I was using an unpainted 1/8th unpainted crappie ball head jig tipped with nothing but a crappie nibblet and caught this guy!

That's awesome! I caught a 5# channel cat on a Rapala jointed minnow once, and a 12" baby cat on an inline spinner this spring. The only 2 catfish I ever caught lol.

I bet that was a good fight?

It was considering I was using my ultra light gear!

Get some 3" Gulp Minnows, catfish love those things. We use them for walleye a lot in the spring when everything is up shallow and some days we catch more catfish than walleyes, some nice one too.

Catfish seem to be pretty active predators. I have caught channel, blue and flatheads on all kinds of baits from spinnerbaits to flukes to grubs. I always think i have a monster bass on until i get them to the side of the kayak

Catfish seem to be pretty active predators. I have caught channel, blue and flatheads on all kinds of baits from spinnerbaits to flukes to grubs. I always think i have a monster bass on until i get them to the side of the kayak

Catfish are way more preditorial than most people give them credit for. I've got plenty of pictures of catfish on almost every kind of lure imaginable. They love baits with strong vibration like crankbaits and chatterbaits or baits that get down in their face like jigs and plastics. I've also caught several on topwater including a 10lb channel cat on a frog (thought I had a new state record bass) and several on buzzbaits (you've never seen a bass blow up like a catfish does on a buzzbait). My biggest catfish on an artificial to date was a 40lb flathead I caught on a jig his spring.

i have caught catfish on flutter spoons, spinnerbaits, redeyes, crankbaits and jigs. But i have caught A LOT on swimbaits. I also caught a musky on a wax worm and ice jig and a 15 inch crappie on a 6 inch swimbait. Nothing surprises me anymore.

Catfish are way more preditorial than most people give them credit for. I've got plenty of pictures of catfish on almost every kind of lure imaginable. They love baits with strong vibration like crankbaits and chatterbaits or baits that get down in their face like jigs and plastics. I've also caught several on topwater including a 10lb channel cat on a frog (thought I had a new state record bass) and several on buzzbaits (you've never seen a bass blow up like a catfish does on a buzzbait). My biggest catfish on an artificial to date was a 40lb flathead I caught on a jig his spring.

My goodness that kitty cat is huge. It looks like it doesn't even belong in the body of water where you caught it, haha. You must have chit a brick when he started tugging.

My goodness that kitty cat is huge. It looks like it doesn't even belong in the body of water where you caught it, haha. You must have chit a brick when he started tugging.

I seem to have a knack for catching flatheads fishing for bass, usually on jigs. It's a very distinct bite when on inhales a bait. This one felt like someone grabbed my line and jerked down as hard as they could. I even said "That's not a bass" while I was reeling down to set the hook. I was lucky because I was fishing a MH rod with 14lb fluoro so if she had wanted to she could have just swam up under one of the many docks and ended it but instead she came out to deeper water and let me lean on her until she started to come up. This little lake has a reputation of giving up big flats while fishing for bass, at least hooking them. There's plenty of room in that big ol' head to put a jig, or a small dog.

I have had them hit plastic worms, rat-l-traps, and 1- minus cranks.