crazyjoeclemens

I don't follow any of the tournaments at all, but I did like to watch the "City Limits" show with Mike Iaconelli. He caught some nice fish in places you wouldnt expect.

Chumming is not necessary to catch catfish, and please do not litter. Fishermen already get a bad rap, with the perception that we leave behind all kinds of old hooks and string. Lets not add tin cans to that.

X3. Give us some more info, so we can help!

Of the game I regularly hunt, my favorites are coyote, deer, rabbit, and pheasant - in that order. My dream hunts would be elk and/or mulies out west somewhere. As far as deer go, I mostly gun hunt, but I'm getting back into archery for this fall. Hope it goes well!

I reload regularly, but I've never messed with the AI's. I'm actually kind of old school, when it comes to coyote hunting. I still prefer the .222 Remington. I do use a .22-250, when I hunt open ground and the shots are longer.

I bought a condor some time ago. Its light and points well, but the quality isn't there. After a few hundred rounds, one of the barrel bands came off the side. If I could do it again, I'd save up for a Ruger Red Label. They're expensive, but I've learned that quality is worth paying for.

I like to raid the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. You can't beat Hula Poppers, Jitterbugs, and Zara Spooks for $1.50 a piece. That being said, their selection is pretty limited, otherwise. Our local Meijers actually has a better assortment of soft plastics. We just had a Gander Mountain open up near us. They have a pretty good fishing section, but they don't carry hardly anything for finess rigging. The other thing I hate about Gander Mtn is that they do screwy stuff with the prices. I was in there the other day and they had Zoom stuff marked up to full retail price and had a "buy three, get one free" sign on it, so you thought you were getting a deal. In other words, my local bait shops mostly suck, so I think the defining moment for me was when I started looking for a bass fishing forum, so I could get some advice on gear and rigging from other enthusiasts.

Don't forget to take a billy club with ya. They're a lot easier to handle after you give em a few stout whacks.

I think the main reason drop shot is overlooked is because so many people assume that catfish are bottom feeders, which is not the case. They are very opportunistic and will eat carrion, but they chase shad, worms, crawdads, etc (just like bass do), when they're actively feeding. That's one of the reasons why slow-trolling or drifting work so well. I like to hit the flats, just after dark. That's when they're really on the prowl.

Lots of good advice here. I really like the basic Carolina style rig with a no-roll sinker, for river fishing, too. Shad is a great bait for catfish. I usually catch a bunch with a casting net before I go out. As mentioned before, you can cut up the bigger ones - one fillet on a octopus or octopus circle hook and put the head on a large khale hook. Smaller shad can go on the hook whole - hook it thru the lips or below the dorsal fin, but be careful not to kill it. They're even more attractive to catfish, if they have some wiggle to em. The only thing I didn't see mentioned here is drop shot. On lakes with no current, I use a lot if drop shot rigs to keep the bait from just laying on the bottom. I also like to use some bottom bouncer sinkers and drift through the flats, when cats are actively feeding. Last, but not least, Mustad makes a "double live bait" hook that happens to be perfect for chicken livers or those little mesh bags of shad guts. I don't use those baits a lot, but when I do, that hook is the one I use.

Thanks for the input!

Thanks for the feedback. I figured I'd work with what I have for now, but I was also hoping to get some suggestions on how I use it(I.e. What bait and what line to use. I've noticed that since I mostly catfish, I tend to use shorter rods and heavier lines. Catfishing has ways been location location location to me, whereas bass seems to be one part location, one part presentation...

As it turns out, most of my gear is set up for catfish, so I went ahead and set aside a few rigs I thought might be useful for bass. My question is: what techniques are these useful for(if any), what changes you'd make to them, and what am I missing? Disclaimer: I own a few casting reels. I can barely cast them. I plan to work on fixing that, this summer. Casting: 6'6" Shimano Solara MH/Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 2005LP reel 6'6" Camo Stix MH/no reel currently installed Spinning: 6'6" Camo Stix M/Shakespeare Dimension reel 6' Mitchell 300xe ML/Abu Garcia Cardinal 302 reel 6' Shimano M/Mitchell 300xe reel I know its a random hodgepodge of stuff, so keep the jokes to a minimum. I'm just getting started here!

