CAT SEASON!

So the season of the young catfish is here.
What are your plans.
Strategies.
I personally have never gone wrong with chicken liver and cooked shrimp

I really dont have one but im ready myself, last year i went to Irvine 5 times hahah and was skunked everytime, not till this year at Santa Ana River Lakes did i catch not one but 3.....to bad it was a trout tourney, caught them all on Powerbait lol....but yeah im looking for pointers myself.....all my skunks were in the daytime..this year ill be changing it to night time action! good luck out their...

If I were fishing Irvine channel cat hit night crawlers back in the narrow coves. That's worked for me. GT

Hey Guys,
Kittie fishin! oh yeah!.....

I have fished Irvine quite a few times over the years for cats. (not so much recently, cuz I'm not sure what fly to use LOL) My favorite tactic was to drift fish straight 8-10lb, on a spinning outfit, and "flyline" or drop shot a fresh mack or sardine fillet.

The fresher the bait the better. We used to make a trip up to Oxnard the night before and buy a scoop of live dines and chovies, and put them on ice for the next day. Even more fun was to take the kids and run up to Santa Barbara harbor and fish up a bucket of Macks off the Stearns Wharf. (Good Fun on light tackle!). Another killer bait is live or fresh dead shad. (a whole other effort involving dip nets, live wells, and chasing the little beggars around!) Nowadays there are so many good dough baits and scents it may be easier to buy a package of the latest, greatest, and call it good.

As far as strategy? I like to fish the bottom breaks adjacent to flats or shelves. Typically I would sit off the flat and cast up onto it, then work my bait downhill, off the break, and into the deeper water. Another cool way was to parallel the break and drag my baits slooooowly along, starting shallow and working deeper with each successive pass. The key bit of information you will need is to find out how deep the kitties are laying. I have also caught them in open water under shad balls. (you need a meter for this, Cats because of their large swim bladder read really well on a meter). Fishing from a Toob or Toon for cats is a bit of a learning curve. Fishing very slowly, (if not completely stationary) is harder than you think! Also beware the other boaters, they are typically anchored up on long tight lines, and cast in every direction!

   hope this helps,.... have at em'  boys!

   bodfish

   PS. be very careful when bringing kitties onboard. They have wicked pectoral and dorsal spines! POP! Pssssssssst.......
         Hee Hee!!

Fishingdachronarch201E7 wrote:I really dont have one but im ready myself, last year i went to Irvine 5 times hahah and was skunked everytime, not till this year at Santa Ana River Lakes did i catch not one but 3.....to bad it was a trout tourney, caught them all on Powerbait lol....but yeah im looking for pointers myself.....all my skunks were in the daytime..this year ill be changing it to night time action! good luck out their...

I remember that. That was pretty tough! Ill probably go a few times this season. If you want, we can split the cost of a boat.

GT wrote:If I were fishing Irvine channel cat hit night crawlers back in the narrow coves. That's worked for me.   GT

Ive always used Macarel or bonito. Never had luck on shrimp or night crawlers, although I did catch one on Chartreuse powerbait. Go figure!

we should make a trip out of it ! I would not mind sharing a few beers , meeting some new tubers and catching some tasty catfish   

But to stay on topic , SARL has been on fire for the cats as long as you are on a tube or boat .. flyling Crawlers dipped in Bite on Cajun has been the ticket ..

WES

Fishingdachronarch201E7 wrote:I really dont have one but im ready myself, last year i went to Irvine 5 times hahah and was skunked everytime, not till this year at Santa Ana River Lakes did i catch not one but 3.....to bad it was a trout tourney, caught them all on Powerbait lol....but yeah im looking for pointers myself.....all my skunks were in the daytime..this year ill be changing it to night time action! good luck out their...

Aw man i love Irvine. Especially during cat season.
I use cooked shrimp there with a lil weight. Murders them every year.

Casting Call wrote:

GT wrote:If I were fishing Irvine channel cat hit night crawlers back in the narrow coves. That's worked for me.   GT

Ive always used Macarel or bonito. Never had luck on shrimp or night crawlers, although I did catch one on Chartreuse powerbait. Go figure!

For me its always Chicken Livers and cooked shrimp.
I prep my chicken livers the night before.
Because they have the tendancy to tear very easy, anyone who has use chicken lives before knows what its like too cast out and have your rig splash down in front of you and your chicken liver 10 seconds later on either side of you lol
So i buy nylon leggings/ pantyhose. And i cut lil pieces out of them. Put my chicken livers in them and tie them with nylon string.
The con of this method is they can sometimes be really hard to take off the hook lol
The pro. They can be used again n again lol.

Hey guys,


Farm Kitties love shrimp! cuz it is a major component of the pellet food they feed them on the farm!

bodfish

bodfish wrote:Hey guys,


Farm Kitties love shrimp! cuz it is a major component of the pellet food they feed them on the farm!

  bodfish

That was unknown to me lol

Cool! Nice to see some excitement on cat fishing in here!!!!

All of my deepest darkest channel cat secrets can be found in this video:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Otherwise, I would be using mackerel if I were out there right now, and if you guys get one in the salt save that bad boy and use it. It stays on your hook well if you take a frozen section and cut out what you need.

