Using cat fish Lewers

[Nicole]

Hey folks, which Lewers would y’all most recommend for cat fishing if I don’t want to use live bait?


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[mchottie]

When you say live, do you mean any bait on a hook? The best bait i've found is frozen shrimp from the grocery store. Obviously thaw to use (not a problem in the summer months, or bring a cup and use the body of water you're in...

Beetlespins have worked for myself and a few others here. Inexpensive in-case you get a breakoff, etc.

[thedutchtouch]

raw chcken! i've used it a few times, turns freezerburned food into fresh food. cats dont seem to care if it's beyond human consumption levels...

[rugbyfish]

I've had my best luck with chicken livers, but they don't stay on the hook very well. Last time I went out, I actually cut up raw chicken breast into cubes and poured the cubes and a container of chicken livers into a freezer bag and let them soak overnight. When I went fishing in the morning, I caught an equal number of catfish on both livers and breast. Fresh menhaden/alewife/bunker is also great but can be hard to find. I like to use chicken because it's cheap and easy to get. I have caught catfish casting perch spinners and trolling/casting paddletails for stripers, but it's rare. If you want to target catfish, soaking bait on the bottom is your best bet.

[Nicole]

I’m actually interested in using artificial Lewers. My apologies as I stated that incorrectly in my original post.


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[Big Mike]

I don’t target catfish but I’ve caught more than I like on lures , especially channel cats. Bottom bouncing Gulp in its various forms has a good chance of producing. Paddle tails trolled around structure, while not as reliable as bottom bouncing Gulp has also caught catfish for me. However, in general you’ll do far better with bait than lures when targeting catfish.

[Mark]

Nicole,

Like Mike, I don't target channel cats. The ones I've caught have been surprises while striper and perch fishing.

They will hit spinner baits. This is a 3 inch paddletail on a 1/8 oz. jig spinner:

Jig Spinner Cat.jpg

A channel cat hit the above lure in Whitehall Bay. You can see the indentation of the cat's mouth on the paddletail.

My friend John Rentch caught this channel cat on a 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap:

P1040072.jpg P1040078 (3).jpg

A simple 3 inch paddle tail on a bare jig will work too:

Cast3.jpg

I caught a nice channel cat with the above lure in June of this year:

P1040876 (2).jpg

The channel catfish mentioned above were each caught in shallow tidal water near structure.

I think any noisy minnow imitation will work.

Good luck,

[Nicole]

Thanks y’all. I don’t mind using live bait now and then, but sometimes it’s not my preference… got to give them what they like though I guess. all these tips are very helpful. I much Appreciate all the help.


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[mike o]

I don't target catfish either but I catch quite a few casting Tony Accetta spoons and vertical jigging with jigging spoons. Twice I have caught 9 channel cats in a day fishing for Rock and perch. I also catch quite a few on jigging spoons. Recently I caught my first Blue catfish on one near the Key bridgetony.jpgspoon.jpg

[Nicole]

What size and colors spoons do you use?


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[mike o]

I use size 13 or 14 Tony's and I like green or blue jigging spoons usually about 1 oz. I used to buy the Jigging spoons at Walmart but they stopped selling them. Now I get them from Cabellas.

[mchottie]

Tony Spoons:

13 1 3/4 in. 1/6 oz.
14 2 1/4 in. 1/4 oz.

Good Info, i'll have to add a few to my tackle box.

[Shady]

I catch a lot on gulp minnows and they'll hit inline spinners too

[Mark]

They can be hard on light jigs...

I was fishing for perch with this:

P1030067 (1).jpg

I caught this:

P1030073.jpg

And after landing, my jig looked like this:

P1030074.jpg

[Mark]

They can be hard on light jigs...

I was fishing for perch with this:

P1030067 (1).jpg

I caught this:

P1030073.jpg

And after landing, my jig looked like this:

P1030074.jpg