Hey I live on the lake on keats peninsula and am going to try for some big cats and was wondering what type of bait/hooks etc. you pros use? Also, would like to know some good places to try in the dam-nutbush area.

i dont fish kerr lake much, mostly gaston lake.
but for hooks, and rigs, ext.

i use 10/0 octopus hooks, or saltwater style hooks.
ive had bad luck with circle hooks, i tryed em and i dont like em much. all depends on the person i guess.

also i use a carolina rig. with a 18 inch, 80 lb, leader line. and i snell the hooks, so theres no space for the hook to come off or anything. and BIG
one way swivels. its never good to use small swivels, line, poles, or anything else small for big catfish. if youre after big catfish you should probaly use big bait also. gizzard shad caught in a cast net is best. but also a bream, perch, or crappie is great too. but all of the above baits except gizzard shad, have to be caught on a rod and reel.

and use anywhere from 3 ounces of weight to 8 ounces of weight. that depends on the current mostly.

this is good mostly for bigger catfish.

good luck

thx for the response, anyone know some good places to fish in nutbush and around the dam?

Hey KAtjr, you fish alot from the bank right? and carolina rig works good huh? never thought about that but will try it sometimes Do you use cutbait or whole?

katmaster, isnt a 10/0 hook really big?

hey jw, km jr is right do not go out with light tackle..!!!
this is what i use..
pole..shakespeare catfish 7' mh
reel. shakespeare baitcaster....
line. trilene 25lbs test
hook.. 5/0-6/0 kahle
wieghts.1-3oz slip sinkers
swivel.1/0
leader. 50lbs
this set-up is great for either bank or anchor fishing
for bait km jr said it best ..gizzard shad.. but a small bream or crappie works great also.
if you get a big bait fish use it as cutbait.
if you are bank fishing for big cats, make sure that your poleholder is anchored otherwise you just mite see your pole go for a swim..
remember..cpr the big ones..
places to fish try a point, mouth of a cove,your pier,
one day they are there, the next they are not..thats why they call it fishing .
good luck...major cat

if you live on keets,any one of those points would be a good place.my dad went there last nite with some friends (from the bank)and caught one that was about 16lbs. couple of nice bass,and a few smaller cats.as for tackle i would go with kmj.hes got some 40lb.ers under his belt so it can't be wrong. good luck

carolina rig works great from the shore. you should try it. 10/0 hook is big. but its what you need when youre using 4 inch peices of 12 inch gizzard shad. sometimes i even use half of a 12 inch gizzard shad. diffently dont be skimpy on your tackle though. i even use 10 ft saltwater cobia poles, that are as stiff as a pool stick. you dont want to make the mistake i did when i first started out, using bass poles, i lost some of my biggest ones because my hooks were not strong enough and my line was too small. i had one bend a 4/0 khale hook straight out one day. after singing drag for 10 seconds
i bet that was my biggest one too.

good luck

I have read about the railroad tressel down in nutbush and was wondering if this is a good place to fish for cats and also what area/depth of the tressel to try?

from boat or shore?

boat

anyone? i rode down there today and couldnt seem to find it, on my maps its supposed to be right before buoy J but i couldnt mark it on my finder.

It is there you can not miss it on your finder when you go over. Coming from the dam look on the right for the house that set up on the hill with a LARGE backyard with green grass all the way to the lake,just before this start looking...

thx a lot, im afraid i was looking just past that, what depth do you suggest fishing in?

It is about 40-50 feet on each side and about 12-15 feet on top

do you usually anchor on the tressel and then put rods at various depths around it?

Just becareful anchoring they can get hung up and you will lose it..Yes on top and fan cast.

u use a carolina rig? thats how ive got my rods rigged

yes, but also use a couple slip corks to help find depth.

sounds good do you fish down there often?

yeah do what scuda bug said make sure to put some slip corks out.
that can make the difference between you catching fish and not catching fish this time of year.

good luck

im not familiar with slip corks, are you talking about a regular cork that bobs or w/e?

you get a cork measure a depth and then cast em out is that what u do?

You put a bobber stop at the dept you want to fish and the cork will stop at that point

does it matter what depth i try or should i try just on the bottom ?

I Start at 15-20feet on the first one then go five feet deeper with each rod after until they start biting then I move them all to that dept.

you should try, the bottom and slip corks at the same time, at this time of year, the fish will stack up in the thermocline which is a section of the water that has the most oxygen, and is the coolest, which is not on the bottom, and the only good way to fish it is with the slip cork. as far as depth goes, you have to figure that out, it depends on how deep of water youre fishing in. when im fishing in water over 30 feet deep, i like to set the depth of the bobber from 10-20 feet. but you just hae to keep changing it if your not getting any bites, i mean you have to be patient with it, give it at least 30 minutes, then, change the depth. usually you can find some good fish at some depth. if you have a fish finder than use that. just look and see where you see the fish, or where the shad are stacked up in a big school.

heres how i rig the slip bobbers.

i put the bobber on, then i slide a 2 ounce egg weight just like the one you use on a carolina rig on the line.

then i tie my swivel on,

then i make a 18 inch leader, with a hook that i snelled.

its basically a carolina rig under the bobber.

then you just tie the bobber stop at the depth you want to be fishing at under the bobber.

hope this helps you. good luck

thx i now know exactly what to do, i am heading out in the morning so hopefully ill catch somin :-D

Good Luck let me know how it goes..

will do, im going to try live bait, cut bait, and stink bait lol

yeah let us know what happens,
i hope you get into some.

good luck

went out there and found the tressel easy, only stayed about 1 1/2 hours because my mom is a nurse and she had to come back. I caught a nice 7lb largemouth bass. I will be going for an extended period of time later this week , I am confident now that I have caught a fish there though :-D

man, thats good,

yeh anytime yall want to get together or somin id love to do like a double fishin thing, im sure some of yall could teach me some stuff. btw, im 17.

Good to hear you found it this time out..I will be up at the lake the first week in Aug. camping at JC Cooper.

i mainly fish gaston lake, i live a long way away from kerr lake, takes me an hour and a half just to get to kerr dam. btw im 14

im gonna enter the catfish shore tournament at north bend park, kerr lake, on july 29. anyone else gonna enter, i figure it should be alot of fun

Tell me more about this tournament

yea im interested where can I find out more?

ok, i just found out myself, so go to

www.fishlakegaston.com

and look for the topic

bank fishing tournament for cats

it will be under the anything goes section.

let me know if you cant find it ok.

sounds fun...i might do it, done any shore fishing before

man shore fishing is all ive been doing since i started catfishing, ive got a boat, my dad and i have to fix it up though. it should be fixed soon, then ill mostly be boat fishing

good luck