The first step to catching more catfish is to understand the diet and habits at different stages of life and seasons.  In the early stages of a catfish’s life it will feed on larvae, insects, mollusks, worms, and aquatic plants.   Whether it is a channel, blue, or a flathead all basically have the same diet.  The young catfish are very opportunistic and feed on any easy meal that presents itself.  As the fish grows stronger and faster its meals begin to grow larger.  Their diets are now supplemented with young crappie, bream, and crayfish.  Notice that stinky dough baits are not mentioned.

The next step is selecting the tackle and gear for the fishing trip.  Heavy bass fishing equipment or a surf
fishing rod armed with 20lb test line should be enough to haul one of these bruisers.  Selecting the terminal tackle varies widely depending on the body of water and style of presentation needed.  For lakes and ponds anglers will tend to use a Carolina rig and three-way swivel rig for bottom fishing.  These same rigs can also be used in larger rivers with deep holes.  There are several choices of lead that can be used to weigh down your bottom fishing rigs.  Bullet and egg sinkers work well for bottom fishing situations where current and wind are minimal.  If you are fishing a deep river with some current you may want to try a weight like Lindy No-Snagg Sinkers.  This new innovative style may perform better by not hanging on rocks while slowly being pushed downstream by the current.  In shallower rivers with current I prefer to fish with a bobber.  Fishing with a bobber provides much better versatility.  You are able to fish instead of spending all your time getting hung on logs and breaking your line.  All of the rigs will be armed with 2/0 octopus or kahle hooks.  2/0 hooks are big and tough enough for most fish while still being small enough to hook the 1 pounders.

Now that your rods are rigged up it is time to gather the rest of the gear.  The list of gear is not long and includes a bait bucket (live well), pliers, gloves, cane pole, and night crawlers.  The night crawlers and cane pole will be used for catching our bait.  As we covered early, catfish eat fish.  The bait bucket will be used to keep our bait fresh.  When it is time to use the bait, you can decide for yourself if you want it to be cut bait or live bait.  Fishermen are all optimist, so the pliers and gloves will be used to unhook the big slimy fish.  Catfish have very rough mouths and strong jaws, the gloves make it much easier to handle them.

Spring through late summer is the best and most popular time to target catfish.  Catfish can be caught in the morning and midday, but the big ones seem to roam free from late evening and into the night.  It is practice among catfishermen to fish with more than one rod.  All you need to do is match the situation and the water with the terminal tackle and choose your bait.  Live bait or fresh cut bait should always be your first choice.  We have already covered the diet of catfish and determined that they are a predatory fish and prefer natural, fresh bait.  Night crawlers and dough will catch fish, but the results normally yield the younger smaller fish.  Switching to fresh baits that are natural to the water you are fishing will yield a definite increase in the number of fish and size of fish that are caught.

Since flounder are typically lying in ambush this means that our bait should be moving.  Casting and retrieving will allow the angler to cover more water and also give any lure or bait a more lively appearance.  I will not be covering lures; we will only discuss live or cut bait fishing rigs for flounder.  Since a retrieve is needed the first component of our fishing rig will be a round sinker.  The three major types of sinkers used will be banks, egg, and disc sinkers.  All three varieties allow for a slow and steady retrieve as compared to the pyramid sinkers.

The most popular flounder rig in North Carolina tends to be based upon the time tested Carolina rig.  Simplicity is the key with this fishing rig.  All that is needed is a swivel, a sinker, leader material, and a hook.  For the any Carolina rig variation any of the sinkers above will do but the best choice would be the egg sinker.  Simply thread the main fishing line through the egg sinker and then tie it to the swivel.  Now tie a short length of leader material to swivel and tie a hook on the other end.  Now bait the hook with a live finger mullet, mud minnow, or cut squid.  There are many variations of the c-rig as seen in the pictures below.

Fishermen that are restricted to land can have a hard time during the summer months on the North Carolina coast. Extremely high water temperatures most likely have slowed pier and surf fishing to a crawl. For those targeting the jetties, bridges, ICW, and piers, the sheepshead can be a very challenging quarry. Thankfully, the sheepshead is a territorial fish and once they have established themselves on a dock or a pier they don’t move very far. They will remain in the shade of the structure and dine on crabs and barnacles all day long.

Sheepshead are found all along the east coast but are considered to be a southern fish. Main concentrations are found in the Gulf of Mexico around to the North Carolina coast. The sheepshead fish acquired its name because of its incisors that resemble those of a sheep. These incisors are used to pull crabs, oysters, and other invertebrate off of man made structures or hard bottom structures. The large sheep-like teeth are backed by a row of serious molars for crushing the crabs and shrimp. The sheepshead are solid and well built in the shape of a bream. The coloration is a dull gray with broad black stripes. The typical size to expect from NC waters is between 1 to 8 pounds. To receive a citation you will need to catch one weighing at least 10 pounds. To get the North Carolina state record for sheepshead you will need to beat Chris Robbins’s 19 lb. 4 oz. monster he caught from a bridge on Oregon Inlet.

