PPHA Forums
General Outdoors => <*}}}>< Fishing => Topic started by: bigben on July 03, 2010, 09:40:30 AM
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for some reason the last 7 or so years I haven't been doing much fishing. not sure why just haven't made time for it. well this spring I started fishing again heavy. over the season I took some pics of some of the catchs.
to start it off here is a big rainbow that I caught at a local lake. caught him using a artificial lure. this was one of three we had hooked that were big or bigger then this one. just had some troubles getting them landed.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs330.ash1/28676_102623043117292_100001087904889_18821_5950137_n.jpg)
another type of fishing I enjoyed when I was younger was fly fishing. an old farm pond and some dry flys always produced sunnies on a nice warm day. here are three colored ones I caught in early summer.
(http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs301.snc3/28676_110403635672566_100001087904889_70502_512483_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs301.snc3/28676_110403769005886_100001087904889_70503_143969_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs049.snc4/34821_116673291712267_100001087904889_104926_7816839_n.jpg)
here is a smallmouth i caught on first fork sinnimahoning.
(http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs576.snc3/31426_111653808880882_100001087904889_76290_7390397_n.jpg)
another smallmouth that fell for a topwater on the susky.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs131.snc4/36920_116548821724714_100001087904889_104556_68622_n.jpg)
heres a largmouth that fell for a soft plastic at a local farm pond.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs065.snc4/34604_116062811773315_100001087904889_101564_6719206_n.jpg)
as of late I have been wanting to start catfishing. looking to find something that fights back more then trout do. last saturday critterslayer took me out in his boat on my first trip for cats on the river. ended up with some filletable channels.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs151.snc4/36916_115067628539500_100001087904889_94149_2242199_n.jpg)
flat head
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs086.snc4/35676_115267791852817_100001087904889_96172_5420127_n.jpg)
Thursday night I borrowed my fathers boat and hit the river with my uncle. here is the first fish of the night.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs066.ash2/36664_116379075075022_100001087904889_103895_6684485_n.jpg)
second fish of the night layin in the boat. a nice sized channel cat
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs013.snc4/33995_116379788408284_100001087904889_103898_3482070_n.jpg)
here are the big ones we kept to fillet. I did learn something and thats that them flatheads for as big as they are do not have hardly anything to em to fillet. they looked like they would put a nice fillet out and nothing.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs020.ash2/34382_116670875045842_100001087904889_104920_7743213_n.jpg)
fishin at the local farm pond.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs326.ash1/28479_114520635260866_100001087904889_90731_5931283_n.jpg)
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Good pics Ben. I really like hooking into a big flat head. Earl and I are going tonight. Over the last couple days I've caught several small blue gills and some nice size chubs for bait. A local sporting goods store has a catfish contest for the month of July. Last years winner was 38 lbs. I would sure like to top that. The other night I was fishing for chubs and pulled in a 20 inch rainbow. That was a nice surprise.
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Nice pics Ben. Looks like you making up for lost time.
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I love fly fishing. Got mutt buster into fly fishing. Nice pictures Ben.
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That was nice Ben..thank you for sharing.. Wow looks like the Flathead fishing is starting to improve in the area. When I did fish the Susquehanna River I never got any Flatheads. Just Channel Cats.. The Channel Cats taste good too...
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It's hard to believe that you guys have rivers that are clean enough to eat the fish you catch. Over here, they have one eye, three ears, two tails, and they are all transgendered.
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these were even caught below a nuclear plant. ;)
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Ben what are you catching the Flatheads on? Heard you have to use Bluegill or Sunnies?
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Worms
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Creek Chubs work well on Flat heads. Catch them in a minnow trap or a small hook and a piece of worm, or wax worm. Marshmallows work great too. Wet your fingers when you put the marshmallow on the hook. They get sticky. Marshmallows float so attach a split shot 2 to 3 inches above the marshmallow and it will float near the bottom. The bigger the chub the bigger the flat head. I also use Blue Gills about 2 to 3 inches long. Catfish swallow Blue gill head first so put the hook in the right place. Two weeks ago I caught a 23 pounder in the river with cut up chub. Flat heads will eat bait dead or alive. It just can't be a fish that has been dead too long. There are a lot of small creeks no wider than 5 feet filled with chubs. If you have any in your area go have some fun catching chubs. They attack your bait like a school of small Sharks..
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I always did well in the Susquehanna River using Crawfish AKA Crayfish, AKA Crawdads... Channel Cats in the 24-25 inch range but real big Carp too...Carp in the 34 inch size.
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I'm happy just catching a fish that's bigger than my bait. Channel Cats are great fighters. Flat heads are a breed of their own. The big ones are not easy to catch. Check out a web site called "catfish one". Lots of good info. One of the guys I fish with is a Flat head fanatic. He's learned how to catch the big boys pretty well. That's where I heard about the website.
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I was using some live bluegills on thursday night and had a few get taken buy something. I would let em run with the bait then they would stop then would run again. that was when I would set the hook and nothing. pulled the bait outta their mouth. did this three times. caught one channel on a small bluegill. next time I am back down there again I will let em take it longer.
