I've caught a ton of catfish over the years. Most will be active around dusk to full dark. Fish near or on the bottom. My standard bait is chicken livers, but they'll take lots of meaty/smelly things. They are wiley, don't jerk the line the minute you feel a bump or see the line wander. They can check things over and move it before actually swallowing. Can be shallow or deep depending on the pond profile, structure, temperatures, sun, etc. If you have a ton of forage, they may have plenty and just prefer to stay with live food. If that's the case, hook a BG and put him on the bottom with a hunk of lead a foot or two up. Course, he'd have to be of a size Mr Whiskers would eat. Can up your odds of setting the hook on livers if you use trebles, but I always try to keep most of the hook in the bait, they can sense pointy metal it seems.
