Catfish Bait?

[Pastor Bill]

Okay, now that I have seen how awesome a person looks in a picture holding a 30 pound + cat, I can only deduce that it must feel even more amazing. So aside from skipjack (whatever that isemoScratch ) Okay just got the 411 on skipjack it is basically a blue back herring sort of fish. So when skippies are not available what do you use for bait, and how do you rig up?

There are many big cats on the James River right here in Richmond but I do not presently own a boat so I will be standing on the ball not floating on it. I must have my trophy cat!

Bill

 

[Liveliner]

I know that you are a CFF Newbie but you have opened up a real can of worms in more ways than one. Get ready with your pen and take notes because you will never be able to remember all you will read on that subject.

My input; If you do not have Herring then an even better bait at times is bluegills or any Bream fishes. You can cut fillets, chunks or scale them, make a couple cuts on them and use them whole. A bait that i catch 90% of my cats on is the cheapest RED wieners that you can find cut into four chunks. I use big circle hooks for the fish baits and a treble hook for the Hotdogs. To hook the hotdog to keep it on I slide two of the hooks into the side of it and push the shank up tight against the wiener skin.

I am not going into all the other stuff. I will let other members share their own baits info for you.

 

[Guest]

Bluegill, all the way. Some will say shad, but I honestly haven't had the kind of success that I thought that I would have with them, and their slimy coating is a bit nasty.

Most of the time, if I can get a smaller gill, I will cut it in half. If it's bigger, 3 or 4 pieces can be had.

 

[Guest]

PB, as you figured out there is no skipjack in the James. Most use Hickory Shad (too bad they have already ran back to the ocean after spawning). American Shad would be good to, but I believe you can't keep any on the James (I could be mistaken), they too are back in the ocean. Blueback (much smaller than skipjacks) and gizzard will still be around. Gizzard will be easier to catch, but they die and rot very quick. Bluegill would be a good bet, as would some of those salt water species (grunt, spot, croaker etc) if you are fishing below the fall line. Fallfish might be a good sub too, although I never had much luck catching any of those on the James.

Which bait to use is not as important as location, being that you are on the bank limits you even more. When you get a chance head over to Greentops sporting goods store in Glen Allen, they can help you out better than I can. Also pickup a free copy of Woods'n'Water and the other free magazine (Outdoorsman???). They both routinely have how to articles on catfish in the James along with monthly reports.

 

[DHaun]

The biggest cat I ever caught and many others I have landed came off SPAM - it gets lots of laughs but it works. Good Luck!

 

[Pastor Bill]

R14 - 6/8/2007 10:54 PM

PB, as you figured out there is no skipjack in the James. Most use Hickory Shad (too bad they have already ran back to the ocean after spawning). American Shad would be good to, but I believe you can't keep any on the James (I could be mistaken), they too are back in the ocean. Blueback (much smaller than skipjacks) and gizzard will still be around. Gizzard will be easier to catch, but they die and rot very quick. Bluegill would be a good bet, as would some of those salt water species (grunt, spot, croaker etc) if you are fishing below the fall line. Fallfish might be a good sub too, although I never had much luck catching any of those on the James.

Which bait to use is not as important as location, being that you are on the bank limits you even more. When you get a chance head over to Greentops sporting goods store in Glen Allen, they can help you out better than I can. Also pickup a free copy of Woods'n'Water and the other free magazine (Outdoorsman???). They both routinely have how to articles on catfish in the James along with monthly reports.

Wow great info specific to the James. Fallfish are EASY for me to catch on the Little River, the North and South Anna's too. Yes you are right about the American Shad- illegal to possess. Most all year at the dam on the Appomattox Alewife Shad can be caught but they are as slimy as an eel! I'll try bream and fallfish. I hope to have a big cat by the end of fall. Maybe even this summer. Bprice will be near here for his job in July and we may be able to go try 'em together. We'll see.

I am taking notes on my lappie. I have started a file called Big Cat Hunt so I'll copy paste this good info into that file for future use.

Thanks everyone.

Bill

 

[foodsaver]

a great website for catfish info is catfish1.com there is a pretty large group that fishes the james so you might even be able to find a backseat to fill up.

 

[rsimms]

Chicken Breast... don't believe me? Go here: http://www.sceniccityfishing.com/gallery07.html OR here: http://www.sceniccityfishing.com/gallery06.html

Many, if not most, of the fish you see were taken using chunks of boneless chicken breasts. DHaun's Spam works great, but for me it comes off the hook when a catfish swims by. Chicken breast is tough as leather. Those little dinks cannot chew it off the hook while you're waiting on The Big One.

 

[BsTjOd]

The chicken breast mentioned by richard is always my "go to" bait. But I usually fish with whatever is running at the time. may it be blue gill, crackers, of crappie.

 

[Guest]

foodsaver - 6/8/2007 11:47 PM

a great website for catfish info is catfish1.com there is a pretty large group that fishes the james so you might even be able to find a backseat to fill up.

Ditto, there is more info about catfishing there than anywhere I have ever been.

Cheez

 

[Muskrat]

I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents in about catfish bait. As for larger blue cats my best results have been with either live / dead shad / bream or cut bait. I can see a noticeable difference in size on average. However, weiners and nightcrawlers are more available sometimes so I use those alot. I jazz the weiners up a bit with the red jello recipe that I mentioned last year. I seem to pick up more "dinks" with nightcrawlers. I've read on the 'net that the larger cats will often feed exclusively on fish. If I had my way I would probably use live shad or cut bait all day long. I'm trying to get the hang of throwing my cast net and hope to have some good results with it soon. I was able to net my miniature pinscher in the back yard the other day - yes ! I'm going to use chicken breast in the next day or so after reading Richard's post and I've had a can of spam in my boat for awhile that I need to open up and try.

Muskrat

 

[WLG]

For large numbers..use weiners or chicken liver...for LARGE fish..Id say use Skipjack or Cut bream.