Hello I Fish for Catfish, Portable Live well advice?

[Malek_Nyghtson]

I am in the process of designing a portable live well to assist in keeping my bat and catches alive. I have been researching this for about 4 months now and everything I find is for use on a boat. I fish from shore here in PA along the Susquehanna river for basically anything that swims I tend to target bass, walleye, and Flathead Catfish which are my favorite to fish for but of course by the time I catch the 8-10 inch sunnies, blues, and rock bass or the 12 inch bullhead catfish for bait and get to where I fish for the flatheads they are all dead. I have caught some hungry channel cats with the dead fish but I tend to not target them cause I do not like to eat them as much still fun to catch but I fish for food, and for the past 6 years there has been a kill order out on flathead catfish where if you catch them from the susky you have to kill them or get nailed with a huge fine. anywho i digress, with the system I am trying to design to keep the fish alive I basically need to know what works I have found from experience that the d cell battery operated aerators from Bass pro are junk and do not work could not even keep 12 minnows alive for an hour til we got to where we were going.

I found a couple different coolers to use for the project but the igloo sportsman 100 found at walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Sportsman-100-Cooler/14550422 looks like it will be the best choise with the hatch on top to put the bait in without opening the entire lid. most systems I see require a 12v battery of some kind I do not know if it will work or not but I was thinking a deep cell rechargable battery setup with 1 or 2 solar panels mounted on top of the cooler to help keep the battery charged, any idea if this will actually work? i found this battery at walmart but do not know if it will be strong enough for the application I am needing it for http://www.walmart.com/ip/Spypoint-12V-Rechargeable-Battery-with-AC-Charger-Kit/17687574 any suggestions or a recirculation style pump that will actually help keep the fish alive would be great I have been researching them but you know how the manufacture sites are with their wild claims and half truths you never know what actually works I was seriously considering the Oxygenator over at keepfishalive.com (http://keepfishalive.com/) their claims seemed to be seriously backed by science but I read a few other sites which actually tested the units and the final of it stated that they do not work as well as claimed so now back to trying to find a system that will work for what I need.

my wife tells me all the time I have a tendency to ramble and wander in my thoughts and I do apologize for that and I thank any who are willing to help with there thoughts on this project

[jigfreak]

Malek I do a lot of fresh water fishing, That cooler would work but it must be a pita to carry around. You said you are using sunnies and other small fish. I would suggest you add suckers to that list. They can be caught by enlarging the hole in a minnow trap and leaving near the mouth of small freshwater creeks that feed into the bigger ones. Another trick is to cut their dorsal fin on the bottom so they can't just sit in a hole and have to move around. It also slows them down for the catfish and I have found the catfish like softer baits like suckers more than they do sunnies though sunnies will work too.

I like that oxygenator never used it before but looks like some nice technology. If you use it be sure to give us a report on it. Like the 12 volt battery too. I agee the d batteries are crap for keeping bait alive all day when fishing in a boat I bring an extra deep cell 12v and use that to keep the bait alive.
Good luck let us know how you do. Whats your biggest flathead so far?

[jigfreak]

my wife tells me all the time I have a tendency to ramble and wander in my thoughts and I do apologize for that and I thank any who are willing to help with there thoughts on this project

Thats not bad you won't feel bad when you see darks posts the guy can ramble on for pages at a time.:HappyWave:

[Malek_Nyghtson]

Malek I do a lot of fresh water fishing, That cooler would work but it must be a pita to carry around. You said you are using sunnies and other small fish. I would suggest you add suckers to that list. They can be caught by enlarging the hole in a minnow trap and leaving near the mouth of small freshwater creeks that feed into the bigger ones. Another trick is to cut their dorsal fin on the bottom so they can't just sit in a hole and have to move around. It also slows them down for the catfish and I have found the catfish like softer baits like suckers more than they do sunnies though sunnies will work too.

