Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Channel cats........................tips?

Soap works, and well.

Also, dead groundhog.... left to "ripen" outside overnight and at least 6 hours of daylight.... cut into chunks, thread on the hook like the soap, and toss the stinkin' mess (and it will be) in a deep pool. Groundhog is tough, and stays on the hook, and it's greasy/oily for a good smell distribution.

I think I'll stick with soap....

Some great advice so far. Don't forget peeled crawdad tails if you can catch them.

MtnHtr

bought some zote today. will try tonight.

Probably not in time for your tourney but anyways.

Fresh cut fish is far and away going to be your most consistent bait. Forget the rotten stuff and novelties. You can run a siene thru the milk to get goldeye and plains minnow. You could also buy creek chubs at the bait shop and ice them. They key to catching lots of cats is to fish hard and fast, especially on a small river like the Milk. Concentrate on the deeper holes and don't overlook riffles. I typically use a basic bottom rig (lindy rig to a walleye man) but will also use drift rigs with floats or just split shot.

If cats are in a hole you usually will have action in minutes. Don't stay in one spot for more than 20 or 30 minutes unless you are still catching fish. I would float long sections of river with a canoe or small flatbottom. Just have your buddy bring his truck to drop off at the end of your run. I have fished cats a lot on the smaller rivers in eastern SD and have been very successful this these techniques.

Wife had company this weekend and took them across the border for the mexican tour. She and the guests brought the typical stuff but I ran into the zost soap for 35 cents a bar and me and $2.40 parted ways. Guess I can always use it in the bathtub or something.

Sounds like your priorities are in order....

So, how is the zote soap working? Any of you guys catching anything yet? The wife and I caught 10 channels last Sunday, and, another 9 yesterday on Sonny's Blood Dip Bait and a dip worm. Most were around 1 1/2 - 3 pounds, good fillet size. I did catch a 7 pounder yesterday.

Reference the crawdad tails, years ago a guy swore by peeled shrimp for bait. I tried it several times and couldn't keep the turtles off the hook. Would you have the same trouble with the crawdad tails? I haven't beaten a good dip bait and worm with anything yet.

i caught six cats this weekend on zote. might have to move my trotline. not getting the action i think i should. stuff smells pretty good to me, and i was wash up with a piece of bait after running the line.
how's that for efficiency?

Here in Arizona, I've caught countless channels (and some flatheads, too) using SUNFISH as bait. We use cane poles rigged with a number 6 baitholder, baited with a mealwork, to catch small sunfish. We fish the sunfish (dead, alive, or in pieces) on the bottom. Works every time, better than any other bait I've tried.

In some states it is illegal, but in others, it is legal to use sport fish for bait if you catch them yourself. You can net your own blueback herring or shad to use for striped bass or hybrid bass. You can catch a panfish or a trout on a hook and line, and then use it for bait for big catfish or striped bass in rivers like the Congaree and Savannhah.