03-30-2011, 11:26 AM
[cool][#0000ff]You can catch cats on almost anything...at one time or another. But there are a few things that will work more often...especially in Utah.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First of all, forget the stink bait. Yes, you will get bites and you will get a few fish. Some folks around here swear by it. Always a matter of opinion. But the cataholics I know generally prefer some form of "natural" bait...and the fresher the better. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Utah cats are no different than cats anywhere else. They will seldom turn down a meal of dead meat...animal, fowl or fish. But they are also active predators and often hunt, chase down and eat live food...worms, crawdads, minnows, amphibians and even rodents.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish both Utah Lake and Willard a lot. I usually drag around a dead minnow with no weight on the line other than a swivel and a couple of beads...just enough to offset any buoyancy of the minnow. And I poke a few holes in the minnow both to pop the air bladder and to release more scent into the water. I also use small strips of carp meat or white bass meat. Also like perch meat when I have it. And all that stuff will also pick up white bass, walleyes and bullhead cats too. Ya never know.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish without weight and I leave the bail on my spinning reel open...with a loop of line under a plastic clip. When a fish grabs the bait they pull the line free and they can swim off with the bait. When I think (hope) they have the hook inside their mouths, I close the bail point the rod at the departing fish and let them pull the line tight. Then I set the hook. With a circle hook you just start reeling.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I use small (size 2 or 4) single hooks...usually Eagle Claw #84 ring eye...bronze or red finish. If you rig right, with the hook point exposed...and let the fish pull the line tight before setting the hook...you will hook a high percentage in the corner of the mouth. Just like a circle hook. But if they swallow it you can just cut the line and retie. If you are using big baits for big fish then circle hooks or large size (2/0 - 6/0) octopus style hooks are good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lures? I catch a lot of cats on crankbaits and plastics I am casting for other species. They especially like the small tube jigs I fish for white bass...especially with some worm on the hook. As mentioned, cats are active predators. They have better sight than most folks think and they have a sensitive lateral line that helps them feel vibrations. Add some "sweetener" to your lures and you have a 3-way shot at getting their attention.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During the warmer months, the cats are closer to the shoreline...reeds or rocks. That is when you can do well by fishing your bait about 2 to 3 feet under a bobber...right next to the cover. The cats spawn in May and June...in the rocks and reeds...and then stay around to feed on crawdads and small fish until the water level and/or water temps drop too low in the fall. You can also find them cruising shallow flats in warmer weather and the bobber rig will work there too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Cats are not really all that finicky. I have seen them caught on some of the wierdest rigs you can imagine...and on every kind of bait possible. But to get the most and biggest fish you will usually do better with natural baits and natural presentations.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Shoot me a PM and I will send you a more detailed writeup on Utah Lake Catfishin'.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]First of all, forget the stink bait. Yes, you will get bites and you will get a few fish. Some folks around here swear by it. Always a matter of opinion. But the cataholics I know generally prefer some form of "natural" bait...and the fresher the better. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Utah cats are no different than cats anywhere else. They will seldom turn down a meal of dead meat...animal, fowl or fish. But they are also active predators and often hunt, chase down and eat live food...worms, crawdads, minnows, amphibians and even rodents.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I fish both Utah Lake and Willard a lot. I usually drag around a dead minnow with no weight on the line other than a swivel and a couple of beads...just enough to offset any buoyancy of the minnow. And I poke a few holes in the minnow both to pop the air bladder and to release more scent into the water. I also use small strips of carp meat or white bass meat. Also like perch meat when I have it. And all that stuff will also pick up white bass, walleyes and bullhead cats too. Ya never know.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I fish without weight and I leave the bail on my spinning reel open...with a loop of line under a plastic clip. When a fish grabs the bait they pull the line free and they can swim off with the bait. When I think (hope) they have the hook inside their mouths, I close the bail point the rod at the departing fish and let them pull the line tight. Then I set the hook. With a circle hook you just start reeling.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I use small (size 2 or 4) single hooks...usually Eagle Claw #84 ring eye...bronze or red finish. If you rig right, with the hook point exposed...and let the fish pull the line tight before setting the hook...you will hook a high percentage in the corner of the mouth. Just like a circle hook. But if they swallow it you can just cut the line and retie. If you are using big baits for big fish then circle hooks or large size (2/0 - 6/0) octopus style hooks are good.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Lures? I catch a lot of cats on crankbaits and plastics I am casting for other species. They especially like the small tube jigs I fish for white bass...especially with some worm on the hook. As mentioned, cats are active predators. They have better sight than most folks think and they have a sensitive lateral line that helps them feel vibrations. Add some "sweetener" to your lures and you have a 3-way shot at getting their attention.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]During the warmer months, the cats are closer to the shoreline...reeds or rocks. That is when you can do well by fishing your bait about 2 to 3 feet under a bobber...right next to the cover. The cats spawn in May and June...in the rocks and reeds...and then stay around to feed on crawdads and small fish until the water level and/or water temps drop too low in the fall. You can also find them cruising shallow flats in warmer weather and the bobber rig will work there too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Cats are not really all that finicky. I have seen them caught on some of the wierdest rigs you can imagine...and on every kind of bait possible. But to get the most and biggest fish you will usually do better with natural baits and natural presentations.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Shoot me a PM and I will send you a more detailed writeup on Utah Lake Catfishin'.[/#0000ff]
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