Heavy Duty Bait Casting

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Equipment you will need :

• Boat
• Good Set of Boat Anchors
• Separate 12v Battery To run lights
• External Night Lights
• Underwater Lighting
• Live Bait Keeper
• Chum bag
• Boat Rod Holders
• Heavy Bait Casting Or Spinning Rig
• Insect Repellent

Once you have tried Night Fishing For catfish you will be hooked for life. If you follow the steps I have outlined and do some research on your own, You will be amazed how many catfish you can catch at night. Catfish feed at night and are very active, and when they get into a feeding frenzy fishing action can be incredible! Catfish have a very keen sense of smell and are attracted underwater fishing lighting. If you can put yourself in the catfish’s nightly habitat location there are some simple methods you can use to entice the cats to feed more aggressively. But first you must be setup and prepared for night fishing it is totally different at night then in the day. Things you take for granted during the day, don’t apply at night.

How To Set Your Boat Up For Night Fishing

There are some key items that are a must if you are planing a night fishing trip for catfish. The Items are as follows:, External Lights to attach inside the boat ,either battery or Coleman fuel type lanterns with two mantles. Distribute your lanterns evenly through out your boat. I personally fish from a 20 foot pontoon and I have 3 halogen battery powered lights hung 2in the front, left and right and one hanging from my canopy in the rear.(I have used my Coleman’s but they attract a huge amount of insects)

You also will need a secondary light on your person. This small light comes in handy when you are re-rigging your fishing poles. Trust me , no matter how prepared you are before your trip you will loose some tackle, from line crossovers, or snags, or fish snapping your line. (you can limit this by using heavy tackle and making sure your line is fresh) I personally use a led light that clips to the visor on my ball cap.

You also will need a light to illuminate the water surface. I recommend 12v halogen light that can be directed outside the boat. Mount it on the side of your boat, in the center. I personally use and adjustable halogen that I can clip to the railing on my pontoon. Direct the light at a 60 degree angle from boat to water. This will illuminate the surface.

You will need a submerged light source. You are probably asking your self right now why do I need submerged lighting?The underwater fishing lights will attract bait fish by the hundreds, and I am sure you already know the baitfish attract the cats. The reason the underwater fishing lights attract bait fish is because they generate what is called a plankton swirl, of which the baitfish feed from. You will be amazed how fast the big catfish will come and position themselves around the bait fish ball generated for the submerged fishing lights. Underwater fishing light Underwater fishing lights can be purchased in a variety of different sizes and shapes. I use a submerged fishing light that is 4″ in dia and 36″ long.Center the submerged fishing light in the illumination pattern of the surface water lighting you just set up. Anchor your submerged lighting about 12 ” off the bottom, (without an anchor they will float on top of the water).. make sure the light completely submerged under the water. I recommend you use a 5lb weight as an anchor. If possible, anchor the submerged light about 2 to 3 ft from the boat.

You will need a secondary power source for the submerged light,surface light and the power source to operate your bait aerator. “do not use your boats power source” This will drain your battery.”you don’t want to get stuck on the lake at night right? If you take a well charged 12v marine battery as your second source it will last through the night.

You will need all Your poles pre-rigged If you have the rigs I would set up 3 poles , per person in advance of getting on the water.Rigging tackle at night can be a real pain the butt , and you want to have your poles in the water as much as possible.You won’t get away without re-rigging poles, but you want to avoid it as much as possible.

Locating the cat’s nightly haunts

It is very important that you do some pre-planning and research the body of water you intend to go night fishing for catfish on. Every body of water is different when it comes to catfish habitat locations, but it has been my experience, that in any body of water the bigger cats roam the shore lines or back waters in search of food at night. I highly recommend you do some research on the body of water you intend to night fish for catfish on. At Minimum Get a topographical map of the area before you attempt your trip. These can be attained at any of the local bait and tackle shops in the area. (I recommend you visit one of these shops to get the local scoop anyway, if you dig deep enough these guys can pin point on the map Where to start fishing. This will save you lots of time.)

Attracting The Catfish Into Your Boat.

If you can get the catfish’s sense of smell perked up with the following additional step, you can push the catfish into night fishing feeding frenzy! The submerged lighting will get the schools of bait fish coming , but I take it step one step further because if you play on the catfish’s extra sensitive sense of smell you can drive the Big cats into a feeding frenzy! Ok You say how?

Well the answer is by introducing “chumming”. Chumming releases a slick of dead fish smells and fish guts that the small bait fish and catfish feed on. I use a simple very in-expense and easy to setup method of chumming. You can also purchase commercial chumming systems that you can set up.First you will need a nylon netted bag that you can close tight. (a good example would the netted bags that you put golf balls in that have a string closure adjustment) This is what I use, works perfect , very inexpensive.Get yourself some good size freezer bags, at least 3 for a one night fishing for catfish trip.

I always cut up small bluegill if I can get them, or I i purchase about 2 dozen chubs an cut them into 1″ to 2″ slices, and put the guts pieces and juices in a pan that won’t drain. Fill the freezer bags pieces and juice all together, and let them sit outside in the sun all day long. Yes it will stink to high heaven by the end of the day, but that is what you want! Now stick the freezer bag in side the meshed bag that can close. Close the bag tight and tie a line at the bottom of the bag about 2 feet long. Attach about a 2lb anchor to get the bag to the bottom . Now tie a line at the top of the bag with enough lead line to get the bag on the bottom. Now before you lower the chum bag to the bottom take an ice pick, or something sharp that will puncture the bag , but not tear the plastic. Punch the freezer bag numerous times, then lower to the bottom an tie it off on the side of the boat.

Now its time to fish! But before we go there lets re-visit Your catfish rigs. There are many catfish rigs you can use, and they all work in situations they are designed for. Your rigs do not need to be setup for long casting, keep in mind you will be placing your line only a few feet away from the boat, at the edge of your underwater fishing light source.

You will be fishing only a short distance from the boat, so your rigs need to be set up to fish in close proximity to the boat. You could fish tight line with a basic catfish hook and a small sinker. Or use a slip bobber system. I prefer to use the slip bobber system.

my preference is a single hook tight line or slip bobber rig, both work fine , but single hook is just my preference. I do use the double hook rig when fishing for other types of fish. I use all heavy duty, open face , and spin cast rod and reels with 30lb test. I use a heavy test line because you never know when you will hook into a monster catfish when you are night fishing.You miss some smaller cats, but it’s well worth it when you catch your first 10lb plus catfish.

Night fishing for catfish baits

Both Channel and Blue catfish will eat just about any small fish like Suckers, small shad, or bluegills both live or dead.When I am set up for a good night of catfish fishing I will use both live and dead cut bait. I will normally set one pole up with a small live gill no more that 3 inches in length. My other poles will be baited with cut bait , normally LARGE suckers 6″ or longer cut in 1″ to 2″ chunks.

Well I hope this article will help you on your next night fishing for catfish trip, Good Luck and good fishing!

Mark Fleagle Webmaster. 30+ Years Of Fishing Experience Expert Author At Ezinearticles.com. Click This Link To Find Out More About Fishing Cats At Night Fishing Webmasters , Need 100% Free Automated Fishing Content Instantly? Click This Link: Free Fishing Content

 

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