Catching catfish with a frog
The frog is a very catchy bait for catching catfish. Throughout the summer period there is a good bite of catfish on this bait. You can try frog fishing from mid-May to early October, and in some areas even longer.
To catch catfish, a wide variety of fishing techniques and gear are used, and in the vast majority of cases it is assumed that some kind of bait is used, including, of course, a frog.
In this article we will focus on the most popular method of catching catfish with a frog - fishing with a quok.
But first, let's pay a little attention to the frogs themselves. Frogs croak and, when moving, create sounds that resemble light splashes. This noise is heard by the catfish from a distance. So, it is appropriate to use a quok or a zherlitsa not too far from the shore, in places where frogs live. If a predator is hunting at this time and hears sounds, it will most likely begin to look for the source of the noise that the potential prey makes.
Kwok is also successfully used for fishing from a boat at a great distance from the shore.
Artificial baits for spinning fishing
In addition to animal baits, bait for catching catfish can be of artificial origin.
Colors often play a secondary role, since the color schemes of baits at depths are hardly noticeable to fish, which are not particularly vigilant. Regarding spinning fishing methods, it is worth noting that hunting for catfish is promising using the trolling method, jig and casting. In this case, powerful and reliable fishing equipment is used, capable of withstanding a couple of hours of struggle with huge fish that actively resist when caught.
Wobbler
One of the best types of artificial baits today are wobblers. Manufacturers have developed a number of model lines of deep-sea wobblers specifically designed for trolling catfish fishing. These are deep-sea fats and shads that have factory settings for low-frequency play with noise chambers built into their bodies, which are filled with metal balls. These balls not only create sounds that are attractive to catfish, but also balance the bait, making the stroke uniform in frequency and stable during its retrieval, and also, when casting is necessary, long-distance delivery.
Wobblers are equipped with a powerful and large shovel, sometimes with a lead load in its front part. The mass of such a tool exceeds 20 grams with a length of 12–15 cm, and the depth parameters can reach tens of meters. In shallow waters, spinning anglers use large wobblers such as minnows or cranks, capable of going 2.5-3 meters deep.
Silicone
You definitely won’t need bait for catfish if you find the predator’s parking areas and make spinning wires using large silicone. Solid catfish are great for jigging using twisters and vibrating tails loaded with stationary jig heads with a massive and durable hook. For this type of fishing, large silicone baits with a length of 12 cm and above are chosen, loaded with masses capable of delivering the bait to the bottom as quickly as possible.
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For passive biting, they switch to using edible silicone, reducing the size of the bait. Color, just like when choosing a wobbler, is not a decisive factor in success; to a greater extent, the fish are lured by the blows of the jig on the bottom and the vibrations from the dotted movement applied to the parking area of the simulator predator.
Spoon
Oscillating spoons are considered a promising bait for catfish, especially in summer. Heavy and massive lures in the form of a classic spoon shape are suitable for fishing for mustache. Good indicators in terms of the number of bites are shown by double spinners, which, when retrieved, produce a peculiar metallic clattering sound that provokes the predator. The color design uses dull silver and copper colors of the instrument. Slowly moving the spoon with stops near the very bottom rarely activates the nearby catfish. In shallow waters, up to three meters deep, the use of large rotating spoons is justified at night. The fifth number of Mepps classic spinners and similar variants of spinners from other brands will be in demand in the arsenal of the spinner, without being an extra, over time having caught trophies in the standings.
Catching frogs with catfish
As for the choice of frogs for bait, it is advisable to take relatively large individuals weighing 100 g or more. You can catch amphibians using a landing net, a fishing rod, or simply with your hands.
Frogs almost always react to any movement nearby. To catch them with a fishing rod, attach a hook, for example, a worm, maggot or a regular leaf, throw it close to the frog and slowly move the bait until the frog reacts properly.
Catching catfish using a frog
The second method of fishing is called nodding. Fishing with kwok is done from a boat, and the kwok itself is not a tackle.
Kwok is an auxiliary instrument; it is used to hit the water, and when struck, a deep gurgling sound is produced, which attracts catfish.
The catfish swims towards the sound and discovers the bait - a frog on a hook. Catfish are caught at different depths, both near the bottom and in mid-water.
Many fishermen believe that the sound of a quok resembles the croaking of a frog, which is why the frog is the most important bait.
The disadvantages of using a quok include the fact that during fishing, the fisherman has both hands occupied, and therefore the presence of one more person is desirable.
