Hook Wise CC Fishing Method

I've seen a lot of posts about the challenges of catching CC multiple times in ponds. I agree they are SMART! Far smarter than bass IMO. I think the only fish smarter is the common carp.

I have fished for CC in a lot of local ponds and lakes where fishing pressure is VERY heavy. This is my favorite method for catching wise old CC...

I have found using fresh cut bait(golden shiners, cut up BG, what ever other fish is found in the pond) is best. I like to use very light line, usually 4 pound fluorocarbon but have gone as low as 2 pound. I also use NO weight. Let the weight of your bait allow you to cast out. With low test line, this is not too hard. Also fishing from a boat can be helpful if you can't get your bait where you want it. Cast out the cut bait, WITHOUT weight on a size 2-4 octopus hook. Make sure the hook is well hidden in the bait, but allow the point to be exposed. High quality sharp hooks are important. The light line means you can't set the hook hard, so sharpness must make up for that. Leave the bail open if using a spinning rod, or the reel in free spool if using a bait caster. This allows the CC to take the bait and feel no weight or resistance. The light line means the CC also struggle to see or feel the line. Each time they're caught the harder it gets though... Unnatural baits often alarm older smarter CC. Chicken livers, stink baits, preserved minnows, etc all are foreign to CC and may make them skip the offering. Also, make sure your hands are clean of foreign odors like bug spray, suntan lotion or motor oil.

When you hook into larger CC, the 4 pound test doesn't always hold up but if you set the drag correctly, don't horse the fish and use a net you up the odds greatly. Hopefully my ideas may help you catch some of your smart CC.

I used to catch little 1" BG in the algae near shore, put them on a smallish but stout hook and cast them out with no wieght and let them sit on the bottom. I would then set the drag real light and put the rod in a coil style rod holder that you stick in the ground that was pointed AWAY from the water in hard ground then walk away and do chores while checking on it every now and then. Pointing the rod holder away from the water kept it from being pulled into the water. Medium action rod or better needed. This was in a pond with almost no structures to entangle.

I gotta try that. Something has got to work!

CJ: Daytime or night time? What water depth?

I like the last hour of light into the first hour of dark. CC will come shallow to feed then so you don't have to really get it out there far. If you can find a shallow shelf next to deeper water, put the bait right on the edge of the shelf.

I've got 2 different shelves, where it goes from 3' to 10', with one of them being right at the edge of where the feeder throws the food. Thanks. I know where I can get some GSH on a moments notice!

Originally Posted By: CJBS2003

I have found using fresh cut bait(golden shiners, cut up BG, what ever other fish is found in the pond) is best. I like to use very light line, usually 4 pound fluorocarbon but have gone as low as 2 pound. I also use NO weight. Let the weight of your bait allow you to cast out. With low test line, this is not too hard. Also fishing from a boat can be helpful if you can't get your bait where you want it. Cast out the cut bait, WITHOUT weight on a size 2-4 octopus hook. Make sure the hook is well hidden in the bait, but allow the point to be exposed. High quality sharp hooks are important.

This sounds exactly like the rigs that Bruce and Natester set up for fishing at the Lusk Lodge 2 last year. We caught bluegill and they cut them up and used them for bait. Great fun it was.

"Great fun it was."

Thank you, Yoda.

Thanks for the advice. We've been struggling to catch the catfish in our pond and I've been reading on here to see how others do this. Currently, my most successful method is to use chicken livers. They love them, but so do the bluegill. Unfortunatley, the liver will last about five minutes on the hook before the bluegill bit it off or it just falls away.

I haven't tried minnows or bluegill, but will the next time out. The kids love to set the minnow trap and see how many fish we catch in it. Last weekend we had at least two dozen bluegill in it after half an hour and about a dozen minnows.

Is there a good way to keep chicken livers on a hook? Is there a special hook that will do this?

Thanks,
Eddie

eddie:

The only 2 ways that I know of to keep liver on the hook is:
1) Get the liver from a butcher, and have him leave the membrane on the outside of it. It's tough, and putting the hook thru it will keep the liver on the hook for a LONG time. I hunt deer and will save a liver for the dogs and for fishing.
2) If option 1 isn't an option, you could make a bag of pantyhose and put the liver inside like Cecil does with pellets.

A while back, Theo put links to several catfish threads in the archive:

Catching Catfish

Ken