Catfish newbie

[oates]

Hope you are all well.

 

I have been fishing a few years, most relaxing thing on earth no?

 

I mainly catch bass, mainly fish Grand and Thames (Grand better but Thames often bigger!).

 

I wanted to learn two things

 

1. Where to target river walleye (or do they enter the lakes when the water is warm - I mainly wade)

 

2. How to target Catfish, I went to basspro and got:

 

a) Catfish lure (stinky fake liver stuff)

catfish hooks

c) sinkers (I tie the hook about 1ft from the sinker?)

 

Basspro dude also suggest a float set up also?

 

I know that Bass usually are found in pockets, pools or edges or currents etc. Pike, shallow pools but what about Cats? Shallow or deep? slow moving or not? Need a few tips to get me on my way, only caught 3 catfish in three years, but that was ass-sidewards on crankbaits! seemed I swiped them with the crankbait more than anything! I know the Thames has Cats and can put up a fight.

 

Guy also suggested 30lb braid but I have only ever used mono 6lb test spiderwire which suits me for bass, walleye, would 12lb spider-wire mono be enough or are the cats so big I need a different setup,

 

I have a 7ft medium light and 7ft medium quantum rod with a shimano 2500FD reel. (not one of those guys who can afford 20 rods and 20 reel combos).

 

Thanks for the help,

 

PS went to the Thames near St. Marys and near Komoka - wow - I was in Turkey and Greece for a few weeks - must have been some rain in South Western Ontatio, looked like a chocolate covered niagara falls out there, might take a week to be wade-able again.

[coreyhkh]

hey I have caught a few nice cat fish on the thames its pretty simple really I just use a circle hook with a sliding sinker or a few split shots depends on the current. I have used many different things worms and raw bacon work good but cut sucker takes the nod for the biggest.

 

As for walleye they are kinda every where and I have never caught them in the same spot I think they just roam looking for food.

[33825]

We used chunks of Mackerel from the fish section at your local grocery store for channel cats and had some good success. We also chummed with Liver pellets that they use for koi ponds or fish farms, which I believe helped bring them in.

 

20 lb braid with a .5 to 1oz egg sinker (depending on current) and a flouro leader 12-16lb. I believe we used a circle hook between sizes 4-8

 

What cats lack in looks they make up for in flavour!

 

Good luck!

 

keep your hooks sharp!

Edited June 3, 2011 by chumbag