i hybrid striper and sandbass fish all the time out of my centerconsole boat. occasionally i catch a blue by accident. now i want to catch them on purpose. when i use shad how should i cut them. sould i fish them right on the bottom or up off the bottom. should i use two hooks per shad. should i use more than one shad per rod. when i drift should i drag the bottom. what kind of sinker should i use. should i put the sinker below the shad. should i expect to catch lots of cats in the middle of the day. i would like to go catfishing with someone my boat or yours doesnt matter. i got lots more questions.

in chunks
off bottom
one
one
depends
one ounce
yes
by all means

Dr. Spartan's Fishatorial Center

set you up a santee cooper rig, 2 oz sinker on the bottom with float to keep shad off the bottom. #5 to #8 circle hook. cut shad, whole shad or perch heads. get a big net and have fun if you get out to lewisville PM me drift 4,6 or 8 rods

ok perfect. how about the punch baits. use them. yes or no. if so then drift them to. and then also how high in the water column should i be fishing. i know its been answered once but can we talk about it a little more. i really want to go cat fish hunting and i need to know where in the column they are like on a blue bird day. maybe a windy day. maybe a overcast day. in the fall. summer spring and winter. thanks guys.

oh yeah how about water temps.

Punch baits are mainly for channels and usually work alot better in warmer water temps. The lower the water temps the more the blues turn on!!

Gittchee uhh cast net and go for shad and minnows around boat docks, weedy areas, grass, banks area, etc.

Stay with natural bait that is native to the water you are fishing and you will do very well.

Shad is an A+ bait anyway you look at it. So are "ghost" minnows and other small bait fish.

Is there any real difference in using cut shad or cut bluegill?

When using cut shad I usually try to knock off most of the scales and cut at a 45deg angle from the back of the belly upward toward about a inch and a half from the back of the head, my thoughts are the angle gives you more surface cut area exposed for the blood to seep out. I use 2oz snagg free sinkers on a santee-cooper rig with 4-8/0 circle hooks. The snagg free sinkers are great for drifting as well as fishing in flooded timber. Buffalo is also great bait for blues and I use it alot in the winter when shad is hard to come by. I especially like using the head. The buffalo stays on the hook a long time and lasts a long time. You can buy it at several Asian and Mexican markets. I hope this helps some.