I like that oxygenator never used it before but looks like some nice technology. If you use it be sure to give us a report on it. Like the 12 volt battery too. I agee the d batteries are crap for keeping bait alive all day when fishing in a boat I bring an extra deep cell 12v and use that to keep the bait alive.
Good luck let us know how you do. Whats your biggest flathead so far?
not really worried bout carrying it planning on making a cart for it with big sand wheels the places I access the susky at are not very big so it will be set it where I can and go from there. so far the best bait I have found for flathead catfish are actually bullhead catfish I hook them behind the dorsal fin with an 6/0 - 12/0 team catfish circle hook tos him out and flip the lever on my baitrunner the flatties cannot resist them. i have been told suckers are related to carp and here in pa it is illegal to use anything in the "goldfish" family for bait (ie goldfish, carp, koi, etc) the oxygenator I will not be wasting my money on I research the crap out of everything before I make a purchase and according to this guy http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it who ran it through its paces testing the water every 10 minutes I will not be trying it out. " Portable Oxygenator Test Results Recirculation produced substantially more oxygen than the oxygenator and raised oxygen level to near saturation in 10 minutes. Using the Oxygenator together with recirculation increased oxygen by only 3.8% over recirculation only." which is one of the reasons I am looking for a system that will recirculate the water without having to worry about all the fish debris clogging it up . my biggest flathead ever was caught down in Oklahoma during a thunderstorm I was fishing for trout using a ultra light and 4lb test right as the storm popped up I started reeling it in to get out of there and it fell like a full speed mac truck hit my line dang near ripped the pole out of my hand 3 and a half hours later on slowly reeling and flipping the bail when he wanted to run i finally landed a 64 lb 5 oz flathead and yes I was soaked straight through for that fish. here in pa the biggest I have caught thus far was just a lil 24 pounder

[Malek_Nyghtson]

Thats not bad you won't feel bad when you see darks posts the guy can ramble on for pages at a time.:HappyWave:

so can I actually I have been trying to limit myself and stay on track of what I was typing I have been told my thoughts are hard to follow at times lol

[seamonkey]

Hey Malek welcome to the site that's a crazy story a 64lb catfish is a monster must have been a lot of fun to bring that one in!
I have fished for catfish before in the delaware near phila and trenton. We like to use chicken livers but I guess the live bait will bring in the big ones.
The best success I had was fishing at night or at the end of day. Do you fish at night or do you think it matters? Thanks for your post and sharing the info.

[Malek_Nyghtson]

Hey Malek welcome to the site that's a crazy story a 64lb catfish is a monster must have been a lot of fun to bring that one in!
I have fished for catfish before in the delaware near phila and trenton. We like to use chicken livers but I guess the live bait will bring in the big ones.
The best success I had was fishing at night or at the end of day. Do you fish at night or do you think it matters? Thanks for your post and sharing the info.

Yeah it was alot of fun bringing that monster in at the time it was bordering on frustrating due to holding a rod with metal parts in the air during a severe thunderstorm with tons of lightning the rain was not coming down in buckets I believe they were using giant garbage cans . caught that one during the day actually when I target flatties I tend to fish all night from about 6 to 4 am this has been the best times for me I have caught them first thing in the morning before the sun comes up as well a guy over at xtreme catfishing said " Small flathead (10 lbs. or less) are prey and feed in areas and during times that will avoid large predators. Large flathead are almost completely dependent on the weather (cold/storm fronts) to tell them when to feed. Sometimes an unnatural rise or drop in water level will trigger a feed. Occasionally, an annoying bait placed to close to a resting giant gets eaten. My biggest flathead always come during a storm. This is just my experience ....... during Spring and Fall. Also, I've read several flathead tracking studies and they all either ignore or under-appreciate the significance of weather in a catfishes behavior." which is my experience as well if there is a front moving in or leaving you will have a better chance to catch them a guy I used to work with told me they sit and watch the weather channel for a certain area in maryland and when they see a front moving in or going out at the same time the tide is either coming in or going out and a full moon helps they grab their gear and go with very little notice last time he came back with over 200 lbs of blue and flathead fillets so what they do definitely works. I know the weather affects them but I do not know the science of it. i throw out what I know they like to eat and wait for them to find it.

now I have heard of some weird stuff that works like for channel cats best formula I have ever found is 1-2 lbs chicken livers half cup minced garlic and 2-4 cups of strawberry Kool-Aid throw this all in a lock-n-lock (you do not want the lid to accidentally come off) set it out in the sun for 3-5 days then when you put it on the treble take a strip of nylon and wrap it around it to hold it on. must have a strong stomach to use this stuff after about a week it resembles some kind of primordial ooze, but it is very effective. during the spring and fall I catch the most flatheads as they do not eat quite as much during the summer when they spawn not sure of the truth of this just a personal observation of recent years. the best bait for flatheads is always alive and kicking threading them on the line works the best as it keeps the bait alive longer than hooking them I use a 12" dollmakers needle for threading larger bullheads on the line then I snell the circle hook to ensure it will not come off flatheads tend to attack from behind so having the hook back by the tail makes sure you grab them. if I don't thread them I hook them behind the dorsal fin. sunnies and blues work well but they give up fighting to get free to soon white perch and bullheads fight tooth and nail to get free for hours on end and make alot of noise and splash around which of course attracts the target fish.

i spend many hours researching what may work better than what I have been using to target the fish I love to catch

[robmedina]

As far as the rambling- well, you are in good company, lets just say that.

