catfishing from a boat - how is it done?

[montesa]

When catfishing from boat is it best to cast out and sit on bottom or just let your line dangle down into the water?

Believe it or not I have always had better luck from the bank.

What's the proper technique from a boat?

Can anyone help me with this?

 

[mspaeth53]

Get about 10 jugs, some 100lbs line, lead sinkers and good hooks. Make the line long enough to hit bottom. Throw the jugs out in the river, drive to a cool spot and watch the jugs. If one starts to move or go under, you have a fish. nothing to it,

 

[AllOut]

it all depends on where te fish are and what they are doing... are they at 3feet over 10 foot of water? if so u would only drop down a few feet even with jugs. If they are on or just off bottom the u can anchor down and tightline like u do off the bank or u can cover more wate by drift fishing (which is what we like to do)

 

[porboy29]

This time of year most Dollar Stores will be putting Swimming Noddles on closeout. Buy some of them and cut them into 15" or so pieces and make your jugs out of them. Google catfish jugs and you'll have all sorts of ideas. But the best thing is to keep it as simple as you can.
I cast out fishing from a boat and sometimes let the boat drift and have good luck. It seems to me that the closer it gets to fall the better they will bite.
Bait can be liver, shrimp, cut bait, worms, stink bait, etc. Everybody has luck with one or the other. I try to carry them all.
Good luck.
Bill

 

[dennishoddy]

Here is what I'm thinking your wanting to know.
I have drift fished for catfish in a boat.
Couple of ways to do this. You can buy a couple of drift socks, and tune your boat to drift sideways with the wind. Hang some rods over the rail with different baits and let the wind move the boat across different depths.
I like to find a place with flats, and a channel next to it.
Its kind of running a jug line but the angler gets more personal with the fish.
I love to jug as well.

 

[Powerman620]

I like to find the flats also and drift across them. I will put my weight (depends on wind speed as to size) on bottom then about 24" up I will put on a barrel swivel with a hook with approximately 12" lead on it. I use either cut shad, shrimp, cut perch as bait, catch alot of fish doing this. If wind is not to bad I will throw out drift lines as I drift in boat with same setup and a jug or something attached to it.

 

[montesa]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I will start by just drifting with my line a few feet off the bottom. If that isn't working i'll try some of the other techniques. I usually use fresh cut shad from the bank. I'll stick with that for bait.

 

[Stingray]

FYI, jug line fishing is not legal in all areas.

-S