Hey everyone, I just got stationed here in central Texas and I would like to get in to fishing for catfish. My prior fishing experience is all salt water so needless to say I'm taking on learning a whole new ball game. I got a rod and now I'm looking to get some tackle. I've seen those kits they sell specifically for catfish but I think those may be a bit of a waste. Through my internet research I've come up with this list:
1. Treble hooks. 2. Circle hooks. 3. Barrel swivels. 4. Slip sinkers 5. Slip bobbers

Any advice on what I'm missing as well as specific sizes would be greatly appreciated. I'll be fishing from the bank and the reel has 10lb line on it.

I get all mine from pro angler in lucas. I am local so I just go by his place, but he has a website with everything on there as well. I use a sliding weight clip, bumper, swivel, cigar float then either a treble or circle hook. Treble hooks are size 4, and circle hooks are 7/0. I mostly use a 2 oz weight since I don't have deal with a lot of current but if you are bank fishing might want a little more weight than that. I am just getting back into catching some catfish as it has been a few years since I used to chase them with a buddy of mine. If you are bank fishing I would also get a good rod holder to stick in the ground.

Click here to buy tackle

Walter

Get you some chemdawgs dough bait and a tub of punch bait. If you dont wanna order bait off line then get you some cj's or danny kings or sudden impact. Now if you wanna order some good texas punch baits then pm me and I'll tell u the ones I think u should try out. Danny kings is made in tx and is a good bait but it doesn't produce like some of the others I know of in my experience. You sound about good on tackle. Just get some good weights and fish fallen down trees and wooded areas and drop offs and if you can find some muddy banks fish them hard with punch bait. Get you a pair of pliers to get the trebble hoooks out. Other then that you should be good.

I would add a pair of teamcatfish fish grippers to my list....They will HOLD the fish while you get the hooks out..

Thanks guys, I picked up some Danny kings because it was convienent. I'm headed out tonight I'll let you how it goes.

What kind of cats are you chasing? Eaters? Trophies? Both? That plays a roll as well...and if you've got saltwater rigs. Then more than likely if your intending on chasing trophy cats then you might already have alot of the right stuff...for trophy cats which Is all I fish for. I use. A variety of different hooks..but it all comes down to what works best for YOU. Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise...I personally use the heaviest tackle I can...and lot of it is overkill...but better safe than sorry...if I were you. I would make sure to have a good sized conventional bait caster or spinning rod that has a bait runner. Look into the penn squall sql15lw. Or penn 6500 spinfisher V Live Liner.
Rig it with some 65-100# power pro or tug o war. As for swivels....the absolute hands down best brand I personally have found are made by Spro.they actually have a lbs rating. I use the 230# test swivels..and they are tiny..you can get 130# I'm not sure about smaller than that. But you can normally order them in a pack of 50 of them for like $13-$15 on ebay. Free shipping. Then I would go to academy. Get a roll of the trilene or Berkeley mono Big Game 50lbs test (can't remember if it's called trilene or if it's just Berkeley. But trilene is a brand made by berkeley) it'll run you only like $8 and it'll last forever. As for hooks...I'm gonna go back to what I said before...it's all personal preference. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa...it's personally use gamakatsu 8/0 octopus circles and normally have amazing hookup ratios. I do wish they made them up to 10/0 but oh well. If they aren't working as well because the fish just aren't feeding aggressive or are being finicky I will switch to a 8/0-10/0 eagle claw King kahle or Team Catfish Double action since I am able to either set the hook or just reel down and let the fish hook itself like a circle hook. Which most the time I set the hook with em unless the rod just gets hammered and it hooks itself before I can even grab the rod lol. Oh. And when I use the gamakatsu. I always snell on the hook. It seems to improve hookup ratio in my experience. I also do it most of the time for any other hook I use except trebles.which I don't even use unless I'm adding one for a stinger when the fish are just mouthing the bait and not being aggressive. And as for floats..if I'm using cut bait or anything that isn't alive. I use a slotted cigar float. So I run my desired sized egg sinker through my braided main line. Then I use a Palomar knot to tie my swivel. Then I cut off about 2-3ft of my big game mono to use for a leader tie it to my swivel. Slide on my cigar flat. Then snell on my gamakatsu octopus circle or Palomar or snell on my king kahle or double action hook. Then adjust my float on my leader so that it will lift my bait up approximately 1.5-2ft off the bottom and out of the mud..that seems to be the perfect strike zone for catfish...remember. this all just what works for me.. it may not work for you. But hopefully thus gives you a good idea of where to start if you plan on chasing some trophies..if you have any more questions. Feel free to pm me. Or text me. 7852304334

Oh. And when it comes to tackle...eBay is your best friend...there are some other good sites as well. Like bottomdwellerstackle.com. but ebay has by far the widest selection and variety of everything you could possibly need

Thanks ryan but he doesn't need to order online he lives close enough to pick it up in person and i can help you out while your hear

I'm not aiming for trophies just yet, 99% of my fishing will be from the bank for the time being.

Well I didn't catch anything today but I found a spot that I believe will be productive once I get dialed in. The area seemed pretty shallow with a good amount of vegetation. I saw a couple of bass feeding and one good sized fish grab something off the surface. It didn't jump just kind a came up grabbed something and rolled on back down. Do channels ever surface feed?

So I think it's a decent site which means it's got to be the bait or the presentation. I was using Danny Kings because I came across it while shopping for something else. Chemdawg I'm definitely going to get in contact with you this payday, until then I'll give it another shot with Danny Kings and maybe use a Carolina rig this time.

7' Rod
25lb line
40lb leader
2oz layflat weight
#8 circle hook
2" float 10" above hook
And last but not least....
Throw Net for fresh bait.

just give me a shout text or pm i live in copperas cove where are you fishing. if your using punch baits dough baits i found the best way to use them in on a treble hook and a slip cork just off the bottom and dont for get the chum even in my boat i dont fish very deep 1-3 feet at most deep for me is 6 ft