Hey yall,

Ive been catching cats on almost every trip (thank you all for the tips and support).

However, on occasion I reel in a cat that has swallowed the hook entirely, resulting in me having to cut the line and tie up a new rig.

Im currently using sponged treble hooks.

Should I use 'circle hooks'?
If so, what do yall suggest?

Im currently using the following baits:

- Catfish Charlie's Cheese dip bait
- CJ's Shad Punch bait

If you are using dip/punch bait it is hard to avoid. I only use those baits when I plan to keep fish. For catch and release I only fish with fresh shad on 8/0 circle hooks. You can try circle hooks with a tube to hold the bait but they will swallow that too.

Might go up to a #.6 treble hook. Might help s little but it's gonna happen quite often

when I fish with puch bait i use a #2 treble. This seems to do two things (1) no 3" fish to fin you and (2) helps the hook swallowing problem.

If you are fishing with more than one rod, it is easy for the catfish to swallow the hooks. I use # 6 treble hooks and I ask my clients to keep their rod in their hands as much as possible and if they do that then that reduces the chance of the catfish swallowing the hook on the bit. If they have to do something else in the boat I require that they put the rod in the rod holder. That eliminates rods going overboard. Rods in rod holders and then getting bites increases the chance of swallowed hooks. I also need to tell you that I use cheese bait not cut bait. Keeping slack out of the line is also a factor that lessens the chance of catfish swallowing the hooks. However, you are going to have some swallow the hooks on a day of fishing. THE KEY IS NO SLACK LINE ,HANDS ON THE REEL, AND DO NOT LET THEM RUN BEFORE SETTING THE HOOK.

Ok, makes sense.

Yes, I do fish with more than one rod (1 setup for the cats, 1 for the bass) and leave slack in the line. While on my trip, I stay nearby my cat setup and wait for the noise when something takes the bait. And out of every 5 hook sets, almost 3 of them the catfish already swallowed it entirely.

When yall say "#6", do yall mean '6' or '6/0'?
Sorry to ask, but the hook size confuses me at times.

Just #6 about the size of a nickel where a #8 is about the size of a dime

Okay thanks all of yall.

Anyone know any online stores that sell catfishing equipment?
(Preferably Texas-based, but any is fine).

Academy's and BPS' often stock very little catfishing supplies.

Proanglertackle.com is Texas based. Tex is on the forum.

Bottomdwellerstackle.com

Careful with Bottomdwellers it can be addictive!!! Order everything you need, and everything you may need later the first time so you don't go back a week later and cough up another $10 bux for shipping!

Haha. Yep.

I bought a bunch of egg sinkers and maybe 5 no rolls the 1st time. I was bank fishing with 7-8 rods on a windy day and after a few lines getting tangled I tryed a No Roll for the 1st time and BAM no more tangles... Went back on and had to order the no rolls!!!

Did they get you too caribou?

8/0 gamakatsu hooks, fish grips, 3oz no rolls, cigar floats, kat juice. I went $50 worth of crazy.

Solid order. I can't wait to have another reason to order more. More importantly, the weekend needs to hurry up and get here so i can hit the water

You and me both.

Try a team catfish furry thang with a double action circle hook. It'll hold a gob of that stink bait and very rarely get swallowed. I gave up treble hooks for catfishing totally two years ago.

If your gonnan use the punch/dip baits keep your sinkers close to the hook so you feel the bite as soon as they hit. If you leave a leader that gives them a chance to swallow the hook before you feel them. When you feel a bite set the hook quickly so they don't have time to swallow it. These 2 tricks will lessen your problem but you are always going to have some really hungry cats that will still swallow. I get those hooks back at the fillet table. I also gave up treble hook fishing. Nothing now but circle hooks and cut bait. Good luck. PS I gave up trebles because I do not want to catch channels and that is almost all you catch on punch/dip baits.

Just like Stinkbait Tom said. the # 6 is about the size of a nickel. When buying them (treble hooks) the carton or container will have # 6. This is good for fish of varying size. The Ivie lake record of over 20 lb channel cat came from my boat and it was caught on a # 6 hook. I also use 20 lb Big Game main line and 17 lb leader line.
I take it you are casting for bass and when the catfish rod takes off you get it. By then he definitely swallows the hook normally. Don't worry about those scaley fish and concentrate on the catfish. I bass fished for over 20 years in bass clubs and tournaments and thought I had to always have the latest and best. I finally got some sense and all I do now is catfish. I can finally smell the the air and enjoy the lake instead of running and gunning from place to place. Good luck and try those 3 pointers andyou will have better luck keeping your hook.

Yes, thanks.
I was checking out their website today and those 'furry thangs' look like they'll hold punchbait better. I'll definitely give them a try.