Catfish Fishing

Revealed: Nature’s Little-Known “Scientific Secret” Small Groups Of Elite Fishermen Around The World Use To Easily Bring In At Least 10 Times More Catfish (And Other Game Fish) Than Anybody Else...

Special Fishing Report Sponsored By: The Catfish Fishing Secret Weapon

www.catfishfishingweapon.com There is a little-known secret to finding swarms of hungry Catfish – and catching them at will. It is one of the most powerful fishing discoveries I have ever witnessed, and it works time and time again with a consistency unmatched by any method I have ever tried. The best part is that you don’t need to buy a damn thing. All you need is your eyes (and sometimes your ears) to exploit it for all it’s worth.This amazing secret is based on an organism that holds so much “power”, if it didn’t exist there wouldn’t be a single fish on the planet – and hundreds of thousands of humans would have died from starvation.It has nothing to do with “chumming” or any other method like this. In fact, you don’t have to “do” anything to fire up your Catfish catches to unbelievable levels. Nature takes care of it for you – if you let her. It’s something that 99% of fishermen don’t even realize exists, yet it’s right under their noses every single time they go out fishing… and if you are one of the lucky ones to discover it, you’ll be sitting on your boat (or on shore) with a grin from ear to ear after having caught more Catfish (or whatever other game fish you go for) than ever before – faster than you ever thought possible. “So What The Heck Are You Talking About, What’s The Big Secret?”

Ok, I’ll save you from any more hype, and I’ll get to the point. The “scientific secret” nature is hiding from fishermen has two parts to it. They are called “Phytoplankton” and “Zooplankton”. Now, don’t let the fancy names scare you – it will all make perfect sense in a second – I promise. Let me start off by telling you exactly what “Phytoplankton” and “Zooplankton” are, and then I’ll tell you how you can “use” them to pull up massive amounts of fish faster than you can image. Put it this way, the only thing better would be to have the Catfish jump right in the boat! What Is Phytoplankton – And Why It Is Crucial To Finding Fishing “Super Spots”? Phytoplankton is at the absolute bottom of the food chain. Basically they are the “plant form” of Plankton. Phytoplankton is made up of “diatoms”, golden algae, green algae, and “cyanobacteria”. But none of those scientific words mean anything to you – all you need to know is – without Phytoplankton, there wouldn't be a fish on the planet - anywhere. The “Zooplankton Animal” – What It Is, What It Does, And Why It’s A Fisherman’s Best Friend Zooplankton is the “animal form” of Plankton. They feed on the “Phytoplankton” and basically follow it around everywhere. They are found at various depths in every of water. (lakes, ponds, oceans, rivers, you name it) They are like “candy” to bait fish like minnows, shad, smelt, and any other small fish in your area. In fact, they are the main source of food for these smaller fish. There are a bunch more “scientific names” that make up Zooplankton, but I won’t bore you with those details here. The bottom line is, where there is a lot of Zooplankton, there are a lot of fish – swarms of fish! You’ll see why and how in a second… How These Base “Blocks” Of Nature’s Food Chain Can Easily Put You In The Best Position To Catch Loads Of Catfish Anytime You Want To The first 2 “links” in the food chain are the Phytoplankton and the Zooplankton… As I mentioned, it all starts with the Phytoplankton at the very bottom of the food chain (the little microscopic green algae, and other stuff). They are the only source of food for Zooplankton, which feed on them constantly. In fact, wherever the Phytoplankton go, the Zooplankton follow. (and the “Phytos” are absolutely everywhere!) It gets really good for any fisherman when you find a massive “plankton cloud” (also known as a “patch”) filled with millions upon millions of these tasty organisms. Next, bring on the bait fish! (like minnows, shad, and anything else in your area) The 3rd step in our food chain are the small fish which happen to be the main source of food for Catfish and other game fish! I’m talking about minnows, shad, smelt, and any other smaller fish in your area. These little guys don’t just casually cruise into one of these huge plankton clouds…they attack relentlessly in a swarm – a literal feeding frenzy! Imagine you and about a dozen of your buddies in a room with $100 bills falling from the ceiling…well, that’s exactly what the Zooplankton are to these fish – and the small fish go absolutely crazy! Now, if this food chain were to stop at this stage, you’d probably still be pretty happy. You see, when you know how to find these massive clouds of plankton, the surface of the water will be thick with swarms of bait fish – and you can dip in your bait net to get as many as you want for FREE.But this all gets much better for you, because there are actually two more levels to this food chain of feeding. They are the Catfish, and YOU! You can imagine the sound generated by the massive amounts of feeding activity… It almost sounds like a bunch of kids splashing in the water – and it generates strong vibrations throughout the spot. And these vibrations scream out “dinner time!” to the Catfish. You can probably guess what happens next…The Catfish “hone in” on these vibrations because they know that there is a helluva lot of food going nuts, all in one spot. They move in and hang out on the outskirts of all of this activity, feeding on the small bait fish one by one……and that’s where you come in as the fifth and final link in nature’s food chain. (of course I encourage you to practice good “catch and release”, especially for any trophy fish you catch) But if you were to keep and eat the fish you catch, that would make you the fifth link on the food chain. When it gets to this point, you are in for the fishing experience of your life – I don’t care how long you’ve been fishing. Catfish feed from underneath, so what you’ll do is bait up and drop your line in off the perimeter of the feeding, or right underneath. You want your bait to be a little separate from the swarms of bait fish. You do this right, and you’ll have the biggest string of Catfish in your entire life – faster than you’ve ever caught ‘em before. To help you see the big picture – here is mother nature’s sacred food chain:

Obviously, the “key” to all of this is knowing how to find the first levels of the food chain. The “Phyto” and the “Zooplankton”. “Ok, This Is All Great, But How The Heck Do I Find These Zooplankton Rich Fishing Hot Spots?”

…and that, my friend, is the question that – when answered – will plunge you into a new world of fishing success that will blow your fishing buddies away. (And I wouldn’t recommend sharing this with everyone… only your closest friends – after all, it’s fun to keep your fishing success a “mystery” to the other guys…) Ok, so how to we find all this Plankton and hit it big in the fishing hot zones? Biologists who study life in the water use advanced equipment to locate patches of Zooplankton, including a special type of sonar… but since most fishermen don’t have this state-of-the-art equipment, you’ll be using some other special techniques to find these massive patches of Plankton (and the swarms of fish that will be feeding on them). There are basically 2 things you’ll be looking for. The first thing is called “Chlorophyll” which is the base that indicates large patches of “Phyto” and Zooplankton. Chlorophyll and “Phytoplankton” go hand-in-hand – you’ll never find one without the other. Don’t let the “scientific” word fool you… “Chlorophyll” can be easy to find when you know where to look. Chlorophyll is attracted to sunlight and will gather in huge patches near the surface – usually in places with direct sunlight. When you find one of these patches, you’ll know. The Chlorophyll is a dark green color – and when you have enough Chlorophyll in one area the water will appear dark green or even black. We’ll call this “stained” water from now on.So, be on the lookout for “stained” water during the daylight fishing hours. “Fishing by the stain” is so incredible that if you are in a body of water where you can find these stains easily – it doesn’t make sense to ever fish in a spot where the isn’t a stain. The “Landmark” Of Amazing Fishing Hotspots Here is another way to find the Chlorophyll, Phyto, and Zooplankton… The “landmark” I am talking about is green algae – and anytime you find some, grab your rod and get ready for a wild ride! Even if you don’t see a water stain on the surface around the green algae, you can be sure there is a large cluster of Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, bait fish, and Catfish right in that spot. Hunt for algae close to the shore or any other underwater structure, and don’t hesitate to hit the fish hard without hesitation when you find it… Another clue that there is a large bloom of Zooplankton under the surface is if you see lush vegetation on the shore where there is some water run off. The water going into your body of water will bring Plankton into the water with it (from the vegetation) and create a large patch of Plankton – sometimes much larger than normal. These are primeareas for catching a huge amount of Catfish fast. The Second Thing To Look Out For, “Dancing Snowflakes” I know many fishermen who use underwater cameras to locate Zooplankton – but you can also see this happening from the surface. This powerful fishing phenomenon onlyoccurs in severe hotspots – and it’s much more rare than finding the stained water I talkedabout earlier. Using an underwater camera (or looking in from the top of the water in well lightedconditions) you will see millions of Zooplankton which looking like “dancingsnowflakes”. They are clearish-white in appearance – and when they are there, you can’tmiss them. When you find them, be surprised if there aren’t already hundreds of minnows and otherbait fish sucking them up like they are going out of style… if there isn’t yet a swarm offeeding fish, there soon will be. Bait up and get that line in the water, because they’ll bethere fast.Finding the “Dancing Snowflake” phenomenon is much more unpredictable than findingthe “stained” water. It can occur in open water (which is why Catfish sometimes prefer theopen waters), and it can also occur near structure. It’s hard to go out hunting for it,because it can happen anywhere. Always be on the lookout for it though as you searchfor the stained water. Now, Imagine If There Was A Way To “Create” Patches Of Zooplankton Nearly 10Times The Size You’d Find Naturally – In Almost ANY Fishing Spot? You have enough information about Zooplankton to go out and find it for yourself, and pull up more Catfish than ever before. However, recently it was brought to my attentionthat there exists a way for any fisherman to “create” massive patches of Zooplankton (andby doing so, swarms of Minnows and Catfish) at any time, and in almost any spot. Almost nobody knows