Although I have to use the pantyhose trick at times, I have found more often then not that I don't need to cast that far with chicken liver. The BEST kind that you can get is Foster Farms, hands down. Don't freeze it, it will screw around with the amount of blood that comes out when it thaws (and not in a good way). Also, just use fresh, I have seen a decrease in catch ratios when I throw scents on (garlic,oil,etc.). Did you know that you can find turkey liver if you look hard enough

As mentioned, sardines work very well! I never have any luck with 'em but my buddy does.

Shrimp was always a good pond bait in Cali...

The gentlemen above hit it though, fresh shad cut bait. If you want the big guys that is the way to go. Just be prepared to put some boring soak times in, and a few skunks.

I almost always use 6/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks, for everything, tight lined. The most important question though, is what on earth are the water temps at out there right now (pond/lake)?

Fresh Shrimp and fresh frozen Mackerel has always been my go-to for cats.
I've used this stuff called Secret-7 dip that a guy at Bass Pro Shops sold me about 5 times with no luck. There was a dip I bought at an off the wall store in Whittier somewhere off Walnut Grove Ave or San Gabriel Blvd. that really kicked ass and man did it stink! I may try to find it this afternoon.
Never liked fussing with liver but I didn't think of bagging it either. 3 weeks ago I saw a guy pull in 3 in an hour on liver but he wasn't sharing info or anything.
What I didn't know is "cooked shrimp".
Grandma has 3 Ziploc bags of shrimp in the garage freezer. A few might mysteriously disappear.
How do you cook/prepare it?
I assume if done wrong it's ruined.

Do you peel the shell off the shrimp first? Ive always hooked it whole with the shell on. Maybe thats why I never had luck on shrimp?

dlobo wrote:Fresh Shrimp and fresh frozen Mackerel has always been my go-to for cats.
I've used this stuff called Secret-7 dip that a guy at Bass Pro Shops sold me about 5 times with no luck. There was a dip I bought at an off the wall store in Whittier somewhere off Walnut Grove Ave or San Gabriel Blvd. that really kicked ass and man did it stink! I may try to find it this afternoon.
Never liked fussing with liver but I didn't think of bagging it either. 3 weeks ago I saw a guy pull in 3 in an hour on liver but he wasn't sharing info or anything.
What I didn't know is "cooked shrimp".
Grandma has 3 Ziploc bags of shrimp in the garage freezer. A few might mysteriously disappear.
How do you cook/prepare it?
I assume if done wrong it's ruined.

ive tried secret 7 with no luck. But it might work this yr...imma give it a shot.
Cooked shrim can be bought at almost any market..I buy mine at Wal Mart.
They are de shelled and I guess u can say pre cooked.
No seasoning or anything.

dlobo wrote:Fresh Shrimp and fresh frozen Mackerel has always been my go-to for cats.
I've used this stuff called Secret-7 dip that a guy at Bass Pro Shops sold me about 5 times with no luck. There was a dip I bought at an off the wall store in Whittier somewhere off Walnut Grove Ave or San Gabriel Blvd. that really kicked ass and man did it stink! I may try to find it this afternoon.
Never liked fussing with liver but I didn't think of bagging it either. 3 weeks ago I saw a guy pull in 3 in an hour on liver but he wasn't sharing info or anything.
What I didn't know is "cooked shrimp".
Grandma has 3 Ziploc bags of shrimp in the garage freezer. A few might mysteriously disappear.
How do you cook/prepare it?
I assume if done wrong it's ruined.

ive tried secret 7 with no luck. But it might work this yr...imma give it a shot.
Cooked shrim can be bought at almost any market..I buy mine at Wal Mart.
They are de shelled and I guess u can say pre cooked.
No seasoning or anything.

Honestly every year i hear about some crazy baits that worked i might try some of them this season.
The usual baits that do work are Cut Mack, Sardines, Chovies, Livers, Stink dough,hog wild, Shrimp and Crawlers...oh ya and Hot dogs.

But the last couple yrs ive been hearing a couple of baits that work....Frozen Bananas which im gonna try.
Soap has also been said too work great.
And another crazy one ive heard is Gummi Worms!
I might try these this yr

I take cheep hotdogs and cut them into 2 inch chunks and put them in a tub of chicken livers and set it out in the sun for two days. When it turns green and black it is ready to use. Just pull out a chunk of hotdog and put it on your hook. The skin of the hotdog keeps it on your hook and still has the sent of the chicken livers. I must tell you one very important thing. Never pick your nose after you dig out a chunk of hotdog and bait your hook. I have tried many different baits for cats but this really works well!

Gummy worms - no. Tried it many times. Kids dig it for fun but no fish. My sister caught a 5lb LM on one 25 years ago on a fluke at Lake Dixon.
Secret-7 - no. Done with it. Tried it for two years on and off, sucks. Today we left the tub at the shore.
Fresh frozen uncooked shrimp - no. Done with that also after today.

Next time going back to old faithful crawlers and Mak. Maybe throw in some chicken liver in the bag thing that other guy was talking about. Sounds legit.

Hee Hee! I love this thread!
Here's a recipe a Phillipino friend of mine swore by,... Vienna sausage, marinaded in Bagoong ( literally  raw fish or shrimp that has been frape'd in a blender! Bleah!!) and Power sauce.

    bodfish