howdy all,

I haven't done any fishing since I was a kid and recently I felt like getting back out there so I picked up a couple new rods and reels, dusted off my tackle box and hit the pedernales river near Stonewall, TX.

on one rod I was running a Kentucky rig with magic bait, hoping to catch catfish. and on the second rod I was using night crawlers on a bobber set up. I fished from 1pm till dark changing spots every 30 minutes or so and didn't get a single bite till just before dark. I caught what I believe were two Bluegill and a small bass. while I was hoping to catch some eating sized fish at that point I was happy to catch anything.



my basic questions are,

are catfish and bass more active/hungry in the mornings and evenings? or should I be able to catch them any time of the day?


seemed like the fish were more active towards dusk.


are dams good places to try and catch fish?

this area of the river has several small dams and I was thinking it might be a good place to fish as I assume the dams keep them from going any further. at least in non flood conditions.


any advice on what bait/lures to use for catfish or bass?


I tried magic bait for catfish and for bass I tried night crawlers and top water lures like the hula popper and jitterbug. only thing that got a bite was the night crawlers.

any advice would be appreciated!
thanks.

Inline spinners have caught me more bass, and the big ones, than any other lure. You'll catch everything on them. Cats are shallow, 1-6ft in calm water or near current; look for cover (wood, rocks, reeds, flooded bushes, etc). Topwater bass lures are a whole different animal, fun when you get a strike but I'd still rather use something else. Jig & pig is always good in a river, sooooo many crawdads.

If you really want to stick with bait try 2-3 inch live sunfish. Bass and cats will tear them up.

Eric

One noob to the other .
Chunk the magic bait and the worms.
Get you a cast net catch some shad .
Use shad or chicken liver for bait or even hotdogs if your hurting for bait
The cats are shallow from what I understand for the time being .
Carolina rig or the slip float are some good starting options .
Don't get discouraged my lake sucks to and I sit out there for hours as well without anything but perch to show but then everyonce in a while I have my day .
You get fed up with the rod and real run a Trotline from the bank . It's a pain somtimes but the end result is usually always fish for the fryer . Pm if you want got some diagrams for trotlines and hooks and rig setups and stuff kind of in the same boat you are as far as exp.
And foremost ask away on this forum I've asked a million stupid questions on here and I don't think one time I can recall someone being an a$$ and calling me out on it always been very knowledgable people with very helpful insight and advice . Which I turn produces at times awesome results !

Most of your questions are going to have answers that vary depending on 4 things: Weather, Water Condition, Time of Day, & Time of Year.

Now what I'm about to say can vary by fish\species and\or fisherman's options, but it's a good general rule of thumb.

Weather: Fish are very sensitive to Air Pressure (barometric pressure). Low Pressure means that it's cloudy\rainy weather. Usually right after a cold front rolls in. This is historically the worst time to fish. High Pressure is from a warm front and and less cloudy. This is a good time to fish.

With all the being said most fisherman swear the best time to fish is when the pressure is high but falling. Basically, A STORM IS COMIN. The reason being that fish know that a storm is about to roll in so they go into feeding mode before the weather turns.

Water Conditions: Water condition is mostly affected by weather. I know with bass that if the water is murky and risen they will move inward towards the bank. Also if you start using plastic lures picking the right color for the right condition is very important. Honestly, we could have a whole discussion on just water conditions and lures.

Time of Day: Dusk and Dawn are the best times of the day to catch fish, this is not a myth. Fish are simply more active at the beginning and end of the day. During the middle of the day (depending on time of year) the fish are looking for shade.

Time of Year: in the spring the fish are going to be closer to the bank because they are bedding up and spawning. At the end of the spring the fish are going to start moving back into the deeper water for the rest of the year.


are catfish and bass more active/hungry in the mornings and evenings? or should I be able to catch them any time of the day?

Your best bet is is morning or evening. You can catch fish midday but it will be slow. For bass you want to change up your tactics midday.

are dams good places to try and catch fish?

HECK YES!!! Some of the largest catfish ever caught were next to dams.

any advice on what bait/lures to use for catfish or bass?

For catfish I usually fish on the bottom. Raw shrimp works great. I have also had amazing success using plain white bread. remove the crust and then ball it up onto a hook.

Bass is a whole nother animal *Species*. There are so many options and all tailored to the 4 different conditions I posted above. There are alot of amazing bass fishing tips on YouTube. I'd start there.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

If you are trying for bass and cats. Try some large size minnows. Float a few near submerged trees and bushes. Then even throw some out on the bottom. Big minnows can catch both bass and channel cat, and the occasional gaspergou (mostly known as a drum I think). Medium sized minnows will make it easier to catch crappie too. Knight crawlers can catch bass and channel cats. But have a higher chance to get pecked off by gills first. When I was little in the 90's my dad and I watched a local guy at the Texoma dam catch 3 giant blues with knight crawlers. He used a 15 ft surf casting rod and would cast all the way out to the middle right before the OK side spill way. So yeah there are some big fish at dams

Echoing uacdub, and I've had great luck with raw shrimp off the bottom for cats. I've wanted to try punch baits for a while, but the shrimp has worked fine for me. My advice for cats would be to use large circle hooks. The smaller cats inhale the J hooks into their gut, but the large circle hooks are better for hooking up on the side of the mouth. I hate hooking up small catfish, so I use a 8/0 or 10/0 hook. That's really helped my catfish game.

folks I really appreciate all the help.

was at wally world today and picked up a couple in line spinners, a couple of jigs and a package of crayfish. going to see what I can do next week on the bass and after that i'll see what I can do on the cats.

