I live in east tn , but a old friend of mine lived in Camden tn and he fished all over the area of middle tn , especially the Cumberland river and caught 50+ pounders all the time , as catfish get old and big they become wary and quite selective , most will only bite cut or live bait , if you want big cats you have to think big , hooks suited for big game saltwater fishing and a 4 inch live bluegill will do the trick for me everytime , when the bluegills are too big to be legal for live use , I use them for cut bait , I just cut them in half and stick the head half on one hook and the tail half on the other hook of my double hook rig , oddly they seem to go for the head always,
you had better have a rod and reel with some guts , cause I have broken a truck load of rods and reels on just 30 to 40 pounders , you need something like a war rod and a penn bait caster reel, or at least a ugly stik tiger rod and a Shakespeare tidewater bait caster and 100 pound test line for giant cats , big swivels are a must too , I don't know how many times I have had them to barrel roll and break the line, oh and you had better be holding on tight to that rod when a giant cat decides to take it cause I have lost a few rods that were garden staked out .
have fun , happy hunting ... |