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Post by coonsnareman on Jun 16, 2005 11:16:10 GMT -5
Anyone have any success using stinkbait? I never have much luck. Or is there something better to use during the summer months?
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ADC
Seasoned Veteran
Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 16, 2005 14:06:51 GMT -5
People think you have to use stinken rotten smelly stuff to catch catfish but that just is not the case. You can't beat fresh cut fish for bait for channel cats. Creek chubs are my favorite. As for flatheads you need very a lively bait like bullheads or green sunfish. We don't have blue cats in Iowa except in the lower mississippi and missouri rivers so I don't get to fish for them. Hope this helps you out.
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Post by coonsnareman on Jun 16, 2005 14:40:45 GMT -5
Ever tried shrimp?
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ADC
Seasoned Veteran
Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 16, 2005 15:42:25 GMT -5
Yes I have. It works good and so does chicken liver but bieng that I am cheap..er I mean frugal, I stick to the fresh cut bait it is really the best choice and your average size fish will increase too.
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Post by RiverRat on Jun 17, 2005 15:20:47 GMT -5
ADC you stole the words outa my head. Green sunfish are my favorite for flatheads you know how I feel bout cut bait. I also agree that most folks think if it dont stink cats wont eat it. Just not true I have taken alot of crankbaits while trolling for walleye. Your also right in saying your ave sized cats will increase alot when switching to cut bait. Smelly shrimp is awsome bait. I used to love it when gramps would get some to eat an forget it in his lunch box in the truck, the sun would cook it just right, great bait but I am too cheap to buy it also when cut bait is free.
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Post by buckfreak on Jun 18, 2005 0:58:10 GMT -5
I think most stinkbait would make a better cold weather fox or coyote bait than for fish . Stick with what ADC and River Rat said about cut bait. Another great all around bait is green worms. They are slimy smelly nasty little creatures but they have caught tons of fish. Usually find them on rivers where the sand and mud meet. We fish the Missouri 99% of the time. I don't recommend green sunfish in a river with current like the missouri has. Water clearity affects there survival rate too. I would use carp or bullheads in the pound plus range. They will take flatheads and blue cats. Blues will hit a live bait just as readily as a flathead. Our main problem is finding bait that is big enough to use. Most of our ditches and small ponds dried up or silted in. Alot of guys around here use drum filleted off and stripped for flatheads too. Crawdads, sand toads, leopard frogs, grasshoppers are all good baits for channel cats. Hope this helps.
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ADC
Seasoned Veteran
Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 19, 2005 14:39:09 GMT -5
Buckfreak you bring up a good point about current. I only use the green sunfish in slack waters and current breaks if there is any current I stick with the bullheads as they seem to handle it better. How big of blues do you guys get in your area? We've caught flatheads up to 54lbs. but can't seem to break 60. Come to think of it it's been a few years since we got one over 40. We get alot of channels between 10 and 15lbs on rod and reel but only target big flatheads on ditty poles. My personally largest channel cat was 16.1 lbs. but he was on a med. spinning rig with 10 lb. line so he was real fun. If you guys use a dip bait or dough bait for catfish which ones do you prefer? I'm partial to Sonny's origional dip or G&S dip and Catfish Charlies pole cracker dough bait. Also if you catfish guys haven't checked out www.catfishconnection.com you should. They have tons of hard to find catfish stuff.
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Post by buckfreak on Jun 21, 2005 1:32:38 GMT -5
ADC, on the blues I would hate to estimate how big of ones there are. I don't want you to think I am full of bullsh@@, but have had them straighten out 9/0 stainless steel hooks on a couple occassions. I have a picture of one that is right at 5ft. long never weighed it just released it. I would guess around 90 pounds. Flatheads biggest around 60lbs tons between 20-50 pounds. We target strictly big fish. When setting we only set 24 hooks with three to a line. Had a flathead once that from his dorsal to his tail was around four feet long. Never got him up to see his head but he was huge and POWERFUL. We caught it on the 10th of October. Let me rephrase that we had a hold of it for a while and straightened the hook out. Like I said earlier I don't want you to think I am full of bull. Have tons of pictures if I can remember how to post em. I can email better than I can post them. I'll try to get a picture of the big blue so you can see it.
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Post by buckfreak on Jun 21, 2005 12:18:29 GMT -5
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ADC
Seasoned Veteran
Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 21, 2005 18:27:24 GMT -5
Yes sir those are dandys! Tell me how your catching them, what kind of lines, hooks, bait, ect...