How to catch and where to get a frog
The search for suitable bait should be done in the coastal zone of the fished reservoir. Tree frogs love to inhabit coastal areas densely overgrown with aquatic vegetation with areas of shading and shallow depths.
Catching frogs can be done in several ways. The easiest way is to collect live bait with your bare hands. To do this, the fisherman will need a certain skill and attentiveness required to track and catch live bait. It’s easier to catch baby frogs with a net, which can be done both in the water and by looking for specimens suitable for bait right on the shore. For fishing, you can use a fishing rod equipped with a fishing line and a small hook. A piece of a worm, maggot, fly or any other insect living near a reservoir is placed on the hook and placed directly under the nose of a potential bait spotted in the water. The frog rushes to the bait and becomes easy prey for the fisherman.
If fishing is carried out over several days, you can use the time-tested method of collecting amphibians. For these purposes, in the evening, they dig a small hole, half a meter deep, near the shore, covering its bottom with fresh grass. During the night, the frogs will gather in an improvised trap, and in the morning the fisherman will have to select specimens suitable in size for bait, guaranteed to continue fishing.
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Tackle for catfish
Short and very strong fishing rods are used as gear for catching catfish. The length of such rods does not exceed two meters; it is better to use one and a half meter rods. For large catfish, you can use sea rods.
It is better to use powerful multipliers as a reel. Although you can use ordinary inertial reels (Neva) and inertialess carp reels.
The fishing line used is monofilament or braided, with a diameter of 0.4-0.6 mm. With a reserve of 100 meters.
Use steel or titanium leashes. The small teeth of a catfish can easily grind both monofilament and braided fishing line.
The hook on the leash should be very large and sharp.
A good hook should not break under load, but bend.
It is very important to correctly tie the hook to the fishing line and glue the knot; the fishing line in the knot should lie turn to turn.
Features of catching catfish from the shore
When bottom fishing from the shore, you should adhere to the following tactics. First, the most promising places for fishing are selected. The fisherman spends most of his time in such places.
The rod must be securely installed on stands, the reel clutch must be loosened. The tip of the rod, which is equipped with a firefly or bell, acts as a bite alarm.
Be sure to provide an area for landing large fish before dark.
Equipment for catching catfish
For any tackle, a frog will be a good bait option, and there should not be any particular difficulties in catching and using it. Don’t forget to take a hook or a large landing net with you when fishing, because catfish sometimes reach enormous sizes and are distinguished by considerable physical strength, and therefore are able to resist for a long time.
What to use to catch catfish? Tackle and bait
Due to the fact that catfish is a bottom inhabitant of freshwater reservoirs, the gear for catching it is almost always a modification of a simple donkey. This can be a tackle that is cast using a spinning rod or manually, equipped with special shock-absorbing elements or has a rigid connection with the bite detection mechanism, but a mandatory attribute of catfish fishing - a rather massive sinker - is always present.
Often, fishing for this predator is carried out in reservoirs with strong currents, and it is impossible to securely fix the bait in a hole or in a place where the bottom topography changes without a massive load. In addition, many baits for catching this fish are of a significant size and in the current exhibit such an undesirable effect as windage, which also contributes to the displacement of the bait downstream.
Fishing for crayfish
When studying the stomach contents of caught catfish, fishermen often find crayfish shells. This suggests that such bait will be a real delicacy for the fish.
The most difficult part of fishing with this bait will be finding the crayfish. Some fishing stores sell crayfish, and if you can’t buy it, you have to catch bait with claws using crayfish traps.
You can adapt a regular lift for catching fry by tying an appetizing bait, for example, a frog roasted over a fire, in the center of the net.
Video about catching catfish with kwok in an extensive guide on our website. You will learn how the tackle is constructed, how to properly make and use the quok in practice.
Catching bream on a feeder - how to catch large live bait for catching catfish and just a trophy broad-backed giant.
List of gear needed for catfish fishing.
Search for catfish
The deepest place in a reservoir is most often a refuge and home for catfish. But it can be very difficult to identify such holes from the shore. If turbulence and whirlpools are observed on the surface of the water, then usually in such places there is a depression in the bottom topography. If there are all sorts of rubbish in the form of snags, large stones or tree trunks at the bottom of such holes, the chance of finding this predator increases many times over.
