i need some tips on how to catch channel catfish...rigs, bait, time of year, time of day

[PSEbowhunter]

i need some tips on how to catch channel catfish...rigs, bait, time of year, time of day

[Beekeeper]

Fish current edges along deep runs, sand bars and eddy's. I prefer a slip sinker rig with a 12 to 16 inch leader to allow the bait to float. Sinker size will be 1/2 to 1 ounce typically, heavier if the current is swift. Size your hooks to the fish you want to catch.

I like to use fresh cut shiners, worms, shrimp or cut shad. In the summer it is hard to beat a Catalpa worm down here in the south.

I fish daytime and night time. At night I'll concentrate on the current edges and the flats below sandbars.

If you are fishing in lakes try the creek mouth areas and back up in the creeks or rivers. The back of coves where you have water inflow are good as well.

[bomberpride]

stink bait is always a good bait. i use danny king blood.its best in flowing water because it carries the scent down stream and the fish will come back upstream for it

[firehawk532]

For Baits I use shrimp, Night crawlers,Chicken Livers or hearts, Squid, minnows, Beef cubes, and have even seen them caught on hotdog pieces and also corn.

For rig I use 2 different types. 1) I tie a double overhand knot and loop it around the sinker and then about 6-8 inches above that I tie another double overhand and loop that through the loop of the hook leader. I use double overhands because they will not slip closed. 2) I use a slip rig like beekeeper described above.

Also Beekeeper as good advice for time and location.

Good luck.

[bigjake]

Early morning and after dark are the best times of day, I make bait bags out of cheesecloth when using chicken livers. Taking 3" square piece of cheesecloth place a piece of liver in the center and pull all four corners together.Tie the bag of with a piece of wire twist tie(The kind that come with trash bags).Trim off excess material and put the bait bags in a plastic container, and leave out in the sun for 3-5 days before you head out.The mesh bags really help this slimey stinky mess stay on the hook.Oh ya, disposable rubber gloves come in handy for baiting up.
I usually use a Pickeral Rig on channelcats, but I switch out the cheap snells for my own hand tie version.

[Guest]

Channel cats bite what channel cats like. Unlike flatheads, they are not exclusively a live bait feeder,and I have used a lot of the bait listed above with some success. Some bait I did not see mentioned, and have used with great success, are live perch, goldfish (where legal), small frogs, crawfish, and large, live grasshoppers. Fish slow moving eddies, where bait will "slow roll" towards where a cat may be laying up under a bank, brush piles, slopes from deep water to shallow, and submerged creek mouths.
How you rig is determined by conditions. I have used a rig like Beekeeper describes, and have also used a double hook rig, with a treble below and a single above, under a bobber. Once you catch a fish, go back to the same spot, as channels sometimes tend to school. Good Luck!

[outdoorsman10]

I fish from shore at night with a semi-circle hook with stink bait.

[DakotaMan]

Very good advice above. Since you mentioned "channel" cats, I just wanted to add that unlike all other types of catfish, they spend a great deal of time hunting top water in the fast current for food. If you can find a place where current might wash bait to the surface (like creek mouths, rock pilings, cut banks, etc.) you can catch them with spinners like a rooster tail in that current. The deadliest live bait I have ever used on channel cats has been young live frogs... hooked under the chin and left to drift down the current with NO weight. They smack those things like it is going out of style.

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i go catfishing every day i ushally use shad or chicken liver i may be 12 but i cat fish every day