bigbuckOO

Around here, when i want to get after the better sized cats, it's either creek chubs or bluegills. Chubs are easier for me to get becuase my grandparents have a creek right in their back yard. Go get some of em and you shouldnt be dissapointed. Be warned though, when you use big bait like that a very big fish is a possibility. You said you werent rigged for anything over 20 pounds, just a few years back i took a 46 pounder off the bottom on a creek chub. I have caught my share of 5-10 pounders, but at any time a monster fish is a possibility. Just keep the drag as light as you can get away with.

mauser06

thanx for the tips guys. i can probbbbbably fight something over 20lbs if i keep my cool and do my part correctly. my "cat rod" is a cheap walmart special. big ole fat rod and giant spinning reel on steriods. i got 17lb stren on it. i reeled in a GIANT GIANT snapping turtle with it. had to weigh close to 50lbs. just gota play the drag right with a good sized fish. i dont know when or if ill make it out any time soon. workin like a fool for a bow. when i aint working i am in charge of my yard duties so i tend to that and catn keep up lol. im tryin! but i wanna get out fishin sometime soon!

Rebel Hog

Chicken Livers

bigbuckOO

Nothing wrong with that Mauser, my catfish rod is also a walmart special. Its a 7 foot shakespeare with a shakespeare reel, but if you put the right line on it and use the drag right, it gets the job done. Thats what i caught the 46 pounder with. Myself, i like 50 pound spiderwire braided, and i use big eagle claw circle hooks. The key though is that drag, just keep it as loose and you can get away with and let the fish fight himself out. 17lb test line is more then enough to land some bigger fish.

thundermug

Hotgogs...don't laugh 'till you try em! cut it 1" long and put it on a 2/0 circle hook, and keep your hand near your pole!

Opps, I meant hotdogs!

JeffS

It doesn't matter the type of rod you use as long as you take your time and don't try to force them in. my cousin is a fishing guide in South Texas and all he uses is cheap Shakespeare spinning reels for everything from speckled trout to tarpon. I've caught 40" reds on these reels with him, and there's a picture of him fighting a tarpon with it jumping over his boat in an old Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Though with something like that you need someone that knows what they are doing driving the boat for you. I fish with him for reds in the flats and they will strip off 100 yards off line before you can slow them down but you can catch them pretty easy as long as you are patient. It is probably the most fun you can have fishing.

smokeman

A favorite dish to use on pike rigged the same way,On a bobber or off the bottom....

I think the location you fish, has a lot more to do with how many fish you catch and how big they are instead of what bait you decide to use...I have caught cats on everythingI thru out to them if they are abundant in the area I am fishing...

MikeVT

Good Call Rebel Hawg - You can't beat chicken livers.

Oneshot7

oh yeah you can vt a big cat will make you put chicken livers away anyday of the week and go catch some bluegill for bait like i said though 4/0 khale by eagle claw on the web

bigbuckOO

Chicken livers are a great bait when i want to catch a quanity of fish, or am looking for fish to keep and eat. Around here, the channel cats simply cant leave that stuff alone for more then 5 minutes. But up till now, i have yet to have a single flathead take chicken liver as bait, and i have never caught anything over about 7 pounds with liver. So if it's size i am after i normally always go with some sort of live bait, either a creek chub, bluegill, or sometimes softcraws.

To the guy that mentioned hot dogs, i too have heard of people catching cats on them. I seen a recipe on the internet one night that involved chopped up hot dogs put into a jar of red jello and garlic powder. Dont know how it would work around here, but i could probably get a carp or a channel to take it.