new from harts wv

[sambo]

Hi guys.My name is frank mullins. I live at harts wv .I do lot bass fishing and
catfishing. I never have caught a big cat.But i sure would like to.Went to ea
stlynn friday night was fishing on the bank. fished till about 1am had one good
run. but by the tme i got to the rod he droped it.That happens alot to me I
was using a shinner. on a carolinarig about foot of leader. can you guys help me on this.

[BoTTomRig]

welcome, umm itd prolly help if ya used circle hooks. that way its easier to hook them. and you should prolly lengthen your leader out to about 3-4 ft. give plenty of room away from weight. this should increase your strikes. and possibly broaden your selection on baits. im sure it couldnt hurt.

[beastmaster704]

Welcome aboard ! what size hooks are you useing ? and how are you rigging ?

[WVBowhunter]

Welcome aboard Frank Yeah the circle hook could help ya,,maybe a 5/0 with big shiners, with the carolina rig,,but next comes the tricky part having a pole with a soft enough tip to work with the circle. Tell us about your rod and reel, your line and leader and well finish the process and get ya a nice flathead.

[sambo]

I was using a #5 gamakatsu wide gap hooked the shiner in back between top
fin and tail. had a 3/4 slip sinker.swivel.about 12 inch leader.

[WVBowhunter]

Change your hook locations to the bottom of the bait between the anal fin and tail..your bait will stay upright, live longer, and struggle better for the cats to find.

[Doug158]

Howdy Frank glad to have you on here with us Your leader is fine for live bait but I would go to 24 inche leaders for cutbait and like Jim said I would hook the live bait on the bottom so that it is swimming upward

[sambo]

Hey guy's thanks that really sounds good ill try that. The rod I was using is a
american spirit 8' long medium heavy. with a tidewater reel. I also have 2 ugly
sticks 7' with 6000 abu garcia reels

[WVBowhunter]

Sounding good,,what line size are ya using? for your rods, if your going to 5/0 circles, set em up about 60 degree in angle to the water and set your drags around the med range so the fish will hook themselves -- no free spooling with the circles, if the wide gaps you are using look like a Kahle hook, then this will work also. Look into getting some sinker slides and some really good swivels, then move your sinker size up to 2 to 4 ozs based upon your bait size and their activeness.

The sinker slides seem to work better for me in preventing the fish from feeling the sinkers until its to late. The poles tips should drop down nearly paralell with the water on a good hit/run....let the cirlce hook set itself and only when your sure the fish is hooked up do you pick up the rod and come back on em....dont forget to place your thumb on the spool when you do this so as not to make a birds nest. Next up is a quick tightening of the drag so you can turn the fish towards ya...if he's swimming back at ya and shaking his head "no" your doing it right....keep your rod tip high and as he nears the bank you may want to loosen the drag a bit, because he will turn and run like the tractor pulling champs they are...this dance may happen 3 or 4 times till ya get him in and netted up.

[sambo]

I have 30 on the tide water and i have 20 on my 6000 stren. I am not sure
about what to use. it seems real stiff and fills like it has dry spots in it.I wiil
try the sinker slides. Ill have to look them up. I don't think i have ever seen one. for sure going with the circle.

[WVBowhunter]

Depending on the amout of logs, rocks and other physical structure you might want to change all that line out and go up to 40lb test or if there is only minimal structure then go down to 30 and put on a good quality line like Berkley Big Game, or triple fish (that one will be hard for you to find, but I got a number you can call or order online at triplefishlines.com) I like a good stretchy mono like these two mentioned. Take your leader line 10 lbs heavier to put up with the abrasions from the big cats. I use 40/50 and 60lb test lines depending the structures I'm fishing...btw are you casting to your fish or dropping baits to known structure?

[sambo]

Thanks for the line info.I wrote it down. I cast. I do have a boat i cast out of it
to.

[Earl Phillips Jr]

hope you enjoy