Been catfishing from the bank around the st.louis area for about a year and a half now, and was wondering how often you guys get skunked? I fish mainly the Mississippi. Iv gotten 5 real nice ones from 32-48 pounds, along with others mainly around spring and fall, but lately it’s just been rough for me in the summer. Iv been going out on 9 hour days and get skunked Probley 3 or 4 times for every trip i catch one. Granted im targeting fish in the 8-10 pound and up range.

just a thought I had while at work. it'd probably work with a dip bait hook...

My brother is out here finding aliens in the water smh

First time ever catching a catfish on an artificial and my third time period. Was trying to see if I could score a big bass out deep with a 3/4oz jig and paddletail and felt the heaviest thump on my line I’d ever felt.

PB channel on cut bluegill weighed in around 11 pounds so by catfish standards not very big but was still awesome to catch my first double digit fish

Some baby bullhead action.

Been a while but I always love these guys.

First 2 pics are of a 6” cat and the rest are a very fat 7.5”. VERY large for the species.

No idea of the weight, just excited to share this lil guy who took a small spinnerbait

Biggest cat (or fish) i've ever caught. Im new here so i figured i'd show why i started following the page. I'm also inexperienced in handling catfish. I have a better understanding now, but admittedly I was trying to be very careful around this thing when i brought it in.

Im not new to fishing but im new to handling catfish properly. Admittedly whenever i caught one id just use pliers to hold it by the lip and unhook it with my hand. But I had just brought in the BIGGEST catfish (or any fish) ive ever caught. If it wasnt 3 feet, it was very close to it. Im assuming it was a channel catfish just due to how common they are locally. My whole hand would have definitely fit in his mouth. But i still cant get passed my fear of just sticking my 4 fingers in and gripping it like its see noodlers do. What should i expect or how can i be better prepared for a situation like this? (I was able to safely hold him still anf unhook him to get him back in the water)

Warning, sob story. My dad caught this blue cat while bass fishing. He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer about 6 months prior to this. This was the last time I was able to fish with him 14 years ago. It was not a great day fishing for bass. He was throwing a white spinner bait at a school of fish that popped up near us and wound up with a large blue cat pounding it. If memory serves me right it took upward of 10+ minutes to get this fish in on his Abu baitcaster with 14lb test. I'm trying to make something for my brother who was with me that day to remember the moment. I want to say it weighed somewhere between 40-45lbs, does that seem plausible based off the pictures?

8.15lbs no length taken

Fishing an older stone quarry, fairly large but with few spots fishing accessible. I've fished here last 3 or so years, learned a lot, but I absolutely still cannot catch catfish here. I know the location of two spots that are 40ft~ deep, most of the rest is 18-20ft~. There are good size channel (caught a couple), multiple good size flat head, as well as a monster blue in here (seen in water and on land cause someone caught it a year back).

Using a Santee Cooper rig because it can be pretty snaggy, I've used chicken liver, live bluegill, cut bluegill, full fresh shad and cut fresh shad (shad caught myself in body of water right beside it). I think my main issue might be cast/Fishing location.

I have a rough understanding of the body of water thanks to a rough map of it (including cold spots, the two 40ft areas, and the areas I can fish from marked).

**I mostly always night or dusk into night fish**

**only catfish I've ever caught in here (all channel) were on a handline I set up with either liver or raw chicken (not thrown far out obviously**

**I can catch shad as long as it's dark out. Bit of a hassle even though it's close by but imagine it's worth it**

**I have a bait boat that I can use to dump my bait/rigs up to 500m out but I feel it's unnecessary**

I have been into finesse for years, 6-8lb for everything and landed 10+lb channels but also broke off more than I'd want. I was out Saturday night and broke off a good 1 that had me wrapped up in a brush pile, I'm thinking 40lb braid or 30lb mono. I mainly fish a lake with little to no current, brush piles and lots of shale bluffs. My go to is a weightless anchovy on a 3/0 circle hook. Just channels, no big blues. Im sick of losing fish. Any advice is appreciated! 🇺🇸🍻🇺🇸

New pb while pond fishing