Hey, guys!  

 

I'm going to a farm pond this weekend that has bass, koi, bluegill and catfish. 

 

I'll be bass fishing, but dragging a Carolina rig to see what the bottom is all about.  I've been told there are some decent catfish in the pond, and was curious of the chances that they would eat a soft plastic?  Most likely a lizard or brush hog style bait.

 

Also, I usullay use a circle hook when targeting cats, but I'll have a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG tied on.  I'm sure the hook up ratio is less, but is that a "safe" hook to use for catfish?  It's all catch and release, and I don't want to harm any fish.  

 

Thanks!!!

Catfish will eat plastic baits really well at times. Slather some scent on it if you want to increase the odds. I don't use circle hooks even when targeting them and rarely have them swallow a hook. You won't miss many unless they're little ones. 

You might be able to get catfish on soft plastics -- as bluebasser said, add some scent and that will help your chances. Also most carp baits work rather well. Try using Magic Premo Carp bait in mulberry which are basically little boilies you can buy for a few bucks at your local Dick's. Also shrimp, pickled herring, spam and even french fries especially near restaurants can work wonders as well.

 

Basically, the worse it smells, the more cats you're going to catch!

 

I do use circle hooks when targeting catfish, however people catch them on EWG hooks all the time and more often than not, they don't swallow them.