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Suggested Night Fishing Catfish Equipment:
- Boat
- Boat Anchors
- Separate 12v Battery To run lights
- Night Lights
- Submerged Lighting
- Bait Live Well
- Chum bag
- Rod Holders
- Heavy Duty 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 are attracted to submerged lighting And have a very keen sense of smell. So If you can locate their nightly haunts you can entice them on to your hook with some simple methods I will explain here. Before I explain these methods in detail, there are some basic night fishing setups we need to address. Fishing at night is a totally different ball game then fishing during the day.
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 hang 3 halogen batter powered lights in my 20 foot pontoon. I hang two in the front, one on each side of the boat, and 1 one on my canopy on the back of my pontoon.(I have used my Coleman's but they attract a huge amount of insects)
I also recommend you purchase a small light you clip on the visor of a ball cap. This small light comes in handy when you are re-rigging your fishing poles.You are probably asking why do i need these lights when I already have inside lights, Good question;These small lights have pin pointed light intensity that is great when you have to thread line through a hook or when putting bait and sinkers on. (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.
Your Next light source is to illuminate the surface of the water. A 12v halogen that you can clip onto the side of your boat and pivot the light source at different angles, and hook to a external 12v power source does nicely here. 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 underwater fishing 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. Submerged lighting rigs come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The one I use is 36" long about 4" in diameter.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.The reason I suggest this is because it's real pain the "blank" To re-rig at night. You will end up doing it anyway , but if you have spare poles already set up, use them first before you have waist valuable time with poles out of the water.
The Importance Of Knowing where the catfish are at night
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. I would like to identify one key common observation I have made over the years of night fishing for catfish. It has been my experience the bigger cat's roam the shore lines or back waters in search of food at night, but everybody of water is always slightly different. 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.)
Enticing the Cats to 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?
Chumming will perk any catfish's keen sense of smell, it can actually drive the catfish crazy because they are a curious fish by nature and because they are constantly foraging for food at night. "Chumming" releases a slick of dead fish smells and particles of fish guts that both the catfish and baitfish 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. Next , get some good size freezer bags, 3 should do for one nights 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.
Since you are going to be fishing only a few feet from the boat make sure your rigs have only enough weight to get your line to the bottom. Slip bobber set ups work well also.
my preference is a single hook tight line or slip bobber rig, both work fine , but single hook is just my preference. When I fish for other species of fish I will use a double hook rig but not when I am fishing at night for catfish. 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.
Baits To Use
Both Channel and Blue catfish will eat just about any small fish like Suckers, small shad, or bluegills both live or dead. I use both live bait 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 Night catfishing Fishing Webmasters , Need 100% Free Automated Fishing Content Instantly? Click This Link: Free Fishing Content
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