Learning how to fish for catfish in a pond can be quite tricky but its actually not as hard as it seems. You have to know where to find them first and then what bait you should give them. If you give them the wrong bait you they wont go for the bite and you will most likely not get any catches.
Do you know that there’s different catfish species and they all don’t like the same bait? Find out the very best baits that you should give to each specific catfish.
By the end of this guide you will learn how to fish for catfish in a pond.
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Table Of Contents
Where To Find Them?
When your fishing for catfish in a pond depending on the temperature of the water catfish will tend to swim where the water is much cooler. When its a hot sunny day the catfish will be on the deepest part of the pond so that they can get out of the heat.
So when your casting on a warmer day throw your cast on the deeper spots of the pond. As the sun settles down and the water gets much cooler the catfish will swim away from the deep end of the pond and up towards the surface.
If you want to catch catfish much easier as the day gets cooler you will see that they come up closer to the shallows. Another great key indicator when fishing for catfish are going to be rocks, cast near the rocks in the pond you will most likely catch a catfish.
Normally where you can catch bluegill is where you will find catfish because they love to eat them. If the pond that your fishing in has a deep trench throw a cast in that location catfish normally swim around there, especially in the day time.
What To Do When Fishing For Catfish?
Make sure that when your fishing for catfish to always stick and move. What this means is that you should never stay in one place if your not catching any catfish and always be on the move when you are trying to catch them.
When catfish see their bait it doesn’t take them long to go for the bite so don’t sit and wait. Personally the max amount time that I wait is ten minutes then I recast towards a different location you don’t have to necessarily move spots but just make sure to put your lure somewhere else than where it was.
At night its going to be a lot more different your going to need to be just a bit more patient. I generally wait forty minutes before moving to a new spot. When it comes to catfish its very important that you always choose the right size bait and the right lure.
If your a newer fisher the way that you will know when your lure is too big is when your getting many more bites and a lot more misses. When this happens your going to need to downgrade your lure size and go with a smaller bait.
The Right Catfish Line
Most catfish fishers don’t really care about the line they use they just throw it on without caring what type of line it even is. With years of trial and error the line I noticed that gave me the most success was the monofilament line with a twenty pound test this line can handle all types of catfish in the water as long as the drag on your fishing reel is set the right way.
But for channel catfish I like the twelve pound test monofilament line since their smaller you don’t need that much weight on the line. Its light and simple to catch and just makes it easy in general thanks to its sensitivity.
Using heavier line that goes over twenty pounds can cause problems even though it is much more difficult to break. Also since catfish don’t care much when they see your line and will still go for the bite their is no need for you to use leader line.
What’s great about monofilament line is that its visible so when you fishing in a pond it really allows you to see the activity that’s going on with the line. Remember for flathead catfish fishing or blues go with the twenty pound test and for channel catfish you can go with twelve pound test.
The Best Catfish Baits
Their are three main types of catfish species channel catfish, blues and flatheads so depending on the type that your going for will determine which bait you will use. Once you figure out which species of catfish your going to be fishing for you will have much more success in catching them.
If you find that the pond your fishing has blue catfish then definitely use either skip jack herring or shad. Blue catfish really love their bait all oiled up and I use shad bait my self its a great oily bait.
The one that will work best for you is the fish that is native to your area. As for flathead catfishing the bait that I have had the most success with is the live bait. I recommend you use bluegill, black salt fish and also perch fish.
But make sure that you use live bait that is legal in your state. Finally channel catfish, the best bait that you can use for them is the stink bait. Their are many different stink baits some good and some bad so make sure you use the right type. The stink bait that I like to use is the punch bait because its a lot simpler to fish with.
Having the right bait is very crucial when learning how to fish for catfish in a pond. Always make sure you know what catfish species swims in your pond its going to increase your success in catching catfish by a whole lot!
What Not To Do When Fishing For Catfish In A Pond
Always fishing deep can be a very bad thing when your fishing for catfish. Throw your cast in many different locations instead of just casting it into the deeper end of the pond. Most the time catfish can just be right up near the bank especially if you see bluegill, shad or crappie because that is what they feed on.
Around june thermoclines cause oxygen loss during the summer between twenty to thirty feet deep which means catfish cant live there. Never get locked into fishing in the deeper locations for catfish for that one of many reasons always focus on where their fish bait is at.
I wouldn’t recommend fishing in the same pond location constantly when fishing catfish go to different lakes, rivers, and ponds near you check them all out. Just because if you catch catfish many times in one spot doesn’t mean that you will be able to every single time temperatures change and they move away.
Also sitting in the same spot for long periods of time hoping for the catch isn’t going to help you move around at least every ten minutes. When i was figuring out how to fish for catfish in a pond i had to learn it the hard way through trial and error. Overtime I noticed that I would catch many more catfish if I move more often and casted towards different locations.
During different seasons catfish just aren’t feeding because of their fish feeding cycles. Also sometimes the catfish only feed early so if you only have a couple of hours to fish then you wont have as much success in catching catfish.
Don’t always use big baits, start off with a more small to medium sized fish bait because if your throwing way to big of a baits then your going to have a much more difficult time trying to catch catfish.
Just because your fishing in a pond doesn’t always mean theirs catfish in there speak to the local fishers and ask them if theirs any there. Maybe that pond is just not getting stocked with any catfish so your going to have to pack your travel rod and drive to a new location.
When your figuring out how to fish for catfish in a pond remember that patience is key don’t leave your spot too early, practice makes perfect so the more often you fish the better you will get and the more fish you will catch so always keep at it and have fun!
In Conclusion
In conclusion learning how to fish for catfish in a pond will be much easier with everything you have learned today. Now that you know how to fish for catfish in a pond go out and catch as many as you can!