Large individuals rarely feed during the day; catfish giants go out to feed at the onset of evening twilight, and explore their possessions until the sun rises, moving along the same route each time. It is only possible to lure a trophy in broad daylight by nodding from a boat located directly above the hole in which the catfish lives.
How to catch catfish on a donk
Having chosen a promising fishing spot, the fisherman begins to install the gear, starting its installation no later than a couple of hours before the onset of evening, because the time of evening twilight and the first half of the night are the most catchy in relation to other parts of the day. Next, we will consider the technology and technique of fishing when using various types of gear, specifying the important aspects of the execution of the main elements of fishing.
Small catfish must be released
With a rod
Having installed a stand for the rod on the shore and equipped the hook with a nozzle, cast the tackle, paying attention to the accuracy of the bait, in view of its possible dislocation with an excessively strong swing and subsequent impact on the water. After tensioning, the cord is equipped with an alarm and a bite is expected.
Catfish bite sharply, picking up the bait and continuing their movement without pause. Such a pull should be immediately accompanied by a hook and, sensing the resistance of a fish that has landed on the hook, you must promptly begin to land it. Fishing is carried out with a reel, gradually winding the cord and tiring the fish by pulling the form in the direction opposite to the trajectory of the fish. The mustachioed predator is quite strong and resilient, and the fight with a large individual can continue with varying success for dozens of minutes, and sometimes even hours.
After tensioning, the cord is equipped with an alarm and a bite is expected. Catfish bite sharply, picking up the bait and continuing their movement without pause. Such a pull should be immediately accompanied by a hook and, sensing the resistance of a fish that has landed on the hook, you must promptly begin to land it. Fishing is carried out with a reel, gradually winding the cord and tiring the fish by pulling the form in the direction opposite to the trajectory of the fish. The mustachioed predator is quite strong and resilient, and the fight with a large individual can continue for dozens of minutes, and sometimes hours, with varying success.
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Tired fish are identified by the release of bubbles to the surface, which is the moment for more decisive action to reel in the line. The best technique is to drag the trophy onto a flat bank. Small catfish are immediately placed on the kukan. The large fish are caught in the head area with a humanizer and after this manipulation the hook is released and the specimen is croaked, placing it on a rope near the shore.
Without a rod
It is more convenient to cast a classic donkey by placing a load from the boat. In this case, the live bait remains guaranteed to be intact, and the tackle itself is controlled for installation in order to avoid tangling of the leads. Biting, like hooking a fish, is similar to the previous fishing method, but fishing has significant differences. Catfish from the shore are taken on a classic donka with strict control of laying the extended cord in a certain place, in a way different from rings and loops. The hunter must wear overalls on his hands to prevent cuts from the fishing line. Sudden withdrawals of fish are accompanied by the fisherman lowering a small amount of line and then holding the fish, which must be repeated until the resistance of the predator subsides. They take catfish into the landing net close to the shore. You can use a net only after catching an individual no more than five to seven kilograms. A large predator is pulled ashore by grabbing it in the shallows with their hands under the gills or taking it by the lip.
Blitz tips
- Catch catfish up to 3 kg. you can do it all day long , and the bait for this is a dung worm. “Kids” are also attracted to fresh meat, chicken offal and all sorts of foul-smelling animal products.
- Not only natural baits are used to catch this predator. Large oscillating spoons are not inferior in their effectiveness to live bait. The main thing is to interest the catfish in an interesting “game” of artificial bait, which is carried out in stages with long pauses between windings of the fishing line.
- When fishing on a lake or pond where catfish can live , you should look for this fish in deep holes, and if the bottom of the reservoir is a flat surface, then you should catch the predator in cluttered and snagged places.
- This predator's sense of smell is very well developed , and this can be used when there is no bite. A bunch of singed chicken feathers tied to a large hook can lift a very passive fish from the bottom.
- If you plan to catch large individuals of the catfish family, then the landing net is absolutely useless when landing such specimens. An almost necessary part of a fisherman’s equipment in such a situation is a hook. When catching large fish from the shore, the catfish, when approaching the shore shallows, tends to push off the bottom with its tail, making a sharp “jump”, and free itself from the hook with the bait.
- When fishing at depth from a boat, a large fish can overturn the craft when the fisherman tries to lift his prey on board. Therefore, before going on a catfish fishing trip where you plan to catch giant catfish, you should purchase or make your own hook, with which you can easily pull the catfish out of its usual habitat.