The golden rule when freshwater fishing or saltwater fishing is “Find the Bait-Find the Fish”. In this case you need to find barnacles, mussels, clams and various crabs. Barnacles and mussels are filter feeders and require a sturdy place to attach themselves in the current. This makes bridges, docks, sea walls, wrecks, and piers the perfect places for invertebrates and the fish that feed on them. The barnacles attach to the pilings and position themselves so that the current delivers the plankton that they feed on. Many types of crabs also remain on and around these same structures. Plants, invertebrates and crabs make up more than 95 percent of the sheepshead diet. The remaining portion consists of smaller fish such as small croaker and pinfish.

Sheepshead tackle is made up of medium to medium/heavy action spinning and baitcasting tackle. Many fishermen prefer the baitcasting gear because the ability to sense the subtle strikes is a little easier. The terminal tackle is a simple Carolina rig style design. Debate is always raised over line size. Some prefer heavy line because once the fish are hooked they need to be hauled out from underneath a barnacle covered pier. Others prefer lighter line arguing that the lighter line can not be seen and offers more strikes and bigger fish. Do not get carried away when tying the Carolina rig and keep the leader short. A longer leader gives the fish more opportunity to push slack in the line and steal the bait without you ever feeling the slightest tug. A tough heavy duty steel hook in 1/0 size is then tied to the end of the leader. Remember to use

Pompano look very similar to the famous permit.  It is built like a bream and can put up quite a fight in the surf when it turns its broad profile sideways against the current.  The pompano is covered with very tiny and flashy silver scales on the sides with a bright yellow underbelly.  Their noses are blunt, and their jaws are strong for crushing crabs.  The pompano’s diet consist of shrimp, small crabs, and of course the sand flea.

The sand flea is the most popular pompano bait for many reasons.  The most important reason is the fact that these little mole crabs catch big pompano and many other fish.  Another important attribute is how well the sand flea stays on the hook.  It remains on the hook much better than small pieces of cut bait and does not get nibbled off by other crabs or pinfish.  If durability and producing numbers of fish have not sold you on sand fleas, then maybe the price will.  They are free to every 8 year old child on the beach that digs them up by hand while the tide is going out.  Just look for the “V” marks in the sand as the tide retreats, and you can locate a colony of mole crabs.  Remember to only take as many as you feel you will need for fishing.  After digging up your bait, place them in a bucket with a shallow layer of damp sand.  If placed solely under water for too long a period, the sand flea will drown.  Keep the sand damp and the bucket in a shaded area and they will last all day.

A medium action 7 foot spinning rod with 12 pound test can be used to fish from pier or surf.  I also fish with a longer casting surf rod to search areas around sand bars that are further off the beach.  A two hook bottom rig is the standard, but I do not use the heavy rigs with the fake shrimp skirts.  I prefer to make my own surf fishing rigs from a 36 inch length of 15 pound test.  By using one piece of line and some simple knots, I have eliminated all the swivel hardware that could deter a fish from biting.  The Pompano tend to bite in clear water; therefore, all the extra swivels are not needed.  Size 1 hooks are then tied directly to the line.  Sometimes I will tie on a fluorescent orange bead above one of the hooks.  This adds a slight amount of flash to the bait that could simulate a sand flea laden with eggs or a shrimp.  In an attempt to establish a feeding pattern of the fish, I normally start with a beaded rig and then a non-beaded rig. The long casting rod will be weighted with a pyramid weight suitable for the water conditions.  This rod will be used to fish the sandbars and other structures further off the beach.  After I have the big surf rod’s drag set up correctly it is placed in the sand spike to wait on the bite.  The 7 foot rod is weighted with a 1 or 2 ounce bank or disc sinker.  This is a perfect setup for fishing the suds right where the waves drop on the beach.  On a rising tide, this area is the perfect feeding location for Pompano.  The incoming tide begins to uncover sand fleas and other crustaceans making them prey for all fish in the surf.  Casting out the 2 hook bottom rig and keeping the line tight will allow the current to move the rounded sinkers back towards the beach making it a great way to cover the surf zone.  This tactic will not only catch pompano but also catch red drum, black drum and sea mullet.  One important tip to remember is to change hooks regularly or bring a hook sharpener with you.  Pushing the hooks through the Pompano’s shell combined with the hooks rolling and dragging on the sand will dull even the most expensive hooks.