November 2013 – CatsandCarp.com

If you want to attach a swivel or hook to your line a basic fishing knot is the improved clinch knot. The improved clinch knot is far and away the most common knot I tie when I am fishing. Its strong, easy to tie and quick.

This video explains exactly how to tie the improved clinch knot. Practice a few time before heading out to the river and bring your smart phone with us in case you forget.

Here are some tips about tying an improved clinch knot that are not in the video:

1) If you are fishing with mono-filament line and your hook breaks off, examine the broken end of the line. If the broken end is curly like a pigs tails this means the knot slipped off because you tied it poorly. Make sure you are doing it right, perhaps use more wraps and make sure to wet the knot before tightening it up.

2) The smaller the diameter of line you are using the more wraps you need to make the knot hold. 80 lb mono-filament may only need 5 wraps but 4 lb line will need 8-10 wraps.

3) Dress the knot properly. Dressing a knot means tightening it in a way that results in the knot looking proper. The improved clinch knot should resemble a hangman’s noose when dressed properly. To dress the improved clinch knot properly put tension on the main line, tag end and the hook all the the same time but begin pulling the tag end first. Use your finger nails to help the wraps bunch up onto of the hook eyes if needed.

These pellets are fabulous for catching lots of catfish with the added advantage of not rotting in the trunk of your car.

When I was boy my mother used to find all sorts of horrid surprises in the pockets of my rain jacket and fishing coat: week old salmon eggs, fish belly, bugs, you name it. As a man I have enticed the wrath of my wife by forgetting cut shad and shrimp in the trunk of the car.

But the smell is not the only problem with cut shad, chicken liver, shrimp and all of our other favorite fresh baits. When you only have a few hours to sneak in a trip to the river, you don’t want to spend half that time looking for or thawing-out bait.

Consequently, I always like to carry a bag of Dynamite’s Marine Halibut Pellets, or their Carp Tech crab and crayfish 20mm boilies in my tackle bag.

These pellet and boilie baits don’t have to be refrigerated, have a very long shelf life and don’t make a mess, but just open the bag and any cat fisherman worth his salt will be able to tell they make a great catfish bait.

Halibut pellets are used with a small hook (#6 to #10) and a “hair rig” like this one.

Using pellets and boilies also helps when casting long distances. They are so tough and aerodynamic that you can cast them 120 yards easily with the right rod and not have to worry whether they will come flying off the hook mid-cast or disintegrate when they hit the water.

The price is hard to beat too. you can get a 2.2 lb bag of Dynamite Halibut Pellets for under $7 from www.bigcarptackle.com. Because of the durability I typically only use four or five pellets for an afternoon of cat fishing, so a 2.2 lb bag will last me all season. When you compare that to spending $5 on worms that lasts one day, or $6 on a bucket of chicken liver that is not allowed anywhere near my wife’s refrigerator, then $7 per year is absolute bargain!

When the temperature drops a lot of species turn “off” for the winter. Flathead catfish seem to disappear once the water dips below 50 degrees, but the channels, bullheads and blue catfish don’t seem to mind at all.

If you can stand being outside, winter is a fabulous time to catch blue catfish. On this trip we landed five 3-5 lb blue catfish fishing from shore with the water temperature in the 40’s. A couple hours produce real steady action (enough to keep the circulation flowing so we didn’t mind the cold).

This winter don’t miss out on some great blue catfish action from shore or from boat.

An average size blue catfish.

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