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Are you using the bait runner hooks Ben. The hook curves in. It takes a while to get used to them. I don't use them but the catfish fanatic I fish with does. He lets them run a good distance before setting the hook. I don't have the patience for them. When I get a hit I set the hook and be done with it.
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if your talking circle hooks I can honestly say I hate em. tried em but cant get em hooked up. only caught one cat on one and that was hooked on the outside of the mouth not sure if it was luck.
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That's what they are Ben. My buddy said he lost a lot of fish while learning how to use then but he has them figured out now and he likes them. I just use regular hooks and they work well for me.
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well I might have been using too small of hooks. I had some 2/0 circles from bass pro I was using but it looks like those that are using the kahle and circle hooks are using 4/0 or bigger. most are using 7/0 or 8/0. I might grab some 5/0 kahles next time I am down at bass pro.
what is the fellas screename on catfish1 that you fish with?
here is another link I have been reading on lately also.
http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com/
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I'm not sure Ben, I'll have to ask him. After listening to me talk about all the fun we have predator hunting, he has visited our site. He wants to get into the sport. I told him the first time he has eyes coming his way at one am, he'll be hooked. Yesterday he bought a 17hmr for local hunting.
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one more to add. 28in 10lb channel I caught tonight.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs131.snc4/36931_118302858215977_100001087904889_111508_5007748_n.jpg)
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Man that looks a lot better than the text you sent me...My final numbers on the night were 10 fish, only 1 under 25 inches...top fish was a 31-32 flathead...if the paper is up to date that would be 3rd place in the big fish tournament...but, it will get beat...just figure I better get in now...i'm pretty confident in gettin hooked up with a 40+ incher this season yet...only caught 3 of those fish on worms...other 7 were all on creek chubs...4-5 inches...big fish took a 6 inch chub, which was the only one over 5 inches I had in the bucket. No channels tonight tho, which to me is always a disapointment, they're beautiful fish
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yeah the text it was hard to get a good pic of. I knew it was fat when I pulled him up outta the water. I caught three total but was done fishing at 11. there were a dozen others there and no one else caught anything. if I would have hooked up with all the ones I got hits on I woulda had a better night.
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Nice ben!!!
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HA Ben, what the heck is that? I been trying to catch one of those in three trips. LOL
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Nice looking Channel Ben..
Pa Angler magazine new issue has an article on Flathead cat fish..They say to use Sunfish or Bluegills however they say that small bullheads are good bait for them...
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HA Ben, what the heck is that? I been trying to catch one of those in three trips. LOL
come on down earl.
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another round of channels from friday night.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs175.snc4/38089_120293574683572_100001087904889_118703_5621533_n.jpg)
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Nice catch Ben.
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actually I was doing more rigging, baiting, and netting then fishing/catching. most of those was a friend of my fathers and my fathers catch. I had fun "guiding" friday night but was still happy eventhough I didn't get as much catching in as they did. it was a good time and a successful night.
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Ben, do you think you could help my boys out when we go camping? I know nothing about catfish. What should I buy ahead of time?
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yeah I can help em out. it really isnt hard at all. but it sure is a good way to spend an afternoon and night.
hooks anything from a size 2 to a 4/0. 2/0 bait holder is a good versatile hook. there are several different types. circles, kahles, and baitholders along with treble hooks. depends on what your using for bait. if your using liver treble hooks seem to keep it on use size 6 trebles. but I have been using this with a fiber bait that I buy on the net. the kahles are a good compromise between a circle and a j hook. the kahles will hook them selfs if they run with it or you can set the hook if you like. they have a nice wide gap for using live bait such as sunnies or chubs. the circle hooks I have been trying to like but only like them when the bite is extremely agressive. with those you let the fish hook themselfs. they run with it and in turn you just start to reel.
on a side note if I was to buy one hook it would be a 2/0-4/0 baitholder. JMO it works with worms, chubs, cut bait, minnows, livers, pretty much everything. you can pick up some 2/0 bass pro brand baitholders reletively cheap. I think 5 bux for a 50 pack.
sinkers. 1oz is sufficent I use whatever I have at the moment. either bank sinkers or egg sinkers. I plan on getting a mold so I can do my own. buyin em at bass pro at 3.50 a pop for 8 of em is rough.
3 way swivels. pretty self explainatory.
bait. if you have a minnow trap chubs are easy to catch and seem to work well. sunnies work well in the river atleast. if ya want cut em in half and use both halfs. we were doing just as good on live bait as we were on cut bait. the dip baits and punch baits in stores I am not sure of. it took alot of internet research till I settled on buying one bait and it paid off on friday night. but will it allways work? not sure I have only used it twice. once in a pond and once on the river. both times it worked but ya need to hold the rod and as soon as you feel the tap set the hook. if you wait they allready are gone and knocked the stuff off your hook. with live bait they normally take it and hold it in their mouths for a bit. I know one thing I like about the manufactured bait I used friday night is it really doesnt stink like rotten fish or guts but rather smells like fermented grain. so far it works and if ya get it on ya which you will it wont make ya vomit.
that weekend I will probably have a bunch of different bait but it seems this is what I have used the most. chubs, punch bait, sunnies(either cut up or live) , worms(allmost allways works.)