Post by Red Bear on Apr 24, 2017 14:27:34 GMT -5
Ok, so my last 2-3 trips down i've been experimenting/having a little fun by catfishing with my light tackle. Im talking light rods and small line and smaller reels than what i typically use to catfish with. basically my bass and panfish gear. Over the years I got stuck in this rut of only catching catfish no bigger than 18-20 inches and 3-lbs. seriously, just an abundance(hundreds) of them that size, which would be great if i was actually eating them, but i dont eat fish or seafood. bait is usually nightcrawlers and chicken livers. Mostly im talking channel cats here, but have also thrown out live bluegill and cutbait(blue gill or white perch) for flatheads. after all it was a monster, im guessing, 40-50lb flathead that i hooked on a zebco 33 and got to the surface before my small prespooled line snapped, that started my obsession of fishing at SML. so lately i've been having some fun, a much more experienced angler now than then, and using light line and tackle for catfishing. i've certainly learned about not setting my drag too tight or fully down like that old zebco 33.
Well, i must admit its been a blast catching them on a light 5'6 rod with 6-lb line, or even a 6'6 M and 7' ML with 8lb and 10lb line respectively. Even the 3-lbers are funner to catch. But since i've started using lighter tackle, i've started to catch some bigger ones lately. Up around 30" +/- range. And all on night crawlers, usually on a drop shot rig, but sometimes on a traditional bottom rig as well. I had went to heavier tackle because of that lost monster flathead and not catching anything nearly as big, now i've gone back to lighter tackle to get these bigger fish. Anyways, why theyre not monsters, i thought i would share some pics of my improved catches lately when it comes to SML catfish...
^^ same fish in above 2 pictures
^^same fish in above 2 pictures
^^the picture does this one no justice, but it was pretty fat.
and this one below just because its cool looking
Well, i must admit its been a blast catching them on a light 5'6 rod with 6-lb line, or even a 6'6 M and 7' ML with 8lb and 10lb line respectively. Even the 3-lbers are funner to catch. But since i've started using lighter tackle, i've started to catch some bigger ones lately. Up around 30" +/- range. And all on night crawlers, usually on a drop shot rig, but sometimes on a traditional bottom rig as well. I had went to heavier tackle because of that lost monster flathead and not catching anything nearly as big, now i've gone back to lighter tackle to get these bigger fish. Anyways, why theyre not monsters, i thought i would share some pics of my improved catches lately when it comes to SML catfish...
^^ same fish in above 2 pictures
^^same fish in above 2 pictures
^^the picture does this one no justice, but it was pretty fat.
and this one below just because its cool looking