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Post by buckfreak on Jun 22, 2005 1:13:15 GMT -5
ADC, we use three hook lines made out of number 72 tarred twine with 9/0 SS Eagle Claw hooks on about 18 inch drops with I think 18 or 24 tarred line. The tarred line won't unravel like regular twine and it is almost invisible. You need it to be with the amount of thieves on the river. They are worse than trap thieves if that is possible. As far as bait goes its bullheads and carp. The bigger the better. I personally like bait between 9" to a foot. I like to tell people when they say what do ya use for bait the ones you take home and eat and then show them the bait. Most people don't believe ya when you tell them how big a fish a 30 pound flathead will kill and eat. Had one in a tank once that two of us were lucky enough to view kill a five pound carp in one chomp. It was one of the most awsome things I ever got to actually see. The flathead just acted p'sd off. It rolled its eyes upward and just spun around and crushed the carp from the side. I would say from the back of the carps gill plate to its anal fin were in the fishes mouth for an instant. The carp just kinda floated off the bottom about a foot and the flat head just went back onto the bottom below it. I would have given about anything to have gotten it on tape. Most people dont realize the power a fish of the size we are talking about. The ones that straightened the hooks straighted my arms out too. As far as location we look for about fifteen feet of water or more and set holes or current breaks on a low river. We avoid the Infisherman holes with all the snags because thats what you catch and loose alot of tackle. If a hole like this holds fish we set above it one hole or if you have a good hard mud bank with slack water set it. Don't be afraid to move. If we dont hit a fish in three days we move the line, some good looking holes never produce a fish and some that look crappy will yield several fish. A high river on the other hand is gravy. Forget the holes and look for water that is on good mud banks with DEAD water along decent current. Set your line right in the dead spot. A high river will out produce a low river ten to one. As long as the river isn't super muddy and alot of debris floating you can catch fish. Most people say you can't fish a high river, thats just because they don't know how. The biggest thing out of all of it is to be SAFE and respect the river no matter the size. When someone loses respect for it they usually end up dead. Hope this answers some of your questions. I could talk fishing almost as long as trapping.
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ADC
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Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 22, 2005 9:41:40 GMT -5
Thanks again buckfreak. Could you describe your lines a little more? How long is the main line? any swivels in you set up? how to you secure them? How much weight? ect... Say, have you ever tried the big circle hooks? We prefer the 10/0 gamakatsu octopus 4x strong hooks (not circles). They are very stout and extreamly sharp. When using bait as large as you say how do you like to hook them? We hook the bullheads through the back just behind the top fin, deep but not so deep as to hit the spine. I have experimented with several types of fish for bait buy hooking them then letting them hang in our bait tank and bullheads hooked this way stayed more lively than any other type fish or way of hooking them. How do you find the deep water holes? electronics? probe with a pole? I could talk catfishing for awhile too.
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Post by buckfreak on Jun 22, 2005 14:49:57 GMT -5
Mainline is around fifty feet but varies, they have to be long enough to get all the hooks into the bottom of the "hole", use barrel swivels that are chrome plated, not sure what size since its been a while since I bought any. Want to say 4/0. Used to open the hook eye and attatch swivel directly but alot of hooks break that way. Am thinking about trying to get some split rings they use for sea fishing on my next batch of lines. Never tried the circle hooks. Do have some 14/0 we use once in a while. For weight we use five two pound weights staggered down the line. Keeps the bait from coming up off the bottom. Used to body hook bait but it seems to die worse. Hook through the mouth and up out a nostril on the bullheads. On the carp and some really big bullheads a guy taught my dad to hook them right in front of the tail. Not through the body sideways but from bottom to top the way the skeleton lays. Kinda hard to explain but when you are done the hook point is coming out of the top of the fish infront of the tail. To find the "good" water a portable fish finder is worth its weight in gold. You can eliminate alot of water by using one. Try to find holes with the deepest water running between them you can find. If you can find two tweny foot holes with ten foot running between them you should be in business. On a high river look for the areas I mentioned earlier by the current. Just use a boat oar or long pole to thump the bottom to tell you if it is hard or soft. A good hard mud bottom is the best. One with a little silt, say about two inches then hard mud is next best. Sand bottoms save your time. A flathead is like a hog they like mud but not soupy mud. With a little practice you can find good spots on a high river by looking above the water line and then a quick probe of the bottom. On a high river just cut your line length in about half. Stake with rebar stakes or tie off to pilings or logs that are in good spots but make sure they are solid. Hope I haven't rambled too much.
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ADC
Seasoned Veteran
Posts: 335
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Post by ADC on Jun 22, 2005 15:22:31 GMT -5
More good info. Are both ends of your line attached to something solid?
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Post by RiverRat on Jun 23, 2005 3:02:19 GMT -5
buckfreak - keep talking I am listening. Very intresting. Would love to bump into you at a convention some time.
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