.
When fishing for the big catfish, flatheads and blues, I usually start with a 4/0 bait holder hook. You may miss a few little ones with this hook but by using it we are saying we don’t want the little ones anyway. Remember that generally speaking bigger bait catches bigger catfish.
When it comes to winter catfish fishing, you really can get better results using smaller hooks. Even when you are trying to catch big fish. Especially in the winter, when the water is cold and calm, the catfish tend to be finicky, and you have to try to get them to take the bait without spooking them.
In the springtime, when the catfish are more aggressive, you can move up to some bigger hooks like a 6/0 bait holder hook. These are particularly good when there are flood water conditions present. During flood conditions, the fish tend to get very aggressive, and they really grab on to basically whatever is out there. You will miss some fish you could catch if you use the smaller hooks in flood conditions.
What Line Is Best For Catfish
In general the fishing line used for catfish fishing is the last thing that gets attention when discussing what to use for catfishing. The focus is usually on the terminal gear and the rod and reel. But if you don’t have the right line I guarantee you will lose a lot catfish you should have had. There are a few things you should consider before purchasing your fishing line. Catfish fishing is supposed to be a sport. If catfishing is a sport then hooking a fish and just hauling it in doesn’t feel like a fair fight. For it to be sport there has to be a fight to see if your skill can win over sheer power and land that big cat. On the hand there is an old adage, “don’t bring a knife to a gunfight”. Blues and Flatheads can easily weigh over 50 pounds and some of the most powerful fish in fresh water. The records for these fish are 124 and 123 pounds respectively. One more thing to consider is the underwater conditions. Wood structure, rocks, snags and anything else that can come into contact with your line can seriously impair your line strength. Big cats will run for cover when hooked and if they make it there chances are you have lost this battle. There are three main types of line but for the average angler the main thing to be concerned with is strength. Your main line should not be less than 20 lb. test. If you want to spend a little more use a braided line go for the 40-50 lb. test. That is not sporting you say. Using a 50 lb. test line to hook a 10 lb. catfish. I agree, but if you want to be sporting you put a lighter line (leader) at the end of your terminal tackle attached to a swivel with your sinker on the main line. You will find this much more economical.
Catfish Angling For Channel Catfish
Catfish angling for Channel catfish is easy and fun. They are North America’s most numerous catfish species. They are among the three most common fish stocked in lakes and ponds along with bass and sunfish and can be found in every river and stream. They will eat just about anything and put up a great fight when hooked.
Channel catfish closely resemble blue catfish. Both have deeply forked tails. However, channels have a rounded anal fin with 24-29 rays and scattered black spots along their back and sides. They have a small, narrow head. The back is blue-gray with light blue to silvery-gray sides and a white belly. Larger channels lose the black spots and also take on a blue-black coloration on the back which shades to white on the belly. Males also become very dark during spawning season and develop a thickened pad on their head.
Channel catfish have a top-end size of approximately 40-50 pounds. The world record is 58 pounds, caught in the Santee-Cooper Reservoir, South Carolina, in 1964. Realistically, a channel catfish over 20 pounds is a spectacular specimen, and most catfish anglers view a 10 pound fish as a very admirable catch. Furthermore the average size channel catfish an angler could expect to find in most waterways would be between 2 and 4 pounds.
Channel catfish can be caught on a variety of natural and prepared baits. Catfish have even been known to take Ivory Soap as bait. Channel catfish possess very keen senses of smell and taste. At the pits of their nostrils are very sensitive odor sensing organs. In addition channel catfish have taste buds distributed over the surface of their entire body. These taste buds are especially concentrated on the channel catfish’s 4 pairs of barbels (whiskers) surrounding the mouth. This combination of exceptional senses of taste and smell allows the channel catfish to find food in dark, stained, or muddy water with relative ease.
Channel catfish can be caught at almost any time of day but the best times are from dusk to dawn. Because of there keen sense of smell they have no trouble finding their prey or your bait. I prefer to use cut baits because I have found that you are much more likely to catch the big one using them.
Cut bait is fish cut into chunks. Channel catfish just love cut baits. When you use cut baits the fluids from the bait seep into the water leaving a very enticing trail for the catfish. I am more concerned with the size of the catfish I catch than the size of the catch so I use a 4/0 hook with a good size piece of cut bait. If I am getting a lot of tugs at my bait but no bites I will gradually reduce the size of the hook and the bait. If I were going for a bigger catch of catfish I would start with a 1/0 hook and increase the size as my stringer filled up.