Tips to catch these MONSTERS!

We are mainly talking tidal rivers when speaking of MONSTER blue catfish. All of these systems have shad ... and that is what these beasts live off of ! It is pretty straight forward to catch them ... find the shad and the big cats are not far behind. Electronics can be very helpful in locating them. Look for fish near drop-offs or submerged structure. We use 8 odd "demon" circle hooks on a 50lb mono leader. Hook that to a large barrel swivel and and tie the swivel with a palomar knot to at least 30lb test. We use 80lb braid. Make sure the drag is set properly to avoid break offs. With circle hooks, you do not want to initially set the hook. Once the fish has consistent pressure you simply lay the rod the side opposite of the direction the fish is running and start reeling. Once you feel the fish on, you can set the hook a little to sink it in better. This type of fishing is far more successful with open face "clicker" reels or baitrunners. This allows the fish to run with the bait without feeling your rod or weight. Because you are using a circle hook it will not get stuck in his gut if he takes it for a while. Make sure you have a BIG net and a boca grip is a great tool to have, along with some pliers. Winter time is the peak, but you can catch these monsters year round with some experience ... GO GET ONE !!!