One of the best things about catfish fishing is you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the sport. All you need is some basic gear, tackle and bait plus a little insight on where to fish. This information can be found by visiting your local bait shop or this information can also be obtained from your state DNR office.

Equipment:

The equipment you use should be geared towards the size catfish that inhabits the waters you have chosen to fish. That being said most beginners will target small rivers, streams and ponds that produce catfish in the 2-15lb range so I’m going to base my equipment recommendations for catfish of that size range.

A good performing Spinning Rod and reel combos are recommended and can be purchased at most any sporting goods store, from your local store to Wal-Mart or bass pro shops for 30.00 bucks or so. Any of these places will have everything you need to get started. For catfish, choose a medium size combo rated for 20 lb test fishing line.

This is the easiest rod and reel combo for a beginner to a master. These combos will come with fishing line already spooled on the reel and this line will be fine for a few trips but if you use your fishing rig often you may want to put on some better name brand fishing line such as Stren or Berkley 20 lb. test. This can also be purchased at the same places.

Hooks:

I recommend a #4-6 bait holder hook or j-style hook.

Sinkers:

Split shot sinker, egg sinkers
For pond, lakes and water with little or no current, a 1 oz. egg sinker will do the trick. If you are fishing rivers and streams with current you will want to upgrade to a 2-3 oz egg sinker.

Bait:

There are a number of prepared baits to choose from, such as cheese baits, dough baits, dip baits and even preserved natural baits, however do not get sucked into the miracle baits craze.

These types of catfish baits have indeed caught some fish but your more than likely going to have better success with fresh natural baits such as insects, worms and other fish. However the baits that I am going to recommend here today can be easily obtained at your local bait store or grocers, such as Night crawlers, minnows, shiners, shrimp, chicken livers and beef livers, with minnows, shiners and shrimp being my top picks.

Using night crawlers will catch catfish just fine, however lots of other fish like them too, so you will get pestered to death by bluegills, perch and suckers.

The beef liver works well and is easy to fish with, as it tends to stay on the hook quite well making it harder for bait stealers to jack your bait. Cut it in 2 in x 2in pieces.

The chicken livers are a proven catfish catching bait however it is very hard to keep it on the hook, especially when you try to throw it out to the fish, 9 times out of 10 it will get slung off your hook. Some folks will wrap the livers in stockings to keep that from happening but it’s really too much trouble and time consuming to do that, when a better bait like minnows, shrimp or shiners is readily available and easy to use.

Now that you have your equipment and bait lets go catfishin’

Best catfish rig:

The best all around catfish rig is the Carolina rig. To tie this rig, simply slide an egg sinker onto your mainline up about 2 foot. Next crimp a split shot sinker below the egg sinker with a pair of pliers, leaving the 2 foot tag line to tie your hook to.

Tie your hook on the line using a Clinch knot, and you’re ready to fish.

Bait your hook with your chosen bait, leaving the point of the hook exposed and cast it out and let it hit the bottom, your line will go slack when it hits the bottom, prop the combo up against a rock, tackle box, log or forked stick to elevate the tip of the combo and slightly reel to remove the slack line. Sit back, enjoy your day and wait for the action.

This beginner’s guide to catfishing; gives you all the information you need to get started quick with the best results, utilizing the most common but highly effective catfishing rig still used by the pros today. This is your no fluff, fast track to success!

Your bait is the most important part of catfishing and you should always opt to catch and use fresh bait when you can for catfishing but only if catching it, is worth the time, however when you don’t have that option properly prepared frozen bait will also work effectively. I will freeze and use at least a 1000 lbs of bait a year and I can say with confidence that some of my biggest fish has been caught on frozen bait.

Catching baitfish for catfishing can be difficult at times, running here and there to find bait can get expensive and take up a lot of time. In my region the bait can be tough to find at times and may take a day and 200 miles to just to catch bait before I can go catfishing. Sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to locate bait, that’s why I keep my freezer full of frozen shad and herring at all times. So when the bait is plentiful and easy to find, is the best time to catch them in bulk and freeze them for a later date.

Some will disagree and say freezing bait will make the mushy and fall of the hook to easy and I will agree with that if the freezing process is not done properly. Frozen bait is only as good what you put into it and the process should be started as soon as you catch it, If not the bait will start to decompose very quickly, causing it to become soft and mushy.

