# sick of winter, i want catfish!



## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

i can't stop thinking about cat fish , and sittin in the sun waiting for a bite, and the smell of ole mr whiskers frying up in the pan......dang ground hog anyway...


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Same here. Been having some fun with some ice fishing this winter, but really looking forward to getting the jon boat out on the river, night fishing for a cooler full of channel cats to take back home
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

I am not sure what type of cat fish I had but I hooked one perch fishing Pentwater lake a couple weeks ago. I easily grabbed it by the bottom jaw but I could not pull it through an eight inch hole, after trying for a minute or two I pulled my jig free and watched it swim a way. I am not sure how big it was but it was huge!


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## g6463 (Mar 2, 2009)




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## wateroperator (Nov 8, 2013)




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## wateroperator (Nov 8, 2013)

Love me some catfishing!!


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## sea nympho (Aug 7, 2006)

Yup. #suckitwinter


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## wintrrun (Jun 11, 2008)

john warren said:


> i can't stop thinking about cat fish , and sittin in the sun waiting for a bite, and the smell of ole mr whiskers frying up in the pan......dang ground hog anyway...


I was shown a spot on the Saginaw River, quite a few years back that produces them when the river is frozen over.
Used to run over and fish them when the walleye bite was off.
Good times.


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

john warren said:


> i can't stop thinking about cat fish , and sittin in the sun waiting for a bite, and the smell of ole mr whiskers frying up in the pan......dang ground hog anyway...


Where do you usually fish for catfish at? What's your choice of bait?


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## zachattack (Nov 2, 2012)

Anyone fish cheboygan river for catfish? (Below the dam?)


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

I fish holloway. Favorite bait is chicken livers on a Carolina rig. I usually don't catch too many huge ones, but can consistently boat limits of 15"-20" fish for eating.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

holloway is good, will be going there more this year. also stoney creek metro park. the dnr stocks cats there and they have some real nice fish there.
i like chicken liver as its cheap and effective. planning on trying a few other baits such as dip bait , have used doughbaits with decent results too. in the big rivers cut bait for big cats. 
going to try curing some liver this year,, a product i read about made for salmon eggs is "procure" if i recall right. it cures the liver,,(or salmon eggs) making them tuff skinned so they stay on the hook better, it also dies them , preserves them so they can be prepared ahead of time for use and kept for weeks. also saw in the same youtube video whats called an egg knot that i will use this year, looks like it will really hold bait to the hook. between the two it looked like you could even cast the way i do without loosing your bait.


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

john warren said:


> holloway is good, will be going there more this year. also stoney creek metro park. the dnr stocks cats there and they have some real nice fish there.
> i like chicken liver as its cheap and effective. planning on trying a few other baits such as dip bait , have used doughbaits with decent results too. in the big rivers cut bait for big cats.
> going to try curing some liver this year,, a product i read about made for salmon eggs is "procure" if i recall right. it cures the liver,,(or salmon eggs) making them tuff skinned so they stay on the hook better, it also dies them , preserves them so they can be prepared ahead of time for use and kept for weeks. also saw in the same youtube video whats called an egg knot that i will use this year, looks like it will really hold bait to the hook. between the two it looked like you could even cast the way i do without loosing your bait.


Well, if you're out on holloway this spring/ summer, say hi. I'm in a 15' mod v camo'd up john boat with either a camo painted 25hp outboard or a longtail mud motor. Usually launch by the old iga in C'ville and am usually out there at least once a weekend. I fish more at night when possible in the summer, because every DB with a jet ski or a tri-hull wants to zip around and see how big of a wake they can make all day long.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jasona44 (Oct 29, 2011)

How do you guys clean and prepare catfish? Every time I've tried it's been a pain and they didn't taste that great!!

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

jasona44 said:


> How do you guys clean and prepare catfish? Every time I've tried it's been a pain and they didn't taste that great!!
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Everyone has their own twist on technique...I believe the best thing you can do with a fish that's headed for the table is to bleed it out, by slicing through the gills on ONE side only and putting the fish in a cooler of ice. when I fish nights, I usually keep the fish in the cooler after I get home and get some sleep before cleaning them later in the day. I use catfish pliers to pull the skin off, then I snap off the head and scoop out the inards. From there you can cut away nice boneless fillets, or cut into steaks, or prepare for cooking whole. I prefer to fillet them. Once I remove the fillets and rinse them off, i'll soak them in a bowl with brine water and a lot of ice (I believe this helps cut down on the strong flavor, especially from biggger fish caught in warmer water). Once the ice melts, I rinse them again and then they are ready to be cooked or vacuum bagged for freezing. Accent with red beans and rice, cornbread, and a cold beer.