about it (you can imagine why – fishermen “in the know” rarelylet their best secrets out), and I have to admit I got pretty darn lucky when I found out about it. I actually saw it working with my own two eyes… and of course, I’ve been using it ever since. In fact, I wouldn’t dare go fishing without it. It’s just too powerful. At first, I didn’t tell my buddies about it – and they were all dumbfounded when I’d comeback from a fishing trip maxed to the limit. (and what they didn’t know was I wouldcatch my limit within 30 minutes almost every time… and catch and release at least 3 times that amount afterwards…) Finally, under pressure, I cracked and told them about the amazing device that almost instantly creates swarms of fish – taking the “science” behind nature’s food chain to another level. Now, my friends are all using it too – along with some of the bestfishermen in the country. If you are interested in reading more about the amazing device that put me ahead of all ofmy fisherman friends, you can read an article about it here…www.CatfishFishingWeapon.com…and it’s jam packed with revolutionary fishing information that will shock you. It won’t be up on the website forever, so if you liked what you read, get over there right away. What You Learned About Mother Nature’s “Scientific” Fishing Secret I am going to summarize the 4 key points you absolutely must know after reading this article, to make sure you got everything… 1. Nature’s food chain basically consists of 5 things: Phytoplankton, Zooplankton,Bait Fish (like Minnows), and Game Fish (like Catfish). The secret of finding“fishing hot spots” containing a ravenous feeding frenzy of bait and game is to locate the bottom 2 links on this food chain. The “Phytoplankton and“Zooplankton”. You’ll do this by locating the huge “patches” of plankton. 2. The first way to find it is to search the waters for “stains”. Remember,“Chlorophyll” are the dark green organisms that go hand in hand with the Phytoplankton. When there is enough Chlorophyll to create a fishing hot spot, the water will be a dark green, or even black. Search areas of direct sunlight close to the shore or underwater structure – especially around green algae. If you find green algae you can be sure you’ve just stumbled on a hot bed of minnow, Catfish,and other game fish. Also, remember to look for lush vegetation on the shore with some water runoff… this will create a very large bloom of Plankton – far beyond the normal patches you’ll find. These are excellent places to find fishing hot spots… 3. The second way to find these fishing hot spots is to keep an eye out for millions of “Dancing Snowflakes” in the water. These are enormous floating masses of Zooplankton. A lot of fishermen use underwater cameras to find them, but you can also see them from above the water if the lighting conditions are right. Theydrift through the waters almost at random – and can show up anywhere! This makes it hard to actively seek them out, but as you are searching for stained water, keep an eye out for these “Dancing Snowflakes” – the results of fishing these amazing spots will be some of the best fishing of your life guaranteed. 4. Finally, there is an amazing device that can quickly “create” patches of Zooplankton that are nearly 10 times the size you’ll find naturally… until now,only the best fishermen in the country have been using it, so the available information on it won’t be available forever. If you want to read more about this revolutionary technique, read the special article here: www.CatfishFishingWeapon.com In conclusion, if you actively practice the techniques for locating patches of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton which will attract swarms of Minnows, Catfish, and whatever else lives close to your fishing spot – I can guarantee your fishing will be onanother level completely. Nature has her secrets, and when you are able to find a way to use what she’s telling us to find the fish – you’ll be amazed at the number of fish you pull up, almost at will…Remember to check out the details about a little-known secret “weapon” some lucky Catfish fishermen are using to double their catches of Catfish. Click here to check it out: www.CatfishFishingWeapon.com

Friday 23 July 2010

Catfish Fishing Tips

Some great catfish fishing tips in the article below.

Exotic Bait to Lure Catfish Like a Snake Charmer

Exotic Bait to Lure Catfish like a Snake Charmer Forget the night crawlers! When it comes to catching scads of cats, try some of these more exotic baits. They'll have the catfish shimmying out of water like a cobra out of a basket for a flute-wielding snake charmer!

