![]() Attach a round plastic bobber to the line between the bottom guide and The rod tip is continually dipping and straightening. Reel until the line starts getting tight, then if the fish pulls it tighter set the hook.ĭetecting hits is difficult while fishing into the surf. Try to set the hook when a catfish is moving away. These are excellent in the Allegheny River and in the Lake Erie surf. TruTurn Hooks are very effective, as are Eagle Claw LO42F.Ī lot of experimentation has led my catfishing group to use pyramid sinkers. ![]() Their mouths are soft so hooks sink easily, yet the lips also are tough and seldom let loose a hook. The necessary items are large hooks, swivels, line sliders and specialized sinkers. Rigging is reasonably simple, yet it should use good, precise components. ![]() Buy the shrimp midday, then leave it in your vehicle until you go fishing that evening. Put about a dozen pieces in each bag so you do not have to thaw all of the cut bait or one outing.įor Lake Erie only, aged jumbo shrimp is excellent bait for channel catfish. This can be frozen and kept from one year to the next. ![]() You might want to use five plastic bags if you will be keeping the cut bait in the same refrigerator where you keep food. Add a liberal amount of the liquid garlic scent, then seal the bag, then triple bag. Leave whole or cut into halves, then place them in a plastic bag. You can catch chubs from any of the Lake Erie tributaries. Perhaps even better is home-made cut bait. Start with any of the packaged catfish baits that can be found in local bait and tackle shops. While nightcrawlers are the most popular local catfish bait, probably you can do better. (My catfish aspirations extend beyond Pennsylvania borders.) The important factors of this gear are rods that will cast sinkers as heavy as 3 ounces and have the backbone to battle big catfish, reels that have clickers when the spools are in free-spool, and durable line that may be called upon to handle catfish that weigh 50 pounds, or more. I have no complaints after using these outfits for about five years. Reels were spooled with 50 pound-test braided line. An Okuma Classic XT level-wind reel was mounted to each. If you want to get serious about catfishing, as I have, then you should advance to specialized tackle.įor my own catfish rigs, which are also used for flathead catfish, I started with a pair of Cabela’s C802MH E-Glass rods rated for 10 pound-test to 25 pound-test line. You can fish for channel catfish with just about any fishing tackle you may have. Certainly, there are other places with good catfishing waiting to be found. There has been good channel catfish action from the South Pier by casting baits south, toward the East Avenue Boat Launch. Good catfishing is not limited to the Elk Creek area. Was it even weighed on a certified scale? My point is that anglers may catch a record channel catfish in local water. That 35-pound channel catfish was just 3 ounces short of the Pennsylvania state record. If it is offering channel catfish, take channel catfish. Savvy anglers know that the surest way to good fishing is taking what the water will give you. Numerous channel catfish have been caught from this area this spring. Anyone who pigeonholes him- or herself to one, or just a few, kinds of fishing is missing wholly different advantages of our sport.Ĭatfishing is like war: It's a lot of waiting separated by massive excitement and confusion.Īlready this year a 35-pound channel catfish was caught from Lake Erie in the vicinity of the mouth of Elk Creek. To those of you who have never quite gotten the catfishing bug, so sorry.
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