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All of this is not to say that simplicity is more important than
function. Consider how the bait can best be presented to the fish, then choose
the simplest, cleanest rig that will put the bait in the right location. The
simplest rig of all consists of nothing more than a hook and bait, a setup used
by Florida bass fishermen to free line big live shiners under dense weed mats
for trophy large mouth.
This also is the rig favored by Al Lindner for big pre-spawn
channel cats on the Red River of the North. Slip a 2/0 hook through the corner
of a freshly cut piece of sucker and cast it into the center of a shoreline
eddy. The bait drops slowly through the water column, then tumbles along bottom
in the slow current.
Slipfloat Rigs
Float rigs also keep baits moving along the bottom at current
speed, but snag less often than shot rigs. Cigar-shaped slipfloats are more
sensitive than round bobbers, allowing cats to swim a short distance with a
bait without feeling much resistance. Small, thin designs like the classic
Thill Center Slider are perfect for drifting small to medium-size portions of
cutbait for blue and channel cats, while the larger and more bulbous Thill Big
Fish Slider suspends big livebaits for flatheads.
Regardless of which catfish species you're fishing for, the
basic slipfloat rig is constructed in the same way. Before tying on a hook, tie
a five-turn Uni-knot around your main line with the same or slightly heavier
line, to serve as an adjustable float stop. Sliding the stop knot up the line
makes the bait run deeper, while sliding it down allows for a shallower drift.
Next, slip on a 5-mm bead followed by the slipfloat. Anchor cutbait and smaller
livebait rigs with a few lead shot about a foot above a hook, ranging from a #2
for small baits to a 3/0 for bigger baits. To anchor larger livebaits for
flatheads, add a swivel about 20 inches above a 3/0 to 7/0 hook. Slide a 1- to
2-ounce egg sinker on the line above the swivel to balance the float.
Slip
Rigs
As versatile and effective as drift and float rigs often are,
many catfishing situations call for live or dead bait still fished on the
bottom. The most popular bottom rig for all species of catfish is the egg
sinker slip rig. The object of this rig, which consists of an egg sinker
sliding on the main line held in place above the hook by a lead shot, is to
keep the bait near the bottom and allow a cat to swim off with the bait with little
tension. While the basic idea behind this rig is sound, it doesn't accomplish
either objective well.
The success of limb lines and pole lines makes it obvious that
catfish aren't timid feeders like trout or walleyes who need to run a short
distance on a freeline before engulfing the bait. When a decent-size cat picks
up the bait, he has it. Most of the time, you could set immediately without
giving any line. But your chances of a solid hookset in the corner of the cat's
mouth increase if you let the fish turn to the side before setting. Just be
sure to keep constant tension on the line after the fish picks up the bait.
When you feel the thump of a fish grabbing the bait, follow him with your rod
tip for a foot or two, then set. If your rod's in a rod holder with the bait
clicker engaged, let the fish take a foot of line, then engage the reel and
set.
Another problem with the egg sinker rig is the egg sinker. Egg
sinkers work well when pitched directly behind a boat anchored in current. When
cast across current, however, they tend to roll along the bottom and snag more
often than sinker designs like bell or bank sinkers. Slip your main line
through the top of the the sinker and replace the split shot with a swivel to
vastly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the slipsinker rig. Instead
of a swivel, use a Speedo Bead from U.S. Tackle (618/997-5049) as a sinker stop
to make an adjustable slip rig that allows for varying the length of the leader
without retying. If you opt for a swivel, add a small bead to your main line to
protect the knot connection from the sliding sinker.
Leader length, by the way, often is a subject of concern for
novice catfish anglers. Don't use a longer leader just to separate the bait
from the sinker. To catfish, a sinker is just another rock. Rather, adjust the
length of the leader to vary the amount of action and movement imparted to the
bait. A piece of cutbait tethered on a 12-inch leader may lie motionless on the
bottom of a lake or pond, but would flail about wildly in heavy current. Use
just enough leader to let your bait attract fish without hanging up. That may
mean a 30-inch leader for drifting cutbait across the clean bottom of a reservoir
for blue cats; a 6-inch leader for holding large live baits in front of a snag
for flatheads; or no leader at all for probing the broken bottom of a tailwater
for channel cats.
Poly
Ball Rigs
In some situations, you want the bait anchored in place, but off
the bottom. Live baits that are kept up and swimming attract more fish than
baits that cower under cover. And deadbaits suspended above bottom debris are
easier for fish to locate. The floating jig heads used by walleye anglers work
well for crawlers, leeches, and small pieces of cutbait, but no jig head is
buoyant enough to lift larger baits. That's the idea behind the English poly
ball rig. Simply slip a 1- to 2-inch styrofoam (poly) ball on the leader and
rig it in slip float fashion so the ball can be moved closer or farther from the
bait. Tie your own rigs with poly balls from EuroTackle (203/874-7107).
Three-Way
Rigs
The three-way or Wolf River rig is one of those rigging options
that's so versatile it should at least be considered in most situations for all
catfish species. It's an effective rig for presenting static baits in the heavy
current of a tailrace, or the still waters of a lake or pond. But it's
unparalleled for slipdrifting on big rivers like the Mississippi, Missouri, and
Ohio, and for drifting wind-blown flats in large reservoirs like Santee Cooper.
The three-way rig consists of a dropline some 6 to 24 inches
long, anchored by a bell sinker of sufficient weight to keep the chosen bait
near the bottom. A half-ounce sinker is sufficient in still water, but 3 to 8
ounces may be needed to drift around the tips of wing dams for blue and channel
cats or for anchoring livebaits in a heavy tailrace for postspawn flatheads.