The key to this freezing process is being able to drop the baits core body temperature quickly. This will preserve the bait better as the decomposing process will be postponed due to the sudden cold temperature. I never let my bait sit in a bucket for any length of time before I put ice to it.

My procedure for preserving bait is a little more involved than just catching it, putting it in bags and freezing it. It takes a bit more time but I think it well worth the time spent to have the freshest frozen bait possible.

Items needed

3 large coolers –
Cooler #1=brine solution
Cooler #2=ice storage
Cooler #3= ice storage/ extra brine solution if needed.
Zip lock bags (1 gal bags for shad and 2 gallon bags for skipjack)
Crushed/cubed ice
10 lb. Granular 100 % pure rock salt

Preparation

A little preparation goes a long way in this process. The key like I stated above is, dropping the baits Core body temperature quickly to postpone the decomposition cycle and this process should be started as soon as the bait is caught. I do this by preparing a brine solution of super chilled ice water in one of the large coolers I’ve provided to immediately put the bait in after it is caught. It doesn’t matter what type of bait you’re catching, shad, skip jack or other, this super chilled brine solution will work for all bait types.

Mixing the solution

I will put one a large bag of crushed or cubed ice in the cooler and spread 2-3 handfuls of rock salt on top of the ice and repeat the process with another bag of ice on top of the first layer. Now I will pour water in the ice to make a slushy type ice mixture.

Adding salt to the ice water changes the melting point of ice therefore making the solution colder preserving the bait better.
To be honest I’m not really sure about the physics of this process of changing molecules and equilibriums. So I’m not going to try to explain it, as I’m a catfisheman and not a scientist, I just know it works and take full advantage of this phenomenon, however if you want to know how it works, here is a link to the topic I found on the subject. http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/saltandfreezing/ofwater.html

Once you’ve prepared the ice brine solution your ready to put the bait in it as it’s caught, always push the bait down into the solution allowing it to super chill never leave it on top exposed to air for any length of time.. The idea is to postpone the decomposition process as bait fish are very quick to decompose. You will have to add more crushed ice to the solution as you add more bait.
Now that you’ve caught enough bait to last several trips, it’s time to bag it out.

I will always wait until I get home to do this so I will always top off my brine solution with more crushed ice and another handful of salt for the ride home keeping the bait super chilled until bagging time as I don’t ever want to give the bait time to warm up before I freeze it. I prefer to take it straight from the super chilled cooler to the bag and in the freezer within minutes. The salt based super chilled ice brine that the your bait is soaking in is an old school preservative that is proven effective over the centuries in keeping human food fresh, it’s just as effective in keeping the bait in perfect condition for future use.

Bagging the bait for the freezer

Now it’s time to bag your bait for future fishing trips. Depending on the baits size I will fill each bag with a certain number of pieces to know what I will have for each trip.
For instance, if I’m bagging out 6-8 inch shad, I’ll use the 1 gallon bags and put 2 dozen pieces per bag but if I’m bagging 12-15 inch skip jack I will use the 2 gallon bags and only put one dozen pieces per bag.

As I’m bagging I will add more rock salt to the bait in layers so that all the bait has been touched by the salt. Put half of the bait in the bag and then a hand full of salt on it, then the other half of the bait and another handful of salt and seal the bag with the air in it and begin to tumble or mix the bait and salt thoroughly. Now open the bag and remove all the air from it and reseal the bag for the final freeze. This will preserve the bait in the best condition possible. Be careful not to get salt in the zip lock grooves and only fill the bag half way with bait; leave a little room in the top so it’s easy to close.

Keep repeating this process until you’ve packed out all your bait.

Now lay the bags out and spread the bait flat within the bag and put it in the freezer so they all freeze quickly and evenly. You’re now all set with excellent bait for your next fishing trip. Just grab the number of bags that you’ll need, put them in a cooler with some ice and go fishing.

If you happen to take too much bait not to worry, by leaving it in the cooler on ice you can refreeze it when you get home and use the rest on your next fishing trip. The salt you used when packing it out will keep the bait in good shape even though you thawed it out some.