bank fishing for catfish on the ohio question

[Smallie Lover]

What i do is carolina rig my bait with a 5oz sinker and alway cast downstream. I think casting downstream has saved me more rigs than anything. I havnt caught to many of dead bait and tend to stick with nightcrawlers. I catch a bunch of drum that way, but a few cats too. My whole bottom rig is 80 lbs braid with sinker on it. Followed with swivel then 20 lbs leader then hook. This way if i get hung I will break the leader first and only lose a hook, not a 4$ sinker also.

To keep from snagging on bottom:Use a carolina rig type setup - hook, leader, swivel (shorter line - 8to 10 inches), then weight (not dependent on current) then use a big slip bobber with a stopper. no matter the depth of the river or stream you can fish shallow, deep whatever. you can bounce that along the bottom if that is how they are hitting, or keep it higher in the water column if that is where they are. if snagging is a problem - you will only loose the hook - just like the carolina type rig. and bites are REALLY easy to detect - the whole thing just dissappears. in really fast moving water this may not work as well, but if your line doesnt have much stretch - braid or flouro - you can let it drift 20 or 30 yards and still get a hook set, limited the last two times in the last month on channels using this after this rain has come in lately (and have only been out 3 times), guess I need to fish more too now that I think about it.

[SKIPJACK]

The rig that I use is a little different...5 or 6 oz sinker at the end of the line, then tie a leader about three foot up. You can use a swivel if you want, but I use an overhand knot x 3. 10/0 king kahle hook on the leader. Put on a big hunk of fresh cut shad and draw it up tight. Good luck! Dave