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Most of my experience has been with channels with a few flats mixed in (mostly small-under 20). I have tried fishing bullfrogs a time or two with zero results. I tie half hitch knots around the leopards to try and get multiple fish out of them. Generally, a leopard doesnt get to stay on the hook long before a channel smashes it. They must taste like candy.
thats interesting. i have fished them on jugs before with a weight above the hook to keep the frog under water but never caught a flathead. usually i drift them. let the wind blow my boat across a reservoir and bait on a rod and reel
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Isnt brim a southern word for any small panfish or is it a real specis? if it is a single species post a picture if you dont mind. I am still confused as to what one is.
From what I've gathered since moving here, brim is generally bluegill but can also be red ear, pumpkin seeds, green sunfish, etc. But not crappie, those are separate... never heard those called brim.
In NY, all those fish are collectively called "sunfish"... down here it's "brim".
thats interesting. i have fished them on jugs before with a weight above the hook to keep the frog under water but never caught a flathead. usually i drift them. let the wind blow my boat across a reservoir and bait on a rod and reel
It might be the fish's preference in the body of water you're fishing.
We were near a dam in the Flambeau River We had run out of chicken liver , leeches , bluegill and Crawlers and had fished all night. It was between 4 and 6am and we hooked up some frogs we found there. We caught several flatheads before we called it a Night.
NRA and NTA Life Member www.BackroadsRevised@etsy.com
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619029 07/04/2211:09 AM07/04/2211:09 AM
Do you have a video or post or anything explaining about these poles you're using in that video?
Originally Posted by ADC
We can only use 5 lines or 15 hooks, whichever comes first here so, I only target the biggest flatheads so my set up is very heavy duty. I start with 10' long x 1/2" solid fiberglass rods I got from Rally Hess Enterprises out of Mn. I then drill two 3/32” holes in the end of the rod one 1” from the end and one 2” from the end. I put a 1 1/2" screw most of the way through the hole nearest the end. (This is used later to adjust the amount of line you let off the pole.) I then tie a 15-20’ piece of #24 braided nylon line (225# test) through the second hole. Next I slide an 8 oz. egg sinker (homemade) on the line and tie on a Rosco 8/0 Swivel (900# test) to the other side of the swivel, I attach 8-12” of the #24 line, and a size 10/0 4X strong Gamakatsu Octopus hook, (like pictured below). That completes the rig. I use trap tags or printed labels sealed with clear tape to ID my poles. Wrap the line around the pole hook it back up over the screw and run the hook down the side of the pole and under a short piece of 1/2" tube on the pole so they do not tangle in transport.
The most important thing, once you find a good location, to catch big fish is using big bait. Our preferred bait is a very lively 6-10” bullhead hooked up through the roof of the mouth, from inside out, centered just behind their row of top teeth.
When we hit the river we look for slack, back flowing, deep water near heavy cover if possible. (By deep I mean deeper than the average water depth by a couple feet or more at least.) We find such a spots by maneuvering the boat along the bank and using a long bamboo pole and simply probing the bank line in the slack water. This will become easier as you get an eye for where the “perfect” water is.
Once we find a good location, we simply shove the pole in the bank a foot above water level (more if the water is expected to rise) at a slight upward angle. Sometimes we use a pointed trap stake driver with T-handle to make a pilot hole for the rod if the bank is really hard. How far you push it into the bank is dependent upon how hard the bank is. Typically they are 30" or so into the bank but if its soft go further. Next we let out line until the sinker hits the bottom of the river, then re-wrap 3 or 4 wraps of line on the pole. (The little screw in the end will hold the line so a caught fish or lively bait won’t pull it out farther and possibly into a snag.) This leaves your sinker 4-8" off the bottom of the river. Hook the bait on, as described above, and move to the next location. On the rare occasions where the pole holds your bait too far out into the current, we use a clothes pin, clipped on, down the pole far enough to get your bait hanging where you want it.
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619072 07/04/2212:03 PM07/04/2212:03 PM
Isnt brim a southern word for any small panfish or is it a real specis? if it is a single species post a picture if you dont mind. I am still confused as to what one is.
From what I've gathered since moving here, brim is generally bluegill but can also be red ear, pumpkin seeds, green sunfish, etc. But not crappie, those are separate... never heard those called brim.
In NY, all those fish are collectively called "sunfish"... down here it's "brim".
same thing they call "sunnies" in Mn and Wi.
We call them what they are here like you do Danny. Bluegills, green sunfish, etc... .
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619127 07/04/2201:24 PM07/04/2201:24 PM
Sure thing. It was a big learning curve, from willow sticks, to PVC, to PVC with rebar in the end, to 6-8' 3/8" fiberglass, to the 1/2" 10' fiberglass we use now. I don't think there's room for improvement on them. The hooks & weights were the same way, started out too small, or too light (hated the circle hooks, way too many empty likes and a pain to hook on the baits). Tried lots of baits, frogs, crawfish, creek chubs, bass, channel cats (second best to bullheads), goldfish, etc... Aside from the catfish all the others couldn't stay lively on the hooks longer than a couple hours, especially if there is a current. Their flesh was too soft too so they worked the hole where the hook was and expanded it until the flipped off the hooks. I've had bullheads stay on the hook and still look great for up to 3 days (obviously when the fish weren't biting well, or I picked a crappy location). You'll catch some big fish with smaller equipment but it's hard to catch them if smaller fish steal your bait or get caught on the poles before the big ones can get there. If you can set a ton of lines, I don't know if my method would be best but with only 5 lines each, I don't wanna mess with smaller fish. I'd rather not catch anything under 10-15 lbs. and I'm not really happy until they are 25-30+. Still waiting catching on a true 50+lb flathead though, not ones like you see people guessing the weight or hanging on an old rusty spring scale.
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619146 07/04/2201:56 PM07/04/2201:56 PM
I use green eared sunfish a lot. Those creek chubs you mentioned are a great channel cat bait. Smaller black perch (green eared sunfish) are too. My favorite channel cat bait is grass frogs. ( bull frogs are a horrible bait)
I been pretty busy here lately with work and my mom. I did get to fish a couple hours last Saturday with my son at the Melvern Reservoir outlet. Caught about an 8 pound flathead on a goldfish. I didnt even have time to catch bait. We ate it a week ago Sunday for supper.
Is your grass frog what we call leopard frogs? That would be my #1 by far, but i dont know a place to consistently get them. Ive been known to jump off a moving mower to chase those.
When's it dry, if you put out small bowls of water covered by tall grass or wood, the leopard frogs will go in them and typically be in them if you check during the heat of the day. When I was a kid, I used Cool Whip containers this way. The leopard frogs will also stay in the damp depressions by wood fence posts. I used to catch huge numbers of frogs.
Keith
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619151 07/04/2202:00 PM07/04/2202:00 PM
My favorite bait for flathead catfish in rivers is 6 to 8 inch long stone rollers. They always work better than creek chubs or sunfish for me. I have never used bullheads for flatheads. I have done very well using bullheads for bass.
Keith
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619180 07/04/2202:38 PM07/04/2202:38 PM
The 1/2 inch 10ft fiberglass rods are hard to beat. Here are my preferred hooks, bait doesn't seem to Matter as much as long as it's live and swimming.
If it makes a track on this earth , I can catch it.
Re: Big catfish bait
[Re: DWC]
#7619200 07/04/2203:04 PM07/04/2203:04 PM