Your Questions About Flathead Catfish Bait
November 15, 2011 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
Sharon asks…
Using Crayfish as Catfish Bait?
I have noticed many crayfish inside the stomachs of both channel and flathead catfish i have caught. I have crayfish traps that provide me with many crayfish, but every time I have used them for bait I am skunked. Any tips on how to rig them for catfish? Someone told me to pull off the claws so they can’t grab onto rocks as well and I have always hooked them through the tail.
Daniel Ambrose answers:
How I have always done it, is you grab the crayfish, crack its back open just enough for the yellow stuff to start oozing out, then hook it right in th middle of the tail. Worked like a charm every time.
George asks…
how and where can you catch carp 8-12 inches long to use for catching flathead catfish.?
have never seen carp this small but I see and hear other people using this size for big catfish but they never say how they caught these small carp for bait
Daniel Ambrose answers:
Make sure to check with the DNR of your state. It would be illegal in many places to use carp for bait, even if they are already in the water you want to fish!
I have the best luck catching smaller carp early in the season in protected waters, backwaters. Also look in smaller ponds. They mature very rapidly and that’s why we seldomly catch them that small. I guess you need to be in the right place at the right time. I suppose if it’s legal where you live you could try to sienne for them or gill net.
Once you find where they are fish them like other carp. I’d use a size 8 hook, with corn or a doughbait (or oatmeal ball)on a sliding/slip rig. Or freeline bread if they are taking from the surface.
For another option try big suckers. I can get them over 9″ at a local bait shop. I also use bullheads that I catch myself, and they are a great early season flathead bait (at least in MN they are).
Steven asks…
how can I catch catfish (channel, blue, or flathead) during the day?
i don’t have a bout and it would be from shore.
and maybe at night.
the only bait i can get is frozen cutbait and live minnows and live goldfish. (i live in texas)
Daniel Ambrose answers:
The best way to catch any channel catfish is to put a chunk of big ole’ stinky liver on. You can get this at almost any grocery store for fairly cheap. Either chicken or beef liver will do fine. Beef seems to stay on the hook longer though since it’s tougher. What you need to do is leave the liver out in the sun with garlic or butter or both. After a few days you will smell the sound of the most perfect catfish bait. Cut it into chunks and slab it on your hook. Good luck fishin’!
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Your Questions About Fishing Techniques
October 26, 2011 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
Carol asks…
fishing techniques?
can someone give me some tips about fishing?
I know the basics but i need to know more!
Daniel Ambrose answers:
Just go out and try things on your local waters! Start out with float, hook and a worm and see how you do.If it works out for you try some fake baits but use your money smart most companies are out to catch fishermen not for you to catch fish!
Go to your local bait shop and feel free to ask questions!I always enjoyed when someone came in and asked for information.Also you might even find a new fishing friend this way!
William asks…
Does anyone want to share their favorite spring bass fishing techniques and tips?
I am a fan of soft plastic tubes and worms. Can you give me some of your favorite techniques?
Daniel Ambrose answers:
North shore of the lakes will warm up faster due to getting more sun shine and the prevailing southerly winds. Fish those banks, outside bends in the channel, drop offs near there, with craw fish imitators….either crank baits or jig w/ trailer.
Start when the water reaches 50 deg. Big females spawn first.
If you lake has a shore with black shale or black clay fish them hard….especially if there is a drop off of more than 5 ft. Like from 15 to 20 or more. This has worked for me for a long time now.
Tubes will work under the same conditions sense they imitate a craw. Tube colors I like are Road Kill / Chartreuse tips, Brown cold, green flake / orange tips, of course Black blue tips as well. I do not use worms until the water gets in the upper 50′s or after spawn.
Spinner Baits also work well this time of year as do crank baits worked slow….remember I am talking “early spring” pre-spawn, when the bass are starting to stage off their spawning grounds.
** Added ** Float N Fly is a real good technique when the water is below 50 degrees. Works great from around Dec. – late Feb, early March. I use it during this time for Small Mouth Bass in S. Central Ky, and Tn.
Ken asks…
Can you suggest some fishing techniques for lakes in central Georgia?
I know that the lake is stocked with some large catfish, bass, croppie, bluegill, and those types of fish. What should I use and how should I use it to catch some?
Daniel Ambrose answers:
Catfish———-red worms, wieners, stink bait
Bass———— large minnows, any top water baits, artificial worms
crappie——— minnows mainly but they are slow this time of year
Bluegill——— red worms, crickets, rooster tail lures, beetle spin lures, bread even where they are in abundance. After last full moon in May these species usually if they haven’t already started spawning they will be then.
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Live Fishing Bait -Part-4
June 18, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
We continue our live fishing bait series with our discussion on some of our favorite bugs. So if your interested in crickets, flies, and some other goodies like that, you are going to want to pay attention to this post.
The way I see the insects is there are the swimmers, the crawlers, jumpers, and of course, the fliers. All of which are like candy to different fish. They cannot help themselves when they come in contact with their favorite one, because they see it so rarely it becomes a treat.
Crickets and grasshoppers are a fishing favorite, because like nightcrawlers, some fishermen can catch them as they need them, and for others they are commonly available at your local live fishing bait store.
Crickets are usually found in wooded areas or fields, especially the dark-colored cricket, commonly known as a field cricket. There is a gray cricket that is commercially raised and sold in bait shops and pet stores.
Grasshoppers like grassy or weedy fields. Most are 1-2 inches in length. The dark colored grasshoppers are some shade of gray or brown and live on the ground. The green shaded crickets live on plants.
Mayflies are a fish favorite and they are a very interesting choice as they go through many changes in their short life cycle. Of course this is one of those which came first things, the egg, or the mayfly because their short life is so ever changing.
The mayfly life cycle is something to be aware of as they can be used as live fishing bait in several different stages of their metamorphosing life. So lets look at their short life and see something amazing.
1) A mayfly mates with the opposite sex while in flight.
2) After mating the female drops her eggs in the water.
3) The eggs sink, adhering to plants, rocks or other things at the bottom.
4) The larvae hatches in about six months. They eat and grow for about five months going through several molts -changes.
5) When full grown they swim to the surface.
6) Now it splits and sheds its skin -molts, and in seconds it has wings that harden.
7) The mayfly then flies off to nearby vegetation where it stays for a day, or two
It molts into an adult where it lives just long enough to mate and drop its eggs, except a few live for weeks.
Its the many changes and short life of this live fishing bait that gets it so much attention in this post, but we are going to pause here, we will say its in memorial for such a short lived fishing bait and we hope you will return to view the next post in this Live Fishing Bait series.
