What is the best way to catch channel catfish?
Channel catfish move into the deepest holes of a river in late fall to over-winter. Fish won’t be as aggressive as they are in the spring and summer because of the colder temperatures. Try cut bait or nightcrawlers on slip sinkers rigs fished near the bottom. As June approaches, catfish start to spawn.
What is the best bait for big blue catfish?
– You’ll want to use a bait that has plenty of stink. Cut herring, mud shad, or menhaden fits the bill perfectly. – Some anglers swear by commercially made stink-baits, and others by chicken livers. – Whatever bait you choose, you’ll want to keep it dead on bottom.
What is the difference between channel catfish and blue catfish?
The best way to tell the difference between the two species is the ray count on the anal fin. Typically, blue catfish have 30 plus anal rays vs. The front edge of a blue catfish’s anal fin is usually squared off whereas the channel catfish anal fish is usually rounded.
What is the best bait to use for blue catfish?
shad
To Get The Blue Catfish Bite – You’ll want to use a bait that has plenty of stink. Cut herring, mud shad, or menhaden fits the bill perfectly. – Some anglers swear by commercially made stink-baits, and others by chicken livers. – Whatever bait you choose, you’ll want to keep it dead on bottom.
Do blue catfish like current?
Blues also frequent areas of heavy current, while channels and flatheads prefer areas of slow to moderate water flow. Their food preferences also differ. Small channel cats aren’t finicky.
Where do blue catfish go in the fall?
As water temperatures drop below 50 degrees in late autumn, catfish move to deeper water on the main lake, but still venture shallow to feed along points and humps. Key on these shallow structures during warm, sunny days and switch to nearby holes in the 25- to 40-foot range when the weather turns nasty.
How do you target big blue catfish?
To Get The Blue Catfish Bite – You’ll want to use a bait that has plenty of stink. Cut herring, mud shad, or menhaden fits the bill perfectly. – Some anglers swear by commercially made stink-baits, and others by chicken livers. – Whatever bait you choose, you’ll want to keep it dead on bottom.
How to catch a channel catfish?
When they have an indication of a bite, they go for the rod but by the time they grab it and set the hook, the catfish is usually gone. If you’ll hold the rod and be ready for a bite when fishing for channel catfish, you’ll catch more fish, period. The bottom line is you need to be able to set the hook quickly.
What is the difference between Channel Cat and blue catfish?
The blue catfish is most similar to the channel cat. The main differences include the color, and the longer anal fins of the blue cat. Blue catfish are also larger. Seek them out in larger rivers and lakes mostly.
Where can I catch a blue catfish?
For the most part, blue catfish are found more frequently in rivers than they are lakes, but that doesn’t mean if your fishing a good size lake, that you can’t set the hook into a monster blue.
What is the best book to learn channel catfish fishing?
Learn everything you could learn fishing with me at the fraction of the price of a guided catfish trip. Summer Channel Catfish Techniques, The Secret Catfish Rig, and Drift Fishing for Catfish are all great choices for learning how to be a better channel catfish angler.