Catfish through the ice?

What bait would one use to target catfish through the ice? I’ve run into a few on my ponds back home while catching gills.

I assume target the same structure as you would normaly (snags and such).

Mush up some live fatheads

Fresh cutbait, a 1 inch cube or half a shiner work pretty well I’m told. I’ve also heard a couple dead fatheads is good. A very slow up and down motion like your a dead fish floating on the current.

Most use fatheads. Sometime they want them cut in half or smashed other times whole and once in a while live, kicking and a smashed one for extra flavor!

I like using the pink (stop laughing) Scenic Tackle Glow Devil lure. Works great.

Check out the catfish forum, I posted a video of Dtro Channel Ice fishing from last Saturday.

Pretty cool!

All the catfish I’ve caught through the ice have been on jigs and waxworms. I’ve caught them at Volga Lake, Otter Creek, and last year a 4# at Belva Deere. They are a blast to catch through the ice!!!

Ed

I was dipping my fatheads in some Berkley walleye scent late last week and was catching twice as many cats as walleyes. My partner and I had a bet going for the most fish and I was slightly ahead of him. Of coarse, with the bet still going…I didn’t share my scent. It wasn’t long and I see him start stomping on his bait before sending it to the bottom. He ended up beating me with a good run of cats in the last 10 minutes. As posted earlier, Petenwell Flowage has a healthy population of cats you can catch them on just about anything.

Is stinkbait viable under the ice?

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Is stinkbait viable under the ice?

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I’m not sure there’s a hole big enough for Brian to fit through….oh wait….you meant the stuff in the jar.

All the articles I’ve ever seen on the topic, suggest fresh cut bait or a live bait.

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I’m not sure there’s a hole big enough for Brian to fit through….oh wait….you meant the stuff in the jar.

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Where there’s a will…

Thanks for the info, Blue. Next question. Why?

We caught a bunch of cats on Petenwell last weekend on flyer spoons with just minnow heads they would just crush it too no slow presentation needed there

Just because my little cats eat your fish for snacks, you don’t have to be nasty. It’s Christmas Bluebass.

I’m not too sure I would want to use stink bait in the winter because it thickens up and would be hard to put on a hook…assuming you’re talking about traditional stink bait.

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I’m not sure there’s a hole big enough for Brian to fit through….oh wait….you meant the stuff in the jar.

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Where there’s a will…

Thanks for the info, Blue. Next question. Why?

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I’d almost guess the cold temperatures would solidify the mixture, hindering the dispersal of the stinkbait.

I wouldn’t be above trying some Sonny’s through the ice.

Here’s an article I dug up regarding the topic at hand.

Here’s a quote from that article that explains some of the reasoning behind using live bait.

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Catfish possess extraordinary taste and olfactory senses, but when algae dies in lakes and ponds and sediment settles in rivers, vision becomes an important feeding sense.

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Here is a report from featuring catfish through the ice…
catfish

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We caught a bunch of cats on Petenwell last weekend on flyer spoons with just minnow heads they would just crush it too no slow presentation needed there [/quote

That’s no joke. We catch them pretty much every time we fish Petenwell. They just crush fatheads. I usually only use the heads though. I’ve caught them on everything from tip ups to spoons to jigging rapalas.

First and foremost you need to find a body of water that has a high population of cats if you want to be successful in catching them.

As hard as they fight when hooked, they can at times bite even lighter than the most finicky panfish. Most of the time a piece of fathead is sufficient, but don’t be afraid to take a tub of chicken liver out there either. I’ve had a few trips saved by having livers on the hook.

Having a set line, whether it be a deadstick with a spring bobber or an ice buster bobber, is a MUST. Have one rod with something rattling to bring them in, but do not touch the other one. More times than not, they will prefer the stationery bait.

Also once the sun goes down, make sure to glow up that lure, it makes a HUGE difference.

I caught my first cat through the ice last season on small live minnows. After I caught it all the fish shut down. A day or so later on same water my brother in law caught one and same thing happened. Anybody know why this is? I have read an article a few years back in the Iowa Fish and Game magazine about a guy from Illinois that makes a catfish dip bait called WD3. The whole article was using it throught the ice with the foam covered trebles they sell and they caught a ton over a day span. I think it can be purchased at gander mtn. around the Iowa and Illinois area. Through my experiance, I bought some years ago at a fishing show. and used it in the summertime and never caught a thing on it. I moved around a year later and must have left it behind. I never got to try it in the winter or on very many different bodies of water. I guess if you wanted to try it and test it yourself if you can find it, its up to you. Good Luck

HERE’S a post from last year: http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=catfish&Number=748737&Forum=,,,,All_Forums,,,,&Words=&Searchpage=3&Limit=25&Main=748737&Search=true&where=&Name=222&daterange=&newerval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post748737