How I Fish For Catfish - The Carolina Rig

The Carolina rig is the most popular fishing rig for bottom feeding fish such as catfish. You won't need much and it's very easy to learn. I tie all my knots with the palomar knot. It's a strong knot that has not failed me yet.

What You Need:
1 - Barrel Swivel
1 - Egg Sinker (weight depends on water current, I use a 1 oz)
1 - Circle Hook (4/0 - 8/0 depending on target size)
1 - Leader Line material

Zack's 17 LB Channel Catfish

Mullet Lake Park last night with Kyle, Zack, and myself was a night to remember for all of us. We started fishing the boat dock and wasn't having much luck. So we ended up taking a few big flashlights and walking out to the river bank. We had 4 poles between the three of us and I got to use my new Fishin' Stix extendable rod holders.

The bait on our hooks was frozen cut shad and frozen mullet. Zack's rod was the only one using cut mullet and that was the ticket for the catch. He got a good hit and picked up his rod, fish on! It was a monster 17 LB Channel Catfish! It was a little difficult to land because he got tangled with two other fishing rods during retrieve and we were on a high river bank, but we got it in with the help of my yellow fish grips. The 6/0 circle hook set perfectly into it's bottom lip and it just just a matter of not breaking the line. Zack did a great job being patient with the fish and this is his first fish he's caught with us. He certainly set the bar with the best fish I've seen landed so far.

Species: Channel Catfish
Size: 17 LB
Bait: cut mullet
Rig: Carolina rig with 6/0 circle hook

13 oz Yellow Bullhead @ Mullet Lake Park

Another night by myself at the fishing dock. The frozen shad was thawed by the time I arrived so I baited my hooks and casted 2 rods. As I was preparing a 3rd rod, my Okuma baitfeeder was clicking. It was a large fish hooked but after a few seconds of reeling, it got away. It all came down to a cheap snap swivel that bent straight, letting the hook slide off and costing me the catch. So from now on, I'll tie the hook directly to the leader line without a swivel. It's really not neccessary to have a swivel on anyway because I don't change hooks that much when catfishing.

I caught a little 13 oz bullhead awhile later, but that was it. I had bites but nothing else wanted to run with the bait.

Yellow Bullhead @ Mullet Lake Park

It was a Saturday night with a full moon in a clear sky. For a weekend night, there were no boat trailers parked in the lot. The conditions were right and the weather was nice, a little over 60 degrees. The bait tonight was frozen cut shad. The line setup was carolina rig on both rods I was using, with a 5/0 circle hook.

While tying up a third rod for fishing, I heard the baitfeeder go off on my Okuma/Wild Cat rod. Then nothing. I thought something had tried to take the bait but spit it out. I picked up the rod but didn't feel any tension or shaking, I figured there wasn't anything on the other end. So I reeled in, and about halfway in I felt a slight wiggle and shake. It was a little Yellow Bullhead that had apparently hooked himself and wasn't powerful enough to notice at first. The fish weighed only 12 oz, but these yellow bulls generally average less than a pound anyway.

Species: Yellow Bullhead
Size: 12 oz
Bait: frozen cut shad
Rig: Carolina rig with 5/0 circle hook

Two 3 LB+ Sunshine Bass @ Mullet Lake Park

I was fishing for catfish and american shad today at Mullet Lake Park. No shad again, which could mean our shad run is coming to an end soon. For catfish bait, I was using small 1" squares of frozen cut shad on a 2/0 circle hook. No catfish today either but I ended up with 2 nice hybrid bass. These are Sunshine Bass, a hybrid cross between Striped Bass and White Bass. Sunshines can often be distinguished from Striped Bass by broken or irregular stripes on the front half of body and straight lines on the rear half of body. A mid-body break in line pattern occasionally occurs.

The two Sunshines I caught today were both 3 lb, with the biggest one weighing 3 lb 3 oz and 17 1/2" long.

Species: Sunshine 'Hybrid' Bass
Bait: frozen cut shad
Rig: Carolina rig

Toadfish @ South Causeway - New Smyrna

Zack and I went to both causeways at New Smyrna last night. Stopped by the North Causeway first, but couldn't find any mullet there. Then headed down the road to the South Causeway under the SR44 bridge. Very nice area to fish, and plenty of room so your not fighting for a spot. There's the main dock under the bridge that most people fish and then there's a long stretch along the sea wall with about 3-4 smaller docks. The mullet were running pretty good next to the first seawall dock closest to the main dock, next to the light. We got some small finger mullets that are ideal size for live bait. Another group of people had a bucket of about 100 or so mullet they caught.