I used to have a little aluminum V bottom like that. I used a little Cruise n Carry outboard on it for putzing around the local lake. They're great for jug fishing and running trotlines, but a V bottom like that is really unstable for casting - unless you can do it sitting down. It may be as wide as a jon or a fishing kayak in the back, but it comes to a V pretty quickly, and I think that's what makes it so tippy. They cut water great, if there's a little chop, but it honestly felt like fishing from a canoe, to me. I have a really old 16' Duracraft Jon that I use on smaller lakes. It feels 100% more stable than my old V-bottom used to, and I still consider it to be the bare minimum in stability, for me to feel comfortable on my feet.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I really do like the looks of the Neko rig. That should definitely catch some fish. I think I'll pick up some Senkos and see if I still need a little weight, after switching to a heavier worm.

Depends on where I'm fishing. I use the ol slip sinker rig a lot on rivers, since the current bounces the bait around some. Bank fishing on a lake, I like to use a drop shot rig, to keep the bait up off the bottom some. From a boat, I like to use a modified drop shot rig, with a bottom bouncer weight on it, so I can drift across the flats with em.

Thanks for the input, fellas! I might have to put in an order somewhere - We have a Dick's and a small Gander Mountain store just opened. Both have a decent selection, but they're a bit lacking, when it comes to specialty stuff.

So, after having a little luck with wacky rigging the other day, I was trying to do some research and figure out what I need to add to my tackle box to be more effective with soft plastics. First question I have is specifically about wacky rigging. I used a powerbait shaky worm on a finesse wide gap hook, with no additional weight. It worked well, but I had to fish it super slow to give the worm time to sink. What kind of weights and where would you put them on this kind of setup, if you wanted to fish it a little faster? Second question: I was also looking at some shad-shaped swim baits and EWG hooks and I was wondering if the hooks with weight already molded on them are best or if the clip-on weights are better? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks

I caught a few out of small ponds yesterday. I was using Powerbait shakey worms, wacky rigged with no extra weight. I was fishing 'em as slow as I could stand going. We had a front go through Thursday night, so it was sunny and clear yesterday. Plus, I think they're spawning - I could see a couple bass guarding their beds in the shallows.

I'd go with the senko on a weedless wacky hook, too. The trick would be to flip it into the clear spots, between the weeds. I actually did that on a small local pond yesterday, with a Powerbait Shaky Worm, and had some success.

At this very moment, my favorite is a Powerbait 7" Power Shaky Worm in Pumpkinseed. The main reason being that I sneaked out of work early today and hit up a couple local ponds. No monsters, but I caught several nice fish in the 12-14" range. I had it wacky rigged with a Gamakatsu FIness Wide Gap hook and no additional weight. It also happened to be the first time I've caught bass on a plastic worm, so that might have something to do with it.

Get the string to load onto the reel the exact same way it comes off the spool. If you get it wrong it can be pretty aggravating, but it will start to cooperate after a whole bunch of casts...that is, if you have the patience to keep fighting it that long. I know, because I figured it out the hard way when I finally upgraded from my old Zebco 33...

My local Wal-Mart had the same deal going on - a couple boxes of lures marked $1.50 each. I assumed it was a box full of chinese knock-offs, but it turned out to be some decent stuff. I stocked up on Hula Poppers, Rebel Pop Rs & minnows, Jitterbugs, and some Zara Puppies. There were even a few packages of Yum brand curly tail grubs. I usually use the plain 'ol Mr. Twisters, but for $1.50, I figured they'd do just fine.

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the forum, so I thought I'd report in. I'm from East Central Illinois. I've been an avid catfisher for many years, on just about every river and small pond I can get to. Lately, I've been thinking about giving the catfish a break and chasing some largemouth bass. So far, my experience is pretty limited - I've caught some decent fish on spinner baits and curlytail grubs, but that's the extent of my knowledge of lures. On the local lake, I can generally go out at any time of the day, and catch catfish. I guess my goal would be to eventually learn enough about bass and bass baits to be able to do the same. I may not post much at first - I have a lot of reading to do, to get caught up - but I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions for y'all in the near future.