Originally posted by JackFlash1949:
How can I remove the big CCs? They have gotten very hook shy. Up until this spring there were 15+ CCs that would come up when I fed them. Then all of a sudden they stopped coming up to the top. For about a week early this summer the water cleared enough to seen 2-3 foot down.... They are still there but don't feed on the top.
Originally posted by Theo Gallus:
The best advice I have on removing big CC is just keep after them, keep using different baits and tactics. I've been after them for 3 years, and this year I finally feel like I'm on top of the situation.
Catmandoo is probably our champion large CC remover (Having eliminated his bag cats, he is contemplating a name change to "Gillmandoo"). Hey Ken - throw Jack a link to your CC control thread. IIRC it has all the best advice and suggestions in it.
I couldn't agree more with Theo's statement of just keeping after them. We used many techniques, and finally Mother Nature took the last four big ones about a month ago. I can't say I really miss them.
Probably the Number One bait was shrimp. After dark, I'd cut several fresh shrimp into one or two pieces and throw them into an open area of the pond where they would sink. Then I'd throw a hook, baited with a shrimp, into that area.
Probably the Number Two bait was chicken liver, but it was a distant #2 compared to the shrimp.
Had I found somebody sooner with a bow and fish arrow setup, we'd have probably gotten more that way while feeding in the evening. But, after one arrow in the water, they wouldn't be seen for a couple of weeks.
The cats are very smart, and very wary. It was usually weeks between catches, or even between hookings. I was using musky and saltwater rods, and still lost several when they either moosed themselves around one of my dock piers, or they would go into structure in the middle of my pond. They would do the same with jugs.
In the early days of this adventure, my bass were so hungry, we caught a lot of them hot dogs and chicken liver.
We had a lot of Friday and Saturday night fishing parties.
Here are some links, with lots of good suggestions from others.
Too Many Big Catfish Sadistic Fish Cooking Catfish Mother Nature as Master Pond Boss Good Luck,
Ken "Gillmandoo"