It started raining so we headed under the bridge to start fishing. I used the carolina rig on my Wild Cat rod, with a 4/0 circle hook. I put a live finger mullet on my hook through the nostril and casted out towards structure. Awhile later I was just checking my bait and felt a slight pull on my rod. Reeled in and got this ugly looking fish pictured below, which is a Toadfish. This was the only fish caught that night between me and Zack though.

16" Shad @ Mullet Lake Park

Happy Valentines Day! For some odd reason, I think the following song is appropriate for a day like today LOL. Brad Paisley "I'm Gonna Miss Her"

Oh, lookie there, I've got a bite! =)

A late morning trip to Mullet Lake Park for some shad and also tried some catfish. For catfish, I used cut bait on a small hook. I'm pretty sure I got a nibble but that was it for catfishing. I'm going to bring some cut shad next time. The shad is really stinky which is more attractive to catfish anyway. I did a little shad fishing as well. It was just relaxing being out by the water today. The sun was out all morning and the weather was just right. I got one bite and landed a 16" American Shad. This one bit the top jig on my double jig rig. It was a homemade 1/8oz pink jighead that David gave me a few nights ago, with a 2" chartreuse squirmin' grub from Bass Pro Shops.

So with that shad caught today, I've now caught 10 American Shad so far this year. Today also marks the last 2 weeks of the annual shad derby, which ends February 28th.

17" and 13" Shad - Arkie Rigged Twirl Tails

Mullet Lake Park is still producing nice shad action in the early evenings. I went there around sundown from 4:00PM-6:15PM tonight. I hooked 4 shad all together but lost a couple. The two I landed were 17" and about 13". I have caught a total of 9 American Shad so far this season. Starting to get the hang of it!

I've switched back to my 7' medium action Shimano Scimitar spinning rod that has 20 lb power pro line (same diameter as 6 lb mono) on a Pflueger President reel. I've also improved my double jig rig significantly to reduce tackle and line twists. I start with a 2 foot leader of 12 lb sufix line. I tied a snap swivel in the middle of the line with a surgeons knot. Then I tie another snap swivel on one end using a palomar knot, and then a barrel swivel on the other end. The snap swivels just make it easier to switch lures if needed.

The jig that I've had the most success this season is the Arkie Prerigged Twister Tails (1/16oz pink jighead with 2" chartruese metalflake twister tail). These high action jigs are only sold at Walmart and they come in 7pk for around $2 I think. The hooks are sharp and the plastic is durable.

Shad Rally @ C.S. Lee Park

The last derbie rally was held today, this time it was at the Jolly Gator restaurant next to C.S. Lee Park. Capt Tom Van Horn hosted the event and talked about casting, retrieving, lures, and rigs. There was a raffle drawing at the end for free fishing gear. The raffle works like this, you get a free ticket just for being at the rally. You also have the option to purchase extra tickets which is $5 for 6 tickets. The proceeds benefit the Hook Kids on Fishing program. Me and Cody got our free tickets, and I also purchased the 6 extra tickets giving us 8 total raffle entries. A few people went home with a ton of free stuff but we also made out pretty well. Two of our tickets were picked in the raffle drawing and here's what we got!

XL Long Sleeve Shirt (not pictured)
Sufix 12 lb fishing line - 4 individual packs
Trigger X 4" saltwater mullet lures -pack of 6
2 certificates for a free reel cleaning service at Kel's
3 coupons for $10 off $50 purchase at Mosquito Creek Outdoors
some free stickers and a SeaTow koozie



After the rally, Cody and I had lunch at the Jolly Gator restaurant and enjoyed their delicious burgers. I will definitly visit there again one day. After lunch we fished for a little bit at Lee Park but I quickly noticed there wasn't anything going on there. We played around for a bit and left to Mullet Lake Park. At Mullet Lake, my friend David showed up and we had a good time fishing together. We both hooked a couple shad each, but just couldn't bring them in. They made leaps out of the water and drag screaming runs, still very much active.

16.5" American Shad @ Mullet Lake Park

Fished at Mullet Lake Park this late morning using my light action rod. I just seem to have more luck catching shad on a lighter rod/reel. So today I caught my 7th shad of the season! This one measured a little over 16.5" from nose to fork of tail, which is my second biggest. I got it on a yellow jighead with 2" chartreuse squirmin' grub from Bass Pro Shops. I love these high action grubs! Here's some photos of todays shad catch...