One word


Chickenliver

Get some Yamamoto Senkos. Watermelon, pumpkin, black, or any of those coxlors with some red or blue flake. Fish them weightless, either Texas rig or wacky. Senkos flat out catch bass.

A cast net will pay off big for catching bait for catfish. If you can't find shad, chicken breast is my go to. I'm not the only one who has seen it outperform shad fished side by side. This time of year (picking up in May-june) , channels will easily be caught under a float with punch bait in shallow water and along rip rap where they will be spawning. Punch bait and other cheese based baits like Stubby's are the bait of choice for eater channels, imo.

gotreal, heavy lead.

thanks for the tips!! i'll be sure to try both chicken liver and chicken breast when I try for Cats. also going to try and get some Senkos for the bass.

got another quick question for y'all.

as I mentioned before every now and then i'd like to keep a fish or two to eat. while i'd prefer catfish I wouldn't turn my nose up at a nice eating sized bass.

from what I've been reading here on the forum, the bass are currently spawning in the shallows. I wouldn't want to eat a fish while it's eggs/young'uns are too small to fend for themselves, so to speak. so when would be an appropriate time to harvest them. or does it really matter?

Just a hunch, but I don't think too many people eat LM Bass. I might be wrong but I never have.

I stick with the catfish, Brim (blue gill), or crappie. The LM Bass fishin is just for fun.

I would surmise a lot of people do eat Largemouth, but they do not frequent fishing forums, and if they do frequent, and they do eat bass, they do not mention it.

I'm a catch and release fisherman for all fish. I don't actually like the taste, but obviously I don't have a problem hookin' in the mouth and pullin' on them!

...------

Bass doesn't taste bad or anything, but it's more of a sport fish so most people throw em back. If your goal is to catch fish to eat, stick with catfish.

Don't listen to anyone that says to forget the worms. Sure, there are better baits for blue cats but for channel cats, worms are great. But don't ONLY use worms. Try out multiple baits each time you go, when you find out what's working that day, switch to that. Plus, worms are very easy and convenient.

One of the most important things about fishing... structure structure structure. This is true for most species. Bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, etc... all love structure. And structure is a broad term, trees, flooded grass, rocks, bridge pilings, etc... all is considered structure and should be targeted.

I consider myself a newbie too. Started seriously fishing last year and went almost once every week. Now I can (most of the time) consistently catch fish . In freshwater I mainly target crappie, whitebass. LM bass for fun. Here's what I learnt from other people and from forums such as TFF...
Best times of the day: dawn & dusk.
This is generally true-but not absolute. It has to do with season, weather etc.
Example, lake somerville dam, during fall and summer, crappie is active at 6:30am, then around 10am, then around 12noon...etc. every a few hours there is an activity peak lasting about 30min.
Lake conroe bridge (boat/kayak access), summer and fall, same as lake somerville, you get a cyclic activity every few hours. Spring, not so much. Usually around 10am it gets windy and bites shut down or off. Early morning bite is great for 1.5-2h.
Yegua creek, winter, I never fished morning (I kayak fish) due to the distance I had to paddle to the spots. but bites turn on at specific time like fish are using clock usually around 11-noon- this is when the temperature is getting a bit warmer and the pressure falls.
I fished at these spots many times and it's clear there is a pattern which in turn depends on location, weather, season etc. I don't know exactly how it works.

Location: Dams are good - One of the best places to fish (freshwater). Also, in rivers, eddies, turns, deep holes, covers etc. I don't have much experience with large rivers or lake banks. With creeks it's all bout finding spots. 99% of fish is at 1% of place. On lakes, I know points are very good. But what is a point? I suggest reading some artiles online...

fishing is about being at the right place, at the right time, using the right presentation. All three needs to be right.

So lures/bait:
Not much experience with catfish fishing- done little of it. Other people suggested castneting baits from the water you fish-it makes sense to me. they may be more efficient.
I mainly target crappie, white bass. with these, I think lures such as jigs are more efficient most of the time and more convenient. but what water depth? Again I think it depends on location, water flow,etc... and speed of retrieval matters too. LM bass: There is a whole industry about fishing bass. And a lot of the knowledge about it is transferable to other species. Also, most of the time, fish are at or near bottom. so jigs is better than bobbers a lot of the time. Jigs are also better than using a sinker because you can cast and retrieve to search for fish. I recommend shad tails on jigs or beetle bou jigs. You can consistently catch crappie, white bass, lm bass, sunfish, drum with these. And these are cheap

Have fun fishing!