I think the best size for eating is 12" (legal size for channel cats) to 24"...bigger than that and i'll snap a photo and send them back.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Here's a video that may help make cleaning them easier. This is pretty much how I do it, except I cut gills to bleed out instead of cutting off the tail. Both methods are effective, but if you're keeping fish that are at or just over legal size, you don't want to be cutting off the tails.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n0OROD7UL8I[/ame]
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## knu2xs (Mar 29, 2014)

Last year I caught quite a few Catfish, most right around 30" long and 
found this method works the best for me, on the bigger Cat's. 

To bleed them out I cut off the tails, actually I use loppers (tree limb type) to cut off the tails and go ahead and 
"lop" off the side spines while I'm at it, which makes it easier when laying them on their sides for cleaning.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

i just toss em on ice till i get home and filet them like any fish. you can skin them if you want , i reserve that for some of the bigger ones if i want to cross cut steaks out of them. i usualy filet then cut them up into cubes and fry them up nugget style. you can get fancy with cooking them. sometimes i'll wrap the cubes in bacon, drizzle a little bbq sauce on em and bake them.. but really for my money,, fried catfish nuggets aren't broke,,,so no reason to fix them.


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## Critter (Mar 3, 2006)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> I think the best size for eating is 12" (legal size for channel cats) to 24"...bigger than that and i'll snap a photo and send them back.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I totally agree with you there.

I don't skin them first. I just filet them like anything else and then filet the skin off. I also have a big bowl with the hose running in that I throw the filets in. They ussually come out nice and white. I trim off anything dark or yellow and then fry them the same way I do gills. My wife will not eat fish and I can't keep her away from those.


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## knu2xs (Mar 29, 2014)

Critter said:


> I also have a big bowl with the hose running in that I throw the filets in. They ussually come out nice and white.


I've found that the rinse phase is one of the most 
important parts of the process on larger Catfish. 

When I did my "normal rinse" I found the Catfish meat 
to feel a little oily. When I rinse the heck out of them prior 
to packaging them for the freezer that oily feel goes away.


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

spartyfanj said:


> I only keep channels under 22 anyway. The rest are breeders. But I did pickle sucker last year and it was fantastic. Better than store bought pickled herring


Channels 16-24" is good eating size. Much bigger then that and they don't taste as good.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

i've eaten awsome monster cats out of saginaw bay. those big ones way out in the fresh cold dep waters north of the charities are delicious. we always catch them while trolling for walleye,,,lol i know we have eaten some master angler awards.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

river rat78 said:


> When I do buy shrimp I just try and buy the cheapest I can find. I don't really think it matters if its raw or cooked. I think as long as it gives off a scent it will draw an interest from any nearby catfish. I`m still new to fishing for catfish so maybe I could be wrong about that.


i think shrimp cost to much to use for bait. liver works well but theres the issue of keeping it on your hook. a couple good solutions are the eggsack knot. and curing the liver. theres a lot of ways to cure liver,, from hanging it in a nylon in a tee out back for a week or so,,, if it gets full of magots ,,even better , freeze it to kill them , slice a bit off and bait up.
maybe a dozen cures on youtube to try, easiest is to go to bass pro,, or where ever and get salmon egg cure. same stuff they use to cure salmon eggs . treat liver with a little of that and it toughens right up , and stays on your hook great. plus adds flavor and color if you want.
personlay this year i will try out secret 7 dip bait. i hear its dyn-O-mite


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

I always use the frozen "tub 'o livers" from Meijer or any grocery store. Once thawed, they seem to stay on the hook ok. I usually put a new one on every 15 minutes or so if there's no bite. I read somewhere the fresh (not frozen) livers stay together on the hook better, but the stores I go to only seem to have them frozen.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> I always use the frozen "tub 'o livers" from Meijer or any grocery store. Once thawed, they seem to stay on the hook ok. I usually put a new one on every 15 minutes or so if there's no bite. I read somewhere the fresh (not frozen) livers stay together on the hook better, but the stores I go to only seem to have them frozen.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 while your at meijers,,,stroll through the shoe department and pick up a few of those free nylon footies the ladies use. cut a chunk and wrap your liver in it like a little mesh bag. pass your hook through the open end and then back through the side of the bag and the liver is very secure on your hook.


