Idea for Cat Fishing, or Halibut or...

T

Thudpucker

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his is my Cat Fish idea.

Catfish are active (mostly) from Midnite to 4: Am.
You put out a long line about 10 PM and pick the lines sometime around first light.
They call it a TROT line down here.
I think you could do this for Fresh Water Ling's in AK. Better check the laws first though.

The little scrap fish will eat any bait fish right off the hook in an hour.
So I came up with the idea of a Rubber bait with scent inside it.
If anything bit hard enough to squeeze it, the squirted scent should draw a whole herd of Catfish.

One time I used some Baby Chicks for bait. The little fish ate all the feathers off the Chicks. They came up NUDE. But the Cat's didn't bite!

My idea is to get a scent on(actually inside) a rubber bait. Something the size of a small Rainbow trout. (they do make Rubber Herring for Halibut)
Shooting scent into a piece of rubber with a Needle/Syringe is messy! The density of the rubber shoots the 'stuff' right back out onto my hands.

So I thought maybe I could pull some thick Cotton threading through the Rubber bait.
The Cotton being soaked in Fish oil of some kind. The Thick Cotton strings are quickly replaceable.
Or better yet, I could put a whole wad of Oily Cotton up into a Cavity in the Rubber bait?

Making a cavity in the Rubber, filling it with something like cooked Rice, Beans or Pasta, Maybe Raw Oatmeal too, with the oil inserted might work. It sounds good anyway.

That Stuffing should hold the scent for a long time. Days even. Two or three 'leak' holes in the Cavity to help lure in the Cat's.

Using a Rubber Shad bait in the past, I got too many other kinds of fish. I finally left the point of the hook embedded deep into the rubber so the little fish wouldn't pester my set.

We very seldom lose a set down here. Not like fishing in Cook Inlet.
So let me know what you think. Maybe you might improve on my idea and go into the Business of Fish scent insemination.
 
Thud, plastic scent baits have been around a very long time. I use the "GULP" baits on most all my jigs in saltwater. I often have specks, flounder, and red's, pick up the jig when it is stopped even for as much as a min. There are spray scents, scent pockets molded in baits, and a host of other solutions to adding scent. Scent baits work on slow moving baits or stationary baits. For a number of reasons, such as cost, effort to use, success vs natural, etc., they only fill a certain niche.
 
I use a product called "Basswax Pro stick" on fresh water bass baits. It was developed by some guys in Redding and it's got a beeswax base that's infused with scents. I have a crawdad scent and a garlic scent. The cool thing about it is that if you put it in your pocket, your body heat is just the right temp to make it soft enough to apply, but it doesn't melt. When the bait hits the water, it firms up again and has a lot of staying power. It comes in a hard plastic tube and is sort of like Chapstik.

Google will take you to their website.
 
Since I've had pretty good success with Gulp baits on jig heads I thought I would try their fake "sand flea" when pompano fishing. I use a 2 or 3 drop hooks with a pyramid eight at the end of the rig. I've mixed postions using the fake flea and live fleas and have yet to catch a pompano on the fake while catching many on the live. Natural just works better...
 
When I was learning to fish for F/W bass I was told "any fool can put a piece of meat on a hook and catch fish. It takes a real fisherman to fake out a fish (with a "brain" the size of a pea) with artificial lures!" <VBG>
 
LOL, all my life I've been looking for that one Retarded fish in the Hole. Somehow I missed him more often than caught him.
You guys tell me I'm not the first to think up this idea.....I'm crushed!

I laughed at guys using those big Rubber Jigs for Halibut. Not now! I've learned my lesson. I can use a Smelly jig instead of a smelly Bait...
 
Thud, we'll troll the large 4" to 8" sassy shads on down riggers when looking for rock fish. They work well in your lake. Also, the umbrella rigs work very well.
 
LOL, Amazon has everything for even the Emotionally Distressed Cat fishermen with a lonely Dog.

Another week or so and I'll be out there. Smelly Rubber bait's and all.
The sassy Shad will give me a reason to get out. "I need some stuff!" I'll put my foot down and say it real loud.
{No live Bait were harmed in this operation} :)
 
FWIW-- I don't think the smell baits add much, if anything, to improve a trolled or fast moving bait. Not worth the hassel, effort, or cost.
 
quote:
Originally posted by speedo

I use a product called "Basswax Pro stick" on fresh water bass baits.
Click to expand...

And does it work well??? I've been doing real well with Gary Yamamoto plastic 5" worms but always looking to do better :)
 
Barb, that's my "go to" bait for f/w bass. Green pumpkin is the color that works best for me. I haven't been serious about bass fishing for a few years...though i did win $3.00 from my wife on my b'day for first, most and biggest...but when I did more fishing, I usually whooped my friends. I used Bass Wax and they didn't. 'Nuff said?

I know you don't smoke anymore, but if your fishing partner does, she should use it to mask the scent of cigarettes that gets on the baits from her hands. On second thought, don't tell her, just keep winning the $3.00 bet!
 
Thanks Ken! Where can I buy this stuff so I can give it a try. I fish with a longtime friend of mine (known her for 40 years!!) and she's never smoked so no worries there. And I'm way ahead of her in fish anyway....can't hurt to increase my lead! LOL!
 
Barb, I don't want to post a website, but if you Google Basswax you'll find them. I had a colleague who did some work with the owners and I ended up with a few freebies a number of years ago. I think it retails for ~ $6.00 a tube but a little goes a very long way. Garlic is actually the best seller, but I like crawdad, too.

If they're not in business anymore, let me know and I'll see if I can find a spare to send to you.
 
I've been working on a special "chum" and I think I've got it perfected. I say "think" because I haven't been able to put any in the water yet. Everytime I open the chum bucket all the fish within a few sq. miles start jumping in the boat. We've lost 3 boats already. When we used a bigger boat the fish knock themselves out hitting the sides. Then we got into trouble with the F&G boys for "commercial fishing" with out a lic. Until we get all this cleared up the CHUM project is on hold....
 
I went down to the Barn to check what I had for bait after Bill sang the song of Fuzzy Shad so well and so loud.

I discovered I'd had some Fuzzy Shad down there, soaking in some Special Sauce of old Chicken Livers, and other Chicken parts from a Chikkin Choppin operation a couple years ago.

I didn't know Catfish could walk! Honest!
I found the skeletons of Catfish, Barn Cats, Snakes, Frogs and some Fish eating birds all scattered about in my little Row boat.

The Bucket was empty though. Apparently some of the Cat Fish made it back to the Creek down in the woods.
 
You should be able to follow their slides back to the water. I'd be setting a few lines at the end of the slide.
 
Ken, found it on the web. Was hoping I could buy it locally but I think they only way to get it is online. Then I'll be all happy when a package arrives for me!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Bill D.

You should be able to follow their slides back to the water. I'd be setting a few lines at the end of the slide.
Click to expand...


You know it'd be dangerous to be slithering around down near that Creek now. Them critters is used to live tasting bait.

No Sir, I ain't goin down there without no HooDoo to watch out for me!
 
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