I have nothing really to add to help your situation but reading your accounts reminds me of something I saw the other day. I was watching a show called Monster Fish. There are 2 shows with that title. One is with Trev Goudy or something like that and the other is a guy who is a marine biologist- The later one is the one I am referring to. Well anyway, he was down in Louisiana and he was on a local fisherman's boat. They were netting fish. In their catches they got carp and blue cats and bull head cats.
The fisherman pointed out that the flat head catfish is different from the other catfish in that they are predators that lie in wait. As opposed to the other catfish that will search for food by scent. He showed that the bellies were very white and the upper side was brown- sort of like a flounder.
Anyway- not sure if that is entirely true, but thought it was interesting.

[DarkSkies]

Thats not bad you won't feel bad when you see darks posts the guy can ramble on for pages at a time.:HappyWave:

:moon: :rolleyes: :HappyWave: I still get no respect around here....but I guess I can't argue with the truth...





not really worried bout carrying it planning on making a cart for it with big sand wheels.

the places I access the susky at are not very big so it will be set it where I can and go from there.

so far the best bait I have found for flathead catfish are actually bullhead catfish I hook them behind the dorsal fin with an 6/0 - 12/0 team catfish circle hook toss him out and flip the lever on my baitrunner the flatties cannot resist them. i have been told suckers are related to carp and here in pa it is illegal to use anything in the "goldfish" family for bait (ie goldfish, carp, koi, etc)

the oxygenator I will not be wasting my money on I research the crap out of everything before I make a purchase and according to this guy http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandf...ffective-is-it (http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it) who ran it through its paces testing the water every 10 minutes I will not be trying it out. " Portable Oxygenator Test Results Recirculation produced substantially more oxygen than the oxygenator and raised oxygen level to near saturation in 10 minutes. Using the Oxygenator together with recirculation increased oxygen by only 3.8% over recirculation only." which is one of the reasons I am looking for a system that will recirculate the water without having to worry about all the fish debris clogging it up . .

my biggest flathead ever was caught down in Oklahoma during a thunderstorm I was fishing for trout using a ultra light and 4lb test right as the storm popped up I started reeling it in to get out of there and it fell like a full speed mac truck hit my line dang near ripped the pole out of my hand 3 and a half hours later on slowly reeling and flipping the bail when he wanted to run i finally landed a 64 lb 5 oz flathead and yes I was soaked straight through for that fish.

here in pa the biggest I have caught thus far was just a lil 24 pounder

Malek welcome aboard.......
Some thoughts...

1. Fighting a catfish 64lbs on 4 lb test has to be one of the most incredible fights I have ever heard of....sort of like fighting tuna on 20# test.....there are many who would claim that is impossible...without your supporting details I might be inclined to agree because most fishermen don't have the patience or skill to do that....they would lose the fish at the first run.....
There must be IGFA records for fighting a fish that big on light line....you should check it out next time before you fish....


2. Your detail laden paragraphs give me a sense of someone who is obsessive about catching catfish, and stalking big fish, also being obsessive about the best times to fish for them.,....

3. This obsessiveness, IMO, is the mark of a true professional,,,,,or just an obsessive, crazy fisherman....(something I can definitely identify with) :) :thumbsup:
It seems you put yourself in situations where big fish are likely to be sitting...and have honed your tactics over the years.....It was pretty interesting to me to read your posts and the way you go about stalking your prey.......

4. Although a lot of us here are partial to artificials, the simple fact is that some of the biggest fish in the fishing world, are consistently caught on bait....I fished bait for many years, and was pretty obsessive about catching and keeping it for future trips.....I have an eel tank in my basement that gets regular use....

5. I would suggest you continue to document and keep accurate details of your catfishing trips...there are definite patterns to be learned,,,,I think the one you mentioned about the flathead seasonal bite being best at certain times in the river...is key....big pike are like that too....there are a few months in the Spring and Fall when you will put yourself in front of trophy pike, even in NJ or PA, if you know when they are most active....





