People go here for sandbass and hybrids during the spring. People are missing out some good channel catfishing in this creek.
Find a brush pile or timber laydowns and fish it with cutshad or dipbaits. Reason for dipbaits its a gooey substance that sends particles down while its slowly stripping away from the tube, attracting cats from a far distance.
I caught numerous amounts of cats this way.
You could literally catch 8 cats in the same pocket ot laydown.
If you dont get bit between 5-10min radius. Move on too a different laydown and pocket.
You staging in one spot isnt going to get your limit at times.
Move on and keep fishing different spots.
Catfish arnt too line shy so 8lb test would be fine.
And yes i do get snagged a bunch of times but thats what fishing is all about.
Give this a try
I use
An egg sinker 1/8- 1/2 is plenty or even a size 2 splitshot and a #4 hook.
Have fun and goodluck.
Ive had better luck on shad fillets latley.
Enjoy

Any catfish bait at walmart that will bring in the catfish??

Charlies dipbait

Livers would be okay as well

I like punch bait when the current is low, or in some slack water under a slip cork. The cheapest, lightest slip corks you can get. Don't get some fancy Thill slip bobber...get these . 3 for $.89. The key to a slip bobber rig is to go as light as possible. Channel cats can be very sensitive to resistance, and if they feel any, they will spit the hook out. Put just enough split shot above the hook to make the float stand up. #4 or #6 trebble hook. Watch the bobber closely...as soon as you see it go under, set the hook!

CJ's punch bait and Danny King's punch bait catch channels. Go over to the catfish section of TFF and find Stubby. He sells a cheese bait that flat out catches fish. The only thing I've had a problem with stubby's bait is that it doesn't seem to stay on the hook as well as punch bait, but it's normally not a problem.

I met a guy in Lavon a few weeks ago and he said chicken breasts are the best bait for catfish.

That's what I used tonight. I cut them into 1-2" chuncks, soaked them overnight in clam juice, and sprayed them with dead red before I cast them out. I had fish hitting my line in under a minute every time.

There are catfish guides who use chicken breast. They say it outfishes shad sometimes. Even for big blues.

where do you buy dead red? is it effective with anything else besides cats?

Academy 5.99$

Thanks

However...for channels, it's hard to beat punch bait or some of the baits being sold on the catfish forum. I used chicken breast tonight because I knew I'd be in some current, and I wanted it to stay on the hook. I also wanted to catch some blues which typically don't go for punch bait like channels. I did end up with a 1.3lb blue tonight. I think I may have done better for blues closer to the mouth than I was.

I wonder if chicken breast soaked in ground up liver juice will work since it will stay on the hook better than liver

Chicken in anise oil is the bomb

garlic powder on chicken liver is the shiznet

Bacon