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## IT.Fisherman (Aug 10, 2012)

Just a comment about shrimp and my experience - I have only gone catfishing half a dozen times or so, all at the edison hot ponds. My buddy introduced me, and all we use is shrimp. We've bought cooked and raw, and raw by far outperformed, at least for us. 

For those that dont use shrimp and want to give it a shot.. Its expensive as you go through it quite quick, falls off the hook very easy. Having the shells still on helps some though.


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## Bunnychaser (Oct 24, 2012)

I'm just going to throw this out there. I see alot of you guys use chicken livers. I raise chickens once a year. This year I'm raising 200. I'll trade the livers for a day of cat fishing. It will have to be after July 1st is the only catch. Any takers?


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Bunnychaser said:


> I'm just going to throw this out there. I see alot of you guys use chicken livers. I raise chickens once a year. This year I'm raising 200. I'll trade the livers for a day of cat fishing. It will have to be after July 1st is the only catch. Any takers?


Bunnychaser,
I'm almost always fishing solo for cats. In July I do more night fishing. Not sure where you're located- (can't see locations in "mobile mode") but you're welcome to join sometime. You just need fishing license and bring beverages/snacks.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> Bunnychaser,
> I'm almost always fishing solo for cats. In July I do more night fishing. Not sure where you're located- (can't see locations in "mobile mode") but you're welcome to join sometime. You just need fishing license and bring beverages/snacks.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 snacks???he already said he has chicken livers....lol urp,,,


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Lol...I Shoulda said, "his own snacks/beverages"...I usually pack a sandwich, some chips, and some barley sodas.

I'm also going to try my hand at setting crawdad traps before I go night fishing and picking them up afterwards. If I can add some mudbugs to the take it'll be all the sweeter.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

Bunnychaser said:


> I'm just going to throw this out there. I see alot of you guys use chicken livers. I raise chickens once a year. This year I'm raising 200. I'll trade the livers for a day of cat fishing. It will have to be after July 1st is the only catch. Any takers?


Hey, if you wanna include the gizzards and wanna night fish I'm up to meeting up with you. I like to night fish in Luna Pier for the cats, and usually just use worms, but I'm sure you could slay them with the gizzards and livers of the chickens.


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## spartyfanj (Jan 29, 2012)

All this talk of shrimp is making me hungry. I usually go to the piers and throw a cast net for alewives or gizzard shad then I freeze extras. It is cheap and perfect bait for cats (big ones) almost never fails fresh is great and frozen works just as well but you need to use spawn netting like the nylon booties to help hold it on. Those cats can't get enough and the bait cost me the p rice of a good cast net and maybe sore shoulders the next day.


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

My vote goes for raw shrimp. Use big kahle hooks and thread the shrimp on. Never casted one off


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## febsalien (May 16, 2009)

By far the best bait I have used for cats is a cut up shad. It stays on the hook so well you usually have to cut it off. And lord knows it's smells terrible and is oily as all hell. It's like they can't resist it. There have been days when I have been catching them while the guy with shrimp and worms next to me was not. And you can't beat the price. I hit the flat rock dam when they are in and it doesn't take long to have bait all summer.


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

I had a thought the other day-has anybody ever thought to use white bass as cut bait for the cats? I've caught small white bass in Luna Pier a good number of times and just thrown them back not thinking about using them for catfish, and I know there's good sized channel kitties there. I mean, white bass are oily and do have a smell to them even when they aren't dead or bleeding.


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## spartyfanj (Jan 29, 2012)

rockinmichigan said:


> I had a thought the other day-has anybody ever thought to use white bass as cut bait for the cats? I've caught small white bass in Luna Pier a good number of times and just thrown them back not thinking about using them for catfish, and I know there's good sized channel kitties there. I mean, white bass are oily and do have a smell to them even when they aren't dead or bleeding.