6. Above all, welcome! ....
Enjoy your posts so far, and I probably speak for other members as well to say we all look forward to your contributions here....and will try to help you with any advice we can.....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

;71372[/COLOR]]not really worried bout carrying it planning on making a cart for it with big sand wheels the places I access the susky at are not very big so it will be set it where I can and go from there. so far the best bait I have found for flathead catfish are actually bullhead catfish I hook them behind the dorsal fin with an 6/0 - 12/0 team catfish circle hook tos him out and flip the lever on my baitrunner the flatties cannot resist them. i have been told suckers are related to carp and here in pa it is illegal to use anything in the "goldfish" family for bait (ie goldfish, carp, koi, etc) the oxygenator I will not be wasting my money on I research the crap out of everything before I make a purchase and according to this guy http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it who ran it through its paces testing the water every 10 minutes I will not be trying it out. " Portable Oxygenator Test Results Recirculation produced substantially more oxygen than the oxygenator and raised oxygen level to near saturation in 10 minutes. Using the Oxygenator together with recirculation increased oxygen by only 3.8% over recirculation only." which is one of the reasons I am looking for a system that will recirculate the water without having to worry about all the fish debris clogging it up . my biggest flathead ever was caught down in Oklahoma during a thunderstorm I was fishing for trout using a ultra light and 4lb test right as the storm popped up I started reeling it in to get out of there and it fell like a full speed mac truck hit my line dang near ripped the pole out of my hand 3 and a half hours later on slowly reeling and flipping the bail when he wanted to run i finally landed a 64 lb 5 oz flathead and yes I was soaked straight through for that fish. here in pa the biggest I have caught thus far was just a lil 24 pounder


REVISED with Paragraph spacing....



not really worried bout carrying it planning on making a cart for it with big sand wheels.

the places I access the susky at are not very big so it will be set it where I can and go from there.

so far the best bait I have found for flathead catfish are actually bullhead catfish I hook them behind the dorsal fin with an 6/0 - 12/0 team catfish circle hook toss him out and flip the lever on my baitrunner the flatties cannot resist them. i have been told suckers are related to carp and here in pa it is illegal to use anything in the "goldfish" family for bait (ie goldfish, carp, koi, etc)


the oxygenator I will not be wasting my money on I research the crap out of everything before I make a purchase and according to this guyhttp://www.slideshare.net/raminlandf...ffective-is-it (http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandf...ffective-is-it) who ran it through its paces testing the water every 10 minutes I will not be trying it out. " Portable Oxygenator Test Results Recirculation produced substantially more oxygen than the oxygenator and raised oxygen level to near saturation in 10 minutes. Using the Oxygenator together with recirculation increased oxygen by only 3.8% over recirculation only." which is one of the reasons I am looking for a system that will recirculate the water without having to worry about all the fish debris clogging it up . .

my biggest flathead ever was caught down in Oklahoma during a thunderstorm I was fishing for trout using a ultra light and 4lb test right as the storm popped up I started reeling it in to get out of there and it fell like a full speed mac truck hit my line dang near ripped the pole out of my hand 3 and a half hours later on slowly reeling and flipping the bail when he wanted to run i finally landed a 64 lb 5 oz flathead and yes I was soaked straight through for that fish.

here in pa the biggest I have caught thus far was just a lil 24 pounder




I have not had a chance to review many posts here lately but I think I have a good sense on reading people, before I get to meet them, from the things they write about, and their style of writing......
Although jigfreak was busting my balls he is probably right....my responses are usually multi paragraph, and at times at least a page long....


so can I actually I have been trying to limit myself and stay on track of what I was typing I have been told my thoughts are hard to follow at times lol



I tried to learn from the feedback I was given over the years...and now try to break down any long paragraphs I type, into smaller paragraphs, starting a new paragraph with each new idea.....

**I have taken the liberty of doing that with your latest post above, with spacing and paragraph breaks......see how different it looks....maybe you want to give that a try.....

Best of luck to you and look forward to seeing more posts about your obsession to hunt for bigger and bigger catfish...:fishing: :HappyWave:

[strikezone31]

i spend many hours researching what may work better than what I have been using to target the fish I love to catch

That's the spirit. Welcome to stripers and anglers malek. A 64lb flathead on 4lb test is an almost impossible feat. Like dark said you should submit for a record next time that is a great catch.

[bababooey]

:HappyWave:Welcome malek. You mentioned the Susky so I assume you fish out of the Philly area?
Do you only fish for catfish or do you fish the salt as well?

[J Barbosa]

Hello there and welcome :HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

Welcome to the nuthouse Malek. Your stories of big cats whetted my appetite. Hope to see more.