The leader should be slightly longer than the dropper line” usually 2 to 3
feet, depending on current velocity.
Three-way rigs also excel at extracting fish from areas where
other rigs can't hold or return. Let's say you're fishing for channel cats over
a broken-rock bottom below a low-head dam. Use a three-way rig with a
20-pound-test main line and a 17-pound-test leader. Secure a 2- to 4-ounce bell
sinker to one ring of a barrel swivel or the bottom ring of a three-way swivel
with 6-pound-test line. Cast this rig into place, and the sinker hangs on the
bottom and holds the rig in place until a fish strikes. Big cats often grab a
bait hard enough to hook themselves and quickly break the light dropper line.
When a smaller cat hits the bait, a sharp hookset will break off the sinker so
the rig and fish can be landed.
Paternoster
Rigs
The paternoster rig is a sort of three-way slip rig well worth
the extra time needed to tie it in many situations, particularly for presenting
livebaits to flatheads. The low-frequency vibrations produced by a struggling
baitfish attract catfish by stimulating their sensitive lateral lines.
Livebaits of all sizes must first be wild and super lively, and second be
presented in ways that allow them to advertise these seductive qualities. Keep
a wild bait suspended above cover and it feels ”rightly so” exposed,
vulnerable, and panicked.
Begin with a terminal leader as you would with an improved slip
rig a 12-inch section of monofilament or dacron with a hook on one end and a
barrel swivel on the other. Before tying the swivel to your main line, though,
add a lead dropper consisting of a slightly lighter piece of monofilament with
a bell sinker on one end and a swivel on the other. Thread the dropper swivel
on the main line so it slides above the leader swivel. The length of the bottom
dropper determines how high the bait will suspend off the bottom.
Paternoster rigs are most effective when you can maintain a 30-
to 90-degree angle on your line, from rod tip to sinker. Fishing the head of a
hole from a boat anchored slightly upstream; or fishing the edge of a flat from
the sandbar on an outside river bend; or fishing the scour hole behind a bridge
abutment from the top of the bridge all are top situations for paternoster
rigging. Breakaway Tackle (512/729-0777) offers a pre-tied paternoster rig
called the Long Ranger. Designed for surf casting, this rig includes an impact
shield, a small plastic clip that holds the hook during the cast. This, says
Breakaway's Nick Meyer, keeps the leader from tangling and increases casting
distance by 10 to 25 percent. The rig is ideal for tailraces and other
distance-casting situations.
Float-Paternoster
Rig
This rig is a top choice when the situation calls for placing a
big bait in the lair of large fish and waiting them out. Editor-In-Chief Doug
Stange credits this rig with the biggest flatheads he's caught during the last
several seasons. The fish were taken from large eddies just behind huge piles
of snaggy timber lining deep river holes. With either a 7-inch bullhead or
12-inch wild sucker as bait, Stange tosses the offering into the middle of the
eddy, just away from any snags. It also is effective when you're set up on a
shallow point in a reservoir, in the corner of a big pond, or somewhere in the
back end of a creek arm. Prod the float from time to time to keep the suspended
baitfish swimming.
Float-paternoster rigging employs a slipfloat, so to make the
rig, begin as you would a standard slipfloat rig slipknot, bead, then
slipfloat. Unlike a standard slipfloat rig, however, the sinker rests on the
bottom, and the float need only suspend the weight of the bait and keep it
swimming. This allows for the use of a smaller, more-sensitive float. Next, add
the lead dropper, bead, and leader. Adjust your floatstop for a little play in
the leader, allowing the bait to swim a big circle and slightly off to the
side. A tightly tethered bait doesn't swim so vigorously as a bait that
believes it's going somewhere.
Release
Rigs
Release rigs aren't terminal rigs, but a way to deploy terminal
rigs based on the limbliner's approach. Master catman Ed Davis has used this
system to catch the North Carolina state record flathead and blue cat, and
several line-class world records. Davis uses multiple rods to cover several
areas and experiment with different baits. At least one line is a brush hook a
release clip tied to a branch hanging over the water. The line is attached to
the clip so the bait swims freely (livebait) or drifts (cutbait) in the upper
half of the water column. Davis usually uses a slipfloat rig, but a three-way
or paternoster rig may be more effective for presenting livebaits. Tie a bell
on the limb to signal strikes after dark. When a cat takes the bait, the bell
rings and the line pulls free from the clip.
Davis also catches big blues and flatheads near the surface over
deep holes in the river channel. Instead of parking his boat over the top of
the hole and fishing straight downstream, Davis employs a release jug, which
consists of a two-liter bottle with a large barrel swivel glued to the cap. A
length of 50-pound line is attached to a heavy bank sinker or decoy weight to
anchor the jug in current. Another shorter line is tied to a release clip. Once
the jug's in position, a baited rig is attached to the clip. Use a float rig to
suspend baits near the surface, or a paternoster rig to keep baits swimming a
foot or two off bottom.
Other boats on the river after dark present a problem when lines
are spread across the river. A band of reflective tape makes the jug visible to
boaters, but lines running just beneath the surface remain a problem. Instead
of retrieving lines when a boat approaches, attach a clothespin or clip-on
weight with a one-ounce sinker to the lines and disengage your reel. The weight
is enough to drop the line below the surface to let boats pass, but not enough
to trip the release on a jug or limb set.
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