Fruit and Nuts

Blue cats and channel cats will eat mulberries, persimmons, raisins, grapes, haw fruits and muscadines. Muscadines are a hearty, heat-loving variety of grape native to the southeastern U.S. Blue cats and channel cats even eat nuts, particularly hickory nuts and acorns.

Catfish especially love persimmons and mulberries. Mulberries ripen in spring. If a mulberry tree overhangs the water, you may see catfish swarming to gobble them up as they plop into the water. Just put two or three on your hook and start reelin' 'em in! Persimmons ripen in the fall. Don't try an unripe one, though--they taste just as bad to the fish as they do to humans! Persimmons are known to be one of the best baits for catfish.

Blue cats and channel cats also like raisins. Gold raisins are particularly effective when fishing at night in the summer if you're using set hooks or trotlines. That's because they're in the water for a longer period of time, so they plump up and emit their fragrance. The gold color also makes them more visible for the fish. Regular raisins work well, too, and even grapes.

Asafetida

Asafetida was a popular catfish bait in the 60s. Many anglers carried asafetida oil in their tackle boxes. This oil or resin is also called Devil's Dung or stinking gum, thanks to its putrid aroma. It comes from Asian plants, and it is used in medicines--and even to flavor east Indian foods, believe it or not.

To use asafetida as bait, mix some of the oil or resin in water. Then soak a small piece of cloth in the concoction until it's well-saturated and stinky, then bait your hook with it. The catfish will eat the cloth just like a worm. You can also try soaking a cotton trotline in the mixture. When the line is set, catfish may rub up against the deliciously stinky line and get foul-hooked. This saves you having to use regular bait.

You can find asafetida from a local drug store or specialty druggist. The key word is local; the smaller, the better. Big chain drug stores might not have any idea what you're talking about. You can also purchase it through the internet.

Other stinky substances can be used in the same manner. Some examples include oil of rhodium, rotten eggs or anise oil.

Other Catfish

If you're fishing for flatheads in waters that also house bullheads, you can use bullheads as bait. But a word of caution: bullheads are not legal bait in many areas. You must check your local regulations to see whether they are. If they are legal in where you're fishing, they can be the best bait that might land you a trophy-class flathead.

You want to use a live bullhead that's three to six inches long. Snip off the barbs, dorsal fins and spine. The bullhead will flounder, attracting larger flatheads. You can usually seine for a supply of small bullheads.

Flatheads will also eat channel cats--and many times other types of cats in the same waters. Hook the fish near the tail and float it right above the bottom.

Road Kill

Some anglers have run out of bait and resorted to using road kill, namely opossum. It can work better than worms, minnows or cut shad. But of course, you should "steer clear" of intentionally causing road kill for bait! You're likely to charm heaps of catfish out of the water with these gourmet morsels! The turban is optional.

To read more great catfishing tips check out this catfishing blog! Catfishing Tips Homepage

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_K._Moore



catfishing baits article

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Catfish Fishing Tips - Know Their Senses!

Catfishing Tips - Catch More Catfish by Understanding Their Senses

Introduction

I normally only write articles about how to catch loads of catfish while cat fishing with proven techniques from the pros, this time I've decided to educate my readers more on the anatomy of the catfish species. How does this help you while cat fishing you ask? Would it benefit you to know how catfish find your bait and decided to bite it? I thought so. I'll keep this article relevant to cat anglers and promise not to use to much scientific jargon that puts you to sleep.

Would it surprise you to know that catfish have remarkably developed senses? It's surprised me when I started studying it. The catfish's senses are renowned and trump those of most other fresh water fish. In this article we'll go through all the catfish's senses including, taste, smell, touch, sight, and even a seemingly science fiction ability called electro sensitivity. If we understand the anatomy of the catfish it will help us catch more of them.

Hey Mr. Whisker Where's Your Sniffer?

Do catfish have noses? They actually have four! The catfish's sense of smell is superior compared to other fish. This helps them to detect food from a distance. You know when you're out on that nice spring morning cat fishing, you baiting the hook with the smelliest thing you can find, because that scent trail travels, hopefully right up a big trophy cat's nose!

I mentioned cats have four noses; well they really have four nostrils also known as olfactory pits. The nostrils are set in groups of two that work together. Water is sucked into one nostril and blown out the other. As the water is being sucked in it goes into the olfactory sac where there are sensitive folds that tell Mr. Whiskers if there is food nearby. Cat fish have more folds in their olfactory sacs then any other fish, for example large mouth bass, small mouth bass, bluegill, rainbow trout and crappie have 12-24 sensitivity folds, but cat fish have 140 plus! That means they can out sniff the best of em. A catfish can detect scents of food at 1 part per 10 billion part of water. Can you imaging being out cat fishing and smelling a single french fry 100 yards away in the woods?

