need advice

[polebender]

Ive been hooked on catfishing ever since I hooked my first one but I need some tips on catxhing more... when river fish with no current do I want to tigjt line or leave a binch of slack? Also when I have chicken liver on and wat h my pole there is a lot of hitting on my bait but they dont take it and run? I set my pole down set my pole to free wheel but they never take it? What am I doing wrong? What size sinker is best? Thanks for and advice

[banksidebandit]

Use whatever weight sinker is needed for the current you are fishing or how much weight you need to cast to where you want to. Chicken liver can catch some channel cats but other bait like shad, bluegill, or shrimp is normally better. The small nibbles you are getting may be from small cats or even little bluegill nipping at the livers. I set my poles to run most of the time when bank fishing and let them run before I hook them. If you tight line your pole you better make sure you have a sturdy rod holder or you will lose your pole. Hope this helps you catch more fish!

[polebender]

I fish the wabash river where there is a huge hole where the river cicles.. I have tried bliegill shrimp home made bait with no luck or bites seem liver is the only thing I get hits on.. and thank you for responding ill try the. Tips!

[wildwv]

Polebender,
It has been my experience that when a channel cat bites it usually takes the baits and runs with it especially with liver. I tend to think when you are getting nibbles that the chances are its a bullhead. Deep still water is a haven for bullheads at night.

[Skyline1506]

I wouldnt leave slack in the line bud. For channels I would lock the reel, get a nice set of rod holders, set your rod at like a 45 degree angle to the water and wait for a good take down and cross his eyes. Circle hooks are a great option for channels in that case same steps just instead of setting the hook wait for the rod to load up, grab it out of holder and lean back into the fish as you start reeling. I would use cut bait to start rather than liver just so you can get a better idea of whats there. About the size of the palm of your hand is a good start. you can go bigger if the fish do. Live bait in the same size range will get you fish too, if they are there. You could also try floats for suspended fish. Liver is a great bait for little squealer channels, but in my experience, if you want to get the bigger more predatory channels you will have much better luck with live bait or fresh(still bleeding, kicking and squirming)cut bait. Blue gills and creek chubs are my go to baits for channels. For flatheads tips of your fingers to heel of your hand is where i would start for bait size.

If all else fails maybe its time to find a new spot. sometimes the best looking spots in the world just dont hold fish. Dont get hung up on a dead hole because it looks good, its really easy to do and we have all done it. A hole is only as good as the fish that are in it.

Good luck

[polebender]

Thanks for the info! Im gonna try these tips and see where it goes Im gonna go this weekend and try

[Chuck]

If you are fishing with a whole liver, maybe try cutting it down and using a smaller piece. When I used to use liver the wipers used to peck at it all night. You also might try some small live bait, some type of minnows, or small chubs, or even worms. If you could catch a few of the fish that are pecking on you bait, you would at least know what they are. Good luck!

[captaininsano]

here we have a big issue with crawfish they will strip your hook bare in 15 minutes with soft tissue bait. what ive done to remedy this is grind up the livers in a blender till you have a good liquid then soak chicken gizzards in the liquid liver juice for a week in the fridge. the crawfish take about an hour to strip a gizzard off a hook. they also tend to leave hotdogs and dough baits alone.

[Jeff]

Nothing but great advice here so far. I wonder if turtles are picking at your bait. Try a small live bluegill for bait. If you get a strike you'll know for sure.