Best way to get started catfishing?

I want to get started catfishing but don�t have any gear or spots. Pay day is Friday and I want to be fishing by fri night... any help?

Channel cats or Big Blues? Bank or Boat.? What area.?
Going on a Guide trip is a Quick lesson........

Bass Combos will work for channel cats........ Big Blues there�s multiple options depending on Budget.......
Winter Time is Prime Time for Big Fish.

Book a trip with Gravely - he�ll school ya.

http://www.lewisvillecatfish.com

Are you fishing from the bank or from a boat, kayak, canoe?

A stocked pond might be a good start. Get a cheap ugly stick combo & rig punch/dip bait or night crawlers.

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Start with channel cats and work your way up. Hire a guide to show you the ropes and ramp you up. Get friendly with guys on the forum and don�t be afraid to ask people questions. anyone who is consistently good at catfishing has learned from someone else or had someone mentor them. Find some likeminded fisherman that fish your lake and start building fishing contacts. There are a million ways to skin a cat and every catfisherman I have ever met does things different then the next. Most importantly, get out there and chase em as often as you can! I will give you forwarning that Catfish Fever is highly contagious and very difficult to get rid of. Luckily it�s a easy to treat the symptoms of the fever by going catfishing. Good luck and let the journey begin!!

About any rod and reel will get ya started. Zebcos have reeled in a lot of cats. Start with a good stinkbait for Channelcat under a slip cork or Carolina rig. Through out some 20%!range cubes to chum them in. Fish with the wind in your face.
Learn to throw a cast net to get fresh shad. Use a santee Cooper,three way or Carolina rig. A quick google search will show them to ya.

Boat or Bank is the biggest question here.

As far as gear, just about anything will work but I do have suggestions. The $20-$30 bigger spinning combos will get ya started just don't expect them to last you very long. Personally, I use heavy braided line. Wouldn't go any smaller than 20lbs test.

Get 1oz egg weights, swivels, 4-6 ott circle hooks and big cigar floats. Set up a santee cooper rig.



Cast net for shad and bluegill, maybe a carp/buffalo/drum for cutbait. Choose your hook size and bait size based on what size fish you want to catch. Rod holders that WONT MOVE when a big fish slams it and some copper bells and you're all set.

Sit back in your chair and wait for the bells to ring. Remember that circle hooks are designed so the fish hook themselves, no need to set the hook.

Hire a guide. Worth every penny of the investment. A guide will give you the pointers needed from rod/reel combos, line, hooks, weights, rigging, what locations to consider different times of year, etc.

If you have a boat you may consider building about 10-20 juglines. Its a great way to get started fishing and is the way I got started fishing my local lake. If you are going to get paid at 5 pm friday and just want to go fishing that evening then you'll have to go to walmart or academy and get some ugly stick combo rod/reels and some basic stuff to make a Carolina rig as somebody posted a little earlier. Best advice is to pay a guide and learn the ropes for any species you're after though. I went four times with a guide that does white bass and hybrids and that was the best money I've ever spent for making me a more successful angler.

For Big Fish - Walmart get Quantum Optix 60 spinning reels and Berkeley Big Game 8� MH/H rod. 50-65 lb braid, biggest circle hooks they got and 1.5-2 oz. egg sinkers and Carolina rig or 3 way rig with bank sinkers, biggest cigar peg floats they got. 2-3�. 40 lb mono leaders.

Thanks guys! I have a boat and a slip on eagle mountain lake. I hired a guide for Saturday morning. Excited to learn and get this party started!

I have a feeling all your fancy ditch pickle rods are about to start collecting dust. Welcome to the party! Come on in and grab a beer! Hope you like big girls...lots of fat ones at this party!!

Walmart has some pretty nice budget fishing combos. The Lew's Cat Daddy for $20 will be perfect for the channel cats. Its pre-spooled with 15lb high-vis mono, I think.

So how�d it go.?

Caught a couple first time out. No monsters but really enjoyed the process, I�ll keep practicing and hoping to post some good pictures.

What�s better to eat? Medium sized or the real big ones?

Small to medium size under 15lbs

5-8 lbrs.......

You might also consider going to a catfish farm. You do pay by the pound for everything you catch and maybe a small entrance fee. You can pay a little extra to walk out with filets.
No messing with boat or fuel charges which offsets or is more than the fish cost.
Fishfarm makes their living on you catching fish so you are going someplace with very high likely hood of catching catfish.
Ask the staff where to fish, what to use, .....
Usually have worms and shrimp for purchase there.
Most of the customers are pretty friendly and can give you some pointers about what is working for them.
Get used to catching a few in this environment then go out to the lake where you can add in locating the cats.

When out on the lake if planning to stay in one area, you might consider throwing out one or 2 juglines while you are fishing from the boat checking on them every once in a while. Put in on upside of cove and let drift across while you are fishing.
Following link has very simple and inexpensive jugline setup(could be cheaper by using a gallon jug for float and using rubber bands to hold hooks when not on water.) Bait with blue gill/shad, stink bait, liver, shrimp.
http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=10731

I usually have one line out under a large cigar float when I paddle my kayak over to check on my jugs and sometimes hook a cat while I am untangling jug, rebaiting or getting my cat off the jugline.

You got a good intro from being out with the guide, now go out and fish.

For a first inexpensive catfishing rod/reel check out the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Catfish Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo at Walmart.
Or for a rod that will work for small cats plus bass, Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo

If you're targeting blue cats, nothing beats fresh shad. Get a cast net and learn to throw it. If you can budget for it, get a bait tank. If not, you can fill a small cooler 1/2 full of ice and just throw the shad on top of the ice. I think live shad are a little more effective, but have caught plenty of blues on dead shad.

I like using 3/0 or 5/0 Kahle hooks and 20# leader. Main line kind of depends on the capacity of your reel. I use 12# on my spinning reels and 15# on my baitcasting reels. Again if it fist your budget, nice baitcasting reels are the way to go. A catfish big enough to strip the drag on a spinning reel can leave your line extremely twisted by the time you land him.

Run Braid ........