Catfish are extra sensitive to amino acids in water. The best source of amino acids is blood. If you want to get a cats attention blood will do it! They can follow a blood trail like a shark. Is there any doubt why cut baits work so well? The more saturated the area is with blood and amino acids the better. Many cat fishing anglers use this knowledge when chumming. Here fishy, fishy!

When catfish are searching for a food they swim in an "S" shaped pattern, to the right then to the left or visa versa. If they smell a higher concentration of something edible in their left nostrils compared to their right, they will veer to the left. A hungry cat is always moving in the direction its senses are picking up something edible. Catfish can't rely on smell alone to survive; fantastic hearing is also an important ability that catfish possess in their arsenal of hunting gear.

Mr. Whiskers Says: "I hear voices in my bladder..."

My bladder speaks to me sometimes, but only when I've had too many beers and have to run to the bathroom to pee every five minutes.

This is a good section to know and apply when you're out cat fishing. Catfish hear two ways, the first through their swim bladder and the second through their lateral line.

Catfish are more sensitive to sound and can hear at high frequencies then most other fish. In comparison bass and trout hear 20-1000 cycles per second, but catfish at 13000 cycles per second. The frequency range is unique because catfish have what is called a Weberian Apparatus. This connects a chain of vertebral bones from the swim bladder to the inner ear, which amplifies sound and sends it to the brain to be analyzed. Catfish do have ears, but they're not exposed, instead they take in sound wave through their skin. The swim bladder picks up vibrations.

The lateral line handles low frequency vibrations. Tiny canals with lots of nerve ending follow the lateral line and detect vibrations that aren't heard by the inner ear. Examples of low frequency noise are animals walking on the river bank, critters scampering the bottom of the lake, or cat fisherman banging around in their boat. The lateral line helps the catfish to be familiar with their surroundings and helps them locate what I call the three "F"s, friends, foes, and food.

Since cats are extra sensitive to sounds and more alert then other fish it is a good idea to not stomp around on shore. I recommend padding the inside of your boat, both the bottom and sides; this can greatly assist you in not scaring the fish when you're moving stuff around.

Eye Balls, does Size Really Matter?

Jeepers Creepers, What Small Peepers!

Some people think that cat fish have poor eye sight. Catfish do have small beady eyes, but does size really matter, well not in this case. Their eyes contain light reflecting crystals called tapetum lucidum to help them see better in muddy waters. Often times it's far to muddy and dark for any light to reflect back making eye sight only useful in clearer waters. Cats take full advantage of this ability when catching live bait and searching for live forage in visible waters. Catfish have an equal amount of rods and cones in their eyes. Rods assist in helping the catfish to see in black and white when light is dim or non existent, and cones allow color vision in the light (in theory), scientist haven't studied whether they can actually see in color or not. Yeah, nice lesson, but why is it important when cat fishing?

Its important when cat fishing to not let shadows scare Mr. Whiskers, he can see them and takes them very seriously! Those little beady eyes are watching you...well sometimes. If a cat sees a shadow he's likely to stop feeding for a couple of hours and may hide, we don't want that. If you're fishing in clearer waters live baits may work better because fish are use to using their "peepers" to feed on minnows, drum, carp, or one of their other tasty treats that live in that area. Fish also have another highly developed sense that helps them find food.

Electroreception

Catfish have an amazing ability called electroreception. This ability, that is similar a sharks, allows them to pick up on small changes in electrical currents. Catfish can detect other living creatures by swimming close and sensing the electrical currents they emit. This helps them to identify who their swimming with. However, it's most useful when foraging the bottom of the river bed in the mud and sand looking for insect larva. They can detect it without seeing it or smelling it! It's a momma insect's worst nightmare! Nobody's sure how much older catfish use this ability; however an ability they definitely couldn't live without is taste.

Taste

When I first heard this I imagined myself holding a delectable double fudge brownie in my hand and being able to taste it through my fingers. Wouldn't that be weird? Well catfish are use to it. Catfish have a highly developed sense of taste. Some have jokingly referred to the catfish as a swimming tongue. It's no wonder why, because its body is covered in taste buds from mouth to fin! The highest concentration of taste buds is on the cats whiskers

Understanding all of these senses can help you catch more catfish. Reel in the big one!

To read more great catfishing tips check out this site Catfishing Tips Homepage

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