Yes, it is magic, Big blues and flatheads, love them.
Any of you fellas use live bluegill for bait?
I think that's my missing link. I catch plenty of bluegill, but I've always been using them as cutbait, frozen cut bait at that. I just don't catch anything on cold, frozen cutbaits.
A guy on another forum mentioned using them as live bait. I hit me that I only fish for bluegill with live bait. It didn't hit me that live would be best for blues.
I have always done better on green sunfish than bluegill . I have caught quite a bit too on cut bluegill...but it depends on the body of water and where you're fishing on it and which species you're targeting. It also matters on when your trying it. These catfish will target a certain bait at certain times of the year. I have seen them get picky about which shad variety you're fishing with,how you cut it, how fresh it is etc. The notion that catfish are just these scavengers that will eat most anything is WRONG.
I use to fish on the Ohio a lot. AT one of the grainery operations we use to target eating size channel cats. We would have three different kind of shad to bait with...but certain times they wanted the gut of the gizzard shad...that's right you had to string the guts on your hook.
Flatheads I really have always liked the green sunfish...but on the Mississippi around riprap I have caught flathead on cut bluegill...other places not so much.
Blues seem to like mooneyes and herring and gizzard shad cut just right or a whole one
And threadfin shad...yellowtails we call em...rigged live and whole or fresh dead at least...well man everything eats those...
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Like any sort of live bream, including baiting with small catfish, on trotline or noodles.
John 3:16funbun thanked you for this post
My favorite is green sunfish also but bluegills work to I also use bullheads up to 12'' long .This one was caught on a 6'' live bluegill I either hook them in the back or I will hook it in 1 eye and out the other with a hook 8/0 - 10/0 Gama octopus hooks. Flathead pefer live bait but will hit cut also channels and blues will hit either but most people use cut for them I only fish for big flatheads and always use live bait for them 50'' long 64#
Goggle Eye(Rock Bass, Pond Perch)they have different names in different parts of the country
,will stay alive longer than anything on a hook. With the exception of maybe a goldfish. I rarely catch Flatheads on dead bait. Don't be afraid to use huge panfish. I catch a lot of flatheads on BIG bait.