Lures for catfish
21 lures broken down one by one, plus the full catfish strategy guide.
Catfish call for big baits: lures of 15 to 25 cm and beyond, a powerful rod, thick braid. Jointed swimbaits, giant shads, deep crankbaits and propeller topwater lures — the latter especially at night, when the fish move up to feed near the bank.
The leader has to be strong but, unlike for pike, steel wire isn't required. Each sheet spells out the tackle that suits the lure's weight and how to present it.
Crankbait 4
Crankbait
Manns Stretch 25+: deep trolling set by the line you let out
The Manns Stretch 25+ runs very deep on the troll. How to set the line let out, the boat speed and the bottom contact for catfish.
Crankbait
MadCat CatDiver: trolling deep to find catfish out in open water
How to use the CatDiver on a slow troll over a big river or reservoir to reach catfish holding offshore, and how to set its running depth.
Crankbait
Savage Gear 3D Hybrid Pike: two tails for two fishing speeds
Savage Gear's 3D Hybrid Pike pairs a hard head with an interchangeable soft tail. Depth, rigging and retrieve for lure-caught pike and catfish.
Crankbait
Rapala DT20: the deep crankbait for bumping bottom without hanging up
Lip design, bottom contact and tuning for the Rapala DT20, the deep-diving crankbait for pike and night-trolled catfish.
Swimbait 1
Topwater stickbait 5
Topwater stickbait
Westin Billy the Mallard: the duckling you fish in the June window
Why a duckling lure only works over a very short part of the year, and how to manage the wake and the legs of the Billy the Mallard on pike and catfish.
Topwater stickbait
Savage Gear 3D Suicide Duck: the duckling that brings big pike out
How to work the Suicide Duck with its rotating feet, why you have to delay the hookset, and which summer spots it pulls big pike off.
Topwater stickbait
Whopper Plopper 130: the propeller topwater that works on three species
Pike, bass, catfish: how to adjust speed and timing on the River2Sea Whopper Plopper 130, the most versatile propeller topwater around.
Topwater stickbait
Savage Gear 3D Rad 30cm: the rat lure that fools pike and catfish
Surface or subsurface swim, which ring to clip, and the right gear for pike and catfish with Savage Gear's 30cm 3D Rad rat lure.
Topwater stickbait
Berkley Choppo: the prop bait that pulls catfish up at night
How to fish the Berkley Choppo topwater for night catfish and bass — gear, prop mechanics, retrieve rhythm and colour choice.
Spinnerbait 1
Inline spinner 1
Paddle tail 6
Paddle tail
Westin MonsterTeez: moving up to a giant shad without breaking everything
How to rig, cast and work a giant shad for pike and catfish, which weight to choose for the depth, and when this outsized format starts to pay.
Paddle tail
MadCat Tube Teaser: hunting catfish on the cast, from the bank
Why the hollow body of the Tube Teaser changes the rig, how to work it in slow pulls along the bottom and when it replaces a big shad for catfish.
Paddle tail
MadCat Clonk Teaser: the lure designed for clonking
How clonking for catfish works, why the Clonk Teaser holds vertical under the boat and how to set the presentation depth.
Paddle tail
Delalande Buster Shad: tune the wave, not the colour
How the Buster Shad's broad tail puts out a low-frequency wave in dirty water, and how to tune that wave by feel for pike and catfish.
Paddle tail
Delalande Sandra 23cm: the French classic gone giant for catfish
Jighead weight, rigging and retrieve for the Delalande Sandra 23cm, the XXL size of the cult French soft lure adapted for catfish.
Paddle tail
Fox Rage Pro Shad Loaded 23cm: the big-eyed giant shad for catfish
The Fox Rage Pro Shad Loaded 23cm, a pre-rigged XXL soft shad on a weighted hook, for working open water and bottom for catfish.
Jig & jighead 1
Rig 1
Other 1
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