river fishing tips

[spadoc79]

I fished the Ochlockonee River for the first time this past weekend and I enjoyed it but my tackle that I use for the lake isn't gonna cut it....

the section of river i am fishing is only about 25-30 feet across but has some pretty good snags and decent current....what do you river fishers use as far as tackle and bait? i'm mainly lookin to catch catfish....we got channel cats, yellow bullhead and flatheads.

Thanks


my friend Jimmy here caught the big channel cat and I caught the small channel and the yellow cat.

 

[sbuse]

when i got out for big cats i use my extra heavy muskie rod. it is 7' 5" with a shimono baitcaster i don't remember the name, but it is one below the calcutta. it has 60-80lb test power pro. a big 6 o. hook with a 5-6" bullhead for big flatheads. they get 50lb plus fish on the rivers by me with this rig. for channels i use simmilar but with liver or cut shad/bait. i sometimes get them on crawlers.

heavy current i use atleast 2oz lead and it is in the form of a flat tear drop style sinker. i use only slip sinker rigs for the river. pyramid sinkers work well also. egg sinker and bell sinkers roll around to much for good current flows

 

[pudgeking]

most important things for fishing in rivers with bait: 1. use a sinker heavy enough to stay put in the current, and 2. use a rig that will keep the bait suspended above the bottom so that you don't snag.

after that, it's just a matter of placement and waiting. I would suggest using a rod holder and maybe a bell on the end of your rod for a strike indicator. Get your bait out with one rod (or more) and then cast lures with another rod, or just sit down and read/drink beer/whatever.

 

[TankDempsey]

I have heard that when catfishing that you should use a slip bobber with a split shot below it so then the catfish go to bite they don't feel tension from heavier sinkers tied to the line, and instead the line slides through the slip bobber when they take it. Just a thought.

 

[spadoc79]

i rigged up my shimano spheros(it has 40lb test) and got it ready to go and respooled my UL spinner with 20lb braid.....gonna hit up the river this friday evening/night, hopefully I'll have some pics of the big cats we plan to catch....thanks for the tips....any more suggestions are def welcome.

 

[spadoc79]

well we fish Jim Woodruff Dam in Chatahochee last night. Got there at 6:30pm and didnt get a bite till after sunset(8pm) and I missed whatever it was, about 20 minutes later hook up and it fought for all of 15 seconds then it was dead weight, ended up being a 39 inch needle nose gar. nothing for the next 45 minutes so we walked down the shoreline to a rocky spot and tried again, while waiting i spot lighted a couple of small gator gar, I shined the light on ones head and eased my way to him in about 1.5 feet of water and was able to grab him by hand..lol...he was only 2 feet, there were several other gar just hanging in the shallows there, i wish i had a big enough setup and i woulda brought a few home....we didnt catch any catfish but atleast we werent skunked...gonna be shark fishing this next weekend...i got pics on my phone ill get posted ASAP.