You can use them as cut but I keep em whole and alive and throw them out for the big boys the flatheads love them


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

spartyfanj said:


> You can use them as cut but I keep em whole and alive and throw them out for the big boys the flatheads love them


Oh I bet. I never used cut bait much until the last couple years, and only recently has the thought come to my mind about using white bass. Worth trying. How big of a white bass do you use for your flatheads?


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## spartyfanj (Jan 29, 2012)

Hand size and even bigger


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## pdp3 (Oct 21, 2009)

Got this Sunday


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## fisheater (Nov 14, 2010)

spartyfanj said:


> All this talk of shrimp is making me hungry. I usually go to the piers and throw a cast net for alewives or gizzard shad then I freeze extras. It is cheap and perfect bait for cats (big ones) almost never fails fresh is great and frozen works just as well but you need to use spawn netting like the nylon booties to help hold it on. Those cats can't get enough and the bait cost me the p rice of a good cast net and maybe sore shoulders the next day.


 
Most of the catfish I catch are secondary to fishing for walleye with crawlers, but I have used shad fillets before and they worked well. That brings me to the point of my post. Guys are really starting to starting to get serious about sturgeon fishing, but they always complain about losing most of the crawlers threaded on their hook. I always figured if I went I would want to use ribbon like fillets of cut bait, preferably shad.


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## g.giovengo (Mar 10, 2015)

fisheater said:


> If you are planning to fish the Flint River below Holloway Dam during the spawning closure, be sure to check the special regulations by county. In this case it would be Genesee Count, and there are special regulations. Read the rule book.


Thank you for the info. As i have previously stated i just moved up here so i didnt realize what river or county they where talking about. but thank you again for letting me know that the place is in genesse county and that i would have been fishing the flint river. And so you know i do read the rules and regs before i fish a new river so i would have eventually found out that "Flint R. downstream from the Holloway Dam and all tributaries, the following regulations apply from Mar. 16  Fri. before the last Sat. in Apr.: unlawful to fish with artificial baits or minnows (except that minnows may be used upstream of Hamilton St. Dam and all respective tributaries T7N, R7E, S7); natural baits may be fished only on a single-pointed hook with not more than 1/2&#8243; between point and shank; weights may not be rigidly attached to hooks; no hook may be attached to the line between any weight and the rod except on an unweighted dropper line at least 3&#8243; long; no beads, spinners, or reflectors may be attached to the line within 6&#8243; of any hook."


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

hillbillie said:


> Anyone still fish for and eat bullheads?
> Ate quite a few when I was kid.
> Speared a couple while pike spearing, cleaned and cooked em but much rather have pike and gills.
> Channel cats taste the same as bullheads?


I catch bullheads from time to time in Luna Pier, but also have caught small ones at Side Cut in Ohio. I haven't caught too many decent sized ones in recent years except for one I caught last October at Sterling State Park in Monroe. They're good eating. I don't think they taste too much different then channel cats.


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## irish1169 (Jul 21, 2012)

Me an my wife target catfish from m june to early augest, we slow troll with glow crawler harness, my boat will go in 1 foot of water so we go in tight for them, trick is keepblades charged up, we a also chasing walleye and crappie, so it all works good. If you have a hatch on your lake go that night, where we fish I catch them on the surface in 60 ft of water during a hatch. I cut them in cubes and soak them for 24 hours in milk and onions.


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Hooked into few including this 29" today fishing crawlers on with slip weight.


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## mallardtone-man (Nov 20, 2002)

Nice Warren waterfowler where abouts u getting them? Lake or river?


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

mallardtone-man said:


> Nice Warren waterfowler where abouts u getting them? Lake or river?


Holloway- at the Mt Morris Rd Bridge- but good catfishing can be found all over that lake/river.
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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> Hooked into few including this 29" today fishing crawlers on with slip weight.


Nice kitty!


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## jrockfishhunter (Nov 4, 2011)

Here's a few from over the weekend with the kids.

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## rockinmichigan (Feb 22, 2004)

jrockfishhunter said:


> Here's a few from over the weekend with the kids.
> 
> Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Nice group of fish there. You keep the carp to eat?


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Went out for the 1st night fishing of the year last weekend. Managed just 6. Smallest 1 12" -biggest one 27". Missed a lot of real light bites. Caught some small cats <12" & a few big carp too. It's only going to get better as June approaches!


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