03-07-2013, 07:08 PM
google "carolina rig" and "Santee-cooper rigs". both of these work well when catfishing. I like the carolina rig with a 5/0 ish circle hook. but pretty much anything will work. The advantage of the sliding sinker rig is the fish won't feel the weight when they take the bait and turn and run. the circle hook will set itself as the fish turns, and viola, fish fry time.....
Chicken livers are great bait but they come off easily. Try this: get a thing of livers and get them as dry as possible. pour out all the juice and pat them on paper towels. put them back in the container with a layer of non-iodized salt. don't skimp on the salt. this will draw more juice outta the livers and you might need to empty the container every so often. let the livers sit in the salt for a week or 5. the tougher the better. I also season them in vanilla extract, garlic or dog shit. Catties will bite a well seasoned turd and like strong smelling baits. not dead/rotten baits, just strong scents like cheese, garlic, or whatever.
if you plan to keep the catties, they're delish...i've learned to bleed them out rather than whacking them in the head or just tossing them on ice. if you bleed them first, they'll taste much better. it's easy and painless to do this, with a real sharp knife, just slice into the back of gill plate behind the head. they have a large artery here and will quickly bleed out. you can cut both sides if you want. I catch, de-hook, slice and toss on ice. your cooler will be a nasty bloody mess but it's worth it. don't forget to put the drain plug in the cooler if you're on a nice boat.
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Chicken livers are great bait but they come off easily. Try this: get a thing of livers and get them as dry as possible. pour out all the juice and pat them on paper towels. put them back in the container with a layer of non-iodized salt. don't skimp on the salt. this will draw more juice outta the livers and you might need to empty the container every so often. let the livers sit in the salt for a week or 5. the tougher the better. I also season them in vanilla extract, garlic or dog shit. Catties will bite a well seasoned turd and like strong smelling baits. not dead/rotten baits, just strong scents like cheese, garlic, or whatever.
if you plan to keep the catties, they're delish...i've learned to bleed them out rather than whacking them in the head or just tossing them on ice. if you bleed them first, they'll taste much better. it's easy and painless to do this, with a real sharp knife, just slice into the back of gill plate behind the head. they have a large artery here and will quickly bleed out. you can cut both sides if you want. I catch, de-hook, slice and toss on ice. your cooler will be a nasty bloody mess but it's worth it. don't forget to put the drain plug in the cooler if you're on a nice boat.
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