Night catfishing: Bigger cafish are caught at Night

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Suggested Night Fishing Catfish Equipment:

• Fishing Craft
• Good Set of Boat Anchors
• 12v Auxiliary Power System
• External Night Lights
• Underwater Lighting
• Bait Live Well
• Chum System
• Boat Rod Holders
• Heavy Duty Bait Casting Or Spinning Rig
• Insect Repellent

Once you have tried Night Fishing For catfish you will be hooked for life. Trust me If you do it correctly you will catch fish, not only will you catch fish but some will be lunkers! All species of catfish are very active at feeding and foraging. If you put yourself in the right place were the cats are feeding aggressively you will be in for a amazing night of fishing. Catfish are attracted to submerged lighting And have a very keen sense of smell. If you can put yourself in the catfish's nightly habitat location there are some simple methods you can use to entice the cats to feed more aggressively. But first you must be setup and prepared for night fishing it is totally different at night then in the day. Things you take for granted during the day, don't apply at night.

Boat Setup for night fishing

There are some key items that are a must if you are planing a night fishing trip for catfish. The Items are as follows:, lights for inside the boat ,either battery or Coleman fuel type lanterns with two mantles. Distribute your lanterns evenly through out your boat. I hang 3 halogen batter powered lights in my 20 foot pontoon. I hang two in the front, one on each side of the boat, and 1 one on my canopy on the back of my pontoon.(You could replace battery powered lights with propane lights, just remember the propane lights attract a ton of insects)

You also will need a secondary light on your person. This light is used for re-rigging your fishing poles.You are probably asking why do i need these lights when I already have inside lights, Good question;These small lights have pin pointed light intensity that is great when you have to thread line through a hook or when putting bait and sinkers on. (you can limit this by using heavy tackle and making sure your line is fresh) I personally use a led light that clips to the visor on my ball cap.

You also will need a light to illuminate the water surface. I recommend 12v halogen light that can be directed outside the boat. Mount it on the side of your boat, in the center. I personally use and adjustable halogen that I can clip to the railing on my pontoon. Direct the light at a 60 degree angle from boat to water. This will illuminate the surface.

You will need a submerged light source. Of all your night fishing for catfish lighting sources this one is the most important.The underwater fishing lights will attract bait fish by the hundreds, and I am sure you already know the baitfish attract the cats. The reason the underwater fishing lights attract bait fish is because they generate what is called a plankton swirl, of which the baitfish feed from. Once the bait fish start schooling The big cats will come attracted by the schools of bait fish. Underwater fishing light rigs come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I use a submerged fishing light that is 4" in dia and 36" long.You want to place your underwater fishing light in the center of the light pattern that you surface light is generating. Anchor your submerged lighting about 12 " off the bottom, (without an anchor they will float on top of the water).. make sure the light completely submerged under the water. I recommend you use a 5lb weight as an anchor. If possible, anchor the submerged light about 2 to 3 ft from the boat.

I haven't mentioned much about the secondary 12v power source that you will need to have on board your boat to power your underwater fishing light,other secondary light sources, and your bait aerator. "do not use your boats power source" This will drain your battery."you don't want to get stuck on the lake at night right? If you take a well charged 12v marine battery as your second source it will last through the night.

I recommend you have minimum of three catfish poles pre-rigged and ready to cast out into the water.The reason I suggest this is because it's real pain the "blank" To re-rig at night. You will end up doing it anyway , but if you have spare poles already set up, use them first before you have waist valuable time with poles out of the water.

Locating the cat's nightly haunts

Pre-planning your night fishing trip is a must for a successful night. Every body of water is different when it comes to catfish habitat locations, but it has been my experience, that in any body of water the bigger cats roam the shore lines or back waters in search of food at night. I highly recommend you do some research on the body of water you intend to night fish for catfish on. At Minimum Get a topographical map of the area before you attempt your trip. These can be attained at any of the local bait and tackle shops in the area. (I recommend you visit one of these shops to get the local scoop anyway, if you dig deep enough these guys can pin point on the map Where to start fishing. This will save you lots of time.)

Enticing the Cats to your boat.

Once you have your water surface lights and your submerged lights set up and ready to go you don't even need to do the next step, you are ready to start fishing. The submerged lighting will get the schools of bait fish coming , but I take it step one step further because if you play on the catfish's extra sensitive sense of smell you can drive the Big cats into a feeding frenzy! Ok You say how?

Chumming will perk any catfish's keen sense of smell, it can actually drive the catfish crazy because they are a curious fish by nature and because they are constantly foraging for food at night. "Chumming" releases a slick of dead fish smells and particles of fish guts that both the catfish and baitfish feed on. I use a simple very in-expense and easy to setup method of chumming. You can also purchase commercial chumming systems that you can set up.Find yourself a nylon netted bag that you close tight with a string. If you can find a netted bag that holds golf balls they work very well. This is what I use, works perfect , very inexpensive. Next , get some good size freezer bags, 3 should do for one nights trip.

I always cut up small bluegill if I can get them, or I i purchase about 2 dozen chubs an cut them into 1" to 2" slices, and put the guts pieces and juices in a pan that won't drain. Fill the freezer bags pieces and juice all together, and let them sit outside in the sun all day long. Yes it will stink to high heaven by the end of the day, but that is what you want! Now stick the freezer bag in side the meshed bag that can close. Close the bag tight and tie a line at the bottom of the bag about 2 feet long. Attach about a 2lb anchor to get the bag to the bottom . Now tie a line at the top of the bag with enough lead line to get the bag on the bottom. Now before you lower the chum bag to the bottom take an ice pick, or something sharp that will puncture the bag , but not tear the plastic. Punch the freezer bag numerous times, then lower to the bottom an tie it off on the side of the boat.

Lets re-visit your catfish rigs, there are many setups you can use, i will mention a few that i use on a regular basis. Your rigs do not need to be setup for long casting, keep in mind you will be placing your line only a few feet away from the boat, at the edge of your underwater fishing light source.

You will be fishing only a short distance from the boat, so your rigs need to be set up to fish in close proximity to the boat. You could fish tight line with a basic catfish hook and a small sinker. Or use a slip bobber system. I prefer to use the slip bobber system.

ok I use the single hook rig. Both rigs work fine but I just have preference for the single hook rig. When I fish for other species of fish I will use a double hook rig but not when I am fishing at night for catfish.my fishing rigs for night fishing are all heavy duty. I have all open face spin cast reels spooled with 30lb test. When you do get a lunker on your line you want the tackle set up to handle the fight. You miss some smaller cats, but it's well worth it when you catch your first 10lb plus catfish.

Baits To Use

Blue catfish and channel catfish will eat just about anything that has an oder, and they love small suckers,small shad, bluegills alive our dead. I use both live bait and dead "cut bait". I will normally set one pole up with a small live gill no more that 3 inches in length. My other poles will be baited with cut bait , normally LARGE suckers 6" or longer cut in 1" to 2" chunks.

Now Bait your rigs,Get Your Boat Setup and get ready for an exciting Night fishing for Catfish Trip! Once you catch a lunker 10 pounder + You will be Hooked for life! So have fun and good luck!

Mark Fleagle Webmaster. 30+ Years Of Fishing Experience Expert Author At Ezinearticles.com. Click This Link To Find Out More About underwater fishing lights Fishing Webmasters , Need 100% Free Automated Fishing Content Instantly? Click This Link: Free Fishing Content