Fishing logic

I've said many times I love to fish. Bass and Crappie are all well and good, but I'm a Catfisherman at heart.

Over the last month, the catfish are just not biting very well and I'm using a variety of baits that worked well in the past. Shad, Skipjack and the trusty chicken breast. There are a lot of people who swear by marinating it in garlic or mixing it with powdered Jello or many other "sure fire" recipes, but I just use plain 'ol chicken breast. I tried all the other combos and the plain chicken does better in my opinion, plus it doesn't make your hands turn red or smell like garlic for 3 days.

Salmonella is a whole different subject, but tomorrow I'm trying something new.

Catfish loves mussels. The few that I've caught had a belly full of'em and that seems to be their go to food source right now. The waters of the Ohio have been very warm this year and the mussels are flourishing.

Now comes the logic.

Now when I say logic, remember this is fisherman logic. We'll stand on one leg, spit 3 times, cross our eyes and whistle Dixie if we think it'll improve the odds.

Anyway......

I figure if they'll hitting on mussels and I don't have a boat to get out to the sand bars to dig them, clams are as close as I can get, so.....

I went to the store, got some chicken breast, a can of minced clams in their natural juices and the whole mess is marinating in my fridge till in the morning.

Perfectly sound reasoning in my opinion.

Shrimp works well, also a wad of nightcrawlers on a decent size hook.

a reply to: Ilikesecrets

I've tried those too and no luck. The waters are warm. Like literally bathtub warm and when it's like that, they get very picky.

a reply to: DAVID64 Did you use live Shad? If so try cutbait shad and tightline fishing on the bottom, it's cooler down there.

i wonder if the warmth has them burrowing in the mud to stay cooler, try agitating the ground in the area before you fish?

a reply to: Ilikesecrets

I was using cut bait shad and skipjack this morning in about 25 ft of water. Still warm as a bath tub.

a reply to: datguy

I'm in the Ohio River, fishing off the bank in deep water off a shelf. It's shallow about 10 - 12 ft out, then it just drops to about 25 . Even at that depth the water is still warm. There's the legendary "barge bite" which is when a tug/barge goes by and stirs up the water, but it's very hit or miss. Not a reliable metric as to when they'll bite.

a reply to: DAVID64

Your post makes me miss my little brother so much; he lived and breathed fishing! He could drop his line and nab a fish in less than 2-3 minutes.
The last time I went fishing with him I caught nothing while he must have caught and released 30 in the first hour.
I eventually took his pole and gave that a try; still no bites. Handed it back to him and I'll be danged-a fish in under a minute.

You're either a born natural or not. I obviously fall into the latter category. Fishing has become a spectator sport for me

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, D64.

I have no idea what you have where you are, but catching and cutting up brim has always worked best for me in the long run

a reply to: DAVID64

I fish the Rio Grande every chance I get for Cats and Carp. For Cats... shrimp and carp cutbait.

For Carp, a dough bait, made from cornmeal and Lucky charms, but lately Cats seem to like it as well.

I think the clams should work well if it stays on the hook.

I have tried everything from bacon, cow tongue, slimjims, hotdogs, chicken guts, kernel corn, grasshoppers, lizards, roadkill, prepared bait from Wmart,
bluegill and have caught fish on all of them......but I never leave home without shrimp and nightcrawlers.

For many years I only fished artificials for trout on a flyrod [snob] but now living in the valley on the river, beautiful environment, spincast/bait....[nonsnob]

Yeah, U right....

a reply to: Ilikesecrets

Yes, shrimp! We used to go to the deli and buy a half a pound of some decent-sized shrimp. It was fairly expensive bait, but it caught some big cats.

ETA: You can't fish and worry simultaneously!

originally posted by: nugget1
You're either a born natural or not

Even the Doctor considers fishing a worthy art! (FF past the intro to 0:27)

a reply to: olaru12

I’m not surprised the rio grande has carp and catfish , why someone would want to ruin their line with those garbage fish lol. I’ll eat some walleye . Where I come from they catch carp accidentally and throw it up on shore

originally posted by: Stopthebull
a reply to: olaru12

I’m not surprised the rio grande has carp and catfish , why someone would want to ruin their line with those garbage fish lol. I’ll eat some walleye . Where I come from they catch carp accidentally and throw it up on shore

I know carp are considered trash fish in some areas; however some areas like Europe they have different ideas about carp as a sport fish. Even tournaments like bass in the US.

carpcircle.com...


dreamcarpholidays.com...

I throw everything back and wouldn't eat anything from the Rio Grande. It's toxic from all the fertilizer runoff, not to mention what kind of sh!t gets washed down from Los Alamos labs. I still love the Rio Grande and the Bosque that it runs thru.

I like walleye as well and have a freezer full of trout and salmon and saltwater species. I'm not strictly a "catch and release" sportsman. But still, I consider my home water the San Juan quality waters; parttime guide and outfitter in my 30s.

Why the attitude?

a reply to: DAVID64

I just did a YT search.


Have you tried getting a fairly large chested woman in barely any clothing to try with her bare hands?


Seems to be the method....per YT anyway.

a reply to: JinMI

Do tell. Do they have any luck? I mean catching the fish.

When I go fishing, I do not consider catching nothing a bad time. More fun to catch but not really required to enjoy the challenge and the scenery.

a reply to: beyondknowledge2

Yea, they catch em!

A family quote, "A bad day in the woods is still better than a good day at work."

a reply to: JinMI

I plead the 5th. My wife reads ATS.

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: JinMI

I plead the 5th. My wife reads ATS.

Fair enough.

Please do not shoot me Mrs. David64, I was only trying to help your husband acquire more fish!

a reply to: olaru12

Carp are one of the hardest fighting fish I've caught. They're great for a sport fish, if you're just lookin' for a fight.
Ate them a few times, not bad, but not really my taste.