# New to Catfish Lounge !! Lake Conroe



## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

Hey guys, I am new to this lounge, I sure could use some help. I have been reading some past posts in this lounge, man yall catch some big Cats. Ok here we go, I bought a boat about 5 or 6 months ago, its a Kenner Nitro 18 ft Bay Boat, center console with a 50. I absolutely love it. Thing is I dont get on the bay much. Its a lot easier for me to head out to Conroe on a day off. I have been going to Conroe for a month or 2. I am new to boating, so when I get out in the water I generally go where I have been before, its safer and I usually go solo which is during the week, and no one is hardly out there. Coming from Spring, its the League Line road exit take a left, all the way down to Piney Shores (its a time share) it has easy boat launch access, cleaning station and its free. Well guys, when I have been going out, I have been using worms and just recently started using frozen shad. I have not been catching what I really want. What can or should I start doing to catch the big 10 to 20 lb cats ? I am going on Wednesday the 11th. Any help or advice sure would be appreciated. I am including a pic of my semi new boat, it's a 2005.


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## grandpa cracker (Apr 7, 2006)

I don`t get to fish as much as I would like so I`ll leave your question to some of our experts here at 2cool.
I just want to welcome you aboard to the best all around site on the net. You will find fellow Marines,
top notch fisherpersons and the best folk in general. My favorite are the smaller catfish that go two- three lbs.
and I usually stop at about 10 fish, enough for a few meals as I`m the only one that eats cat in my household.

BTW, nice boat.


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## archersfin (Aug 31, 2005)

Get you a cast net and learn to throw it. Fresh Shad is the bait of choice that is cheap. You will also catch bream and perch that ain't bad for bait. This time of year fish in deep water where the bait is. Conroe is holding bait in 25' to 40'. I just assumed you are going during the daytime. If at night find some flats close to deep water. Put out several rods and have a lot of patience. Good luck on your trip.


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## capn (Aug 11, 2005)

If you really want to catch big fish on Conroe, you need to be fishing at night. You will also need a depth finder, and a good castnet (bigger the better). You will need to put in the time to catch fresh gizzard shad (the 6-10 inch shad, not the little 2-3 inch button shad). Cut the gizzard shad up in big 3 inch chunks, on a 5/0 circle hook. Fish drop offs, creek channels, or humps in areas holding bait, and the big fish will cruise pretty tight to the dropoffs so use the depth finder to make sure you're on them. You can anchor or drift, but will probably fish multiple rods so make sure you have good rod holders. Put one on bottom with as little weight as it takes to get it there, maybe 3/8-1/2 ounce, one freelined if you're drifting, and one about 4-5 feet under a lighted cork. Bait alarms (clickers on the reel) help. The first couple bites will tell you how deep they are. Don't set the hook on a circle hook. After he's run with it a bit, engage the reel and let the fish hook itself as the rod bows up. If you're missing a lot of fish, make sure there is plenty of clearance on the hook and it isn't filled up with bait. You need to bring a BIG net, as it is not easy to get a 40lb ticked off fish in the boat, and you do NOT want to kill it with a gaff. Let fish over 10 pounds go after snapping a pic, they aren't good eating anyways and you should catch plenty of smaller fish and hybrids using this method that are good eating.

Or you could just get some flagging jugs and be done with it.


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## FISHNNUTT (Oct 27, 2007)

If your going to anchor and fish I would recommend chuming with
some soured milo,chicken scratch or range cubes. This should draw
the fish to your baits. We fish off the banks around the lake and catch
quite a few cats but not many big ones. For bait we normally use catfish charlie
blood bait or sure shot punch bait. Hope this helps good luck!!


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## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

Yes, this all helps. I will try my luck tomorrow. I do know how to throw a casting net, now I just have to buy one. Where can you find some sure shot punch bait ? Thanks guys.


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## capn (Aug 11, 2005)

If you want to catch big fish, don't mess with punch bait or grain made chums. The big fish in Conroe are blue cats. They are hunting for shad, not something rotten like a channel cat would look for. They will be trailing schools of shad and picking off cripples or maybe a yellow bass or bluegill that isn't paying attention. They're active open water hunters.

Fish at night, and keep in mind that you will not catch a bunch. You're fishing for a handful of bites most nights, and it takes discipline. If you want to catch a bunch of good eatin fish, fish shallower and for the channel cats.

Or just get some flagging jugs and catch everything on them.


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## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

Real quick question, these channel cats. How deep are they ? How should I rig my line for one of these beasts, I will be using shad. I can't get out at night to fish, what would u recommend if day fishing ?


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## El Capitan de No Fish (Sep 20, 2007)

Here in a couple of months, hit the bulkheads with worms/punchbait about 12-18" under a cork. All the 2-4lb channel cats you can handle.


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## brazman (Aug 22, 2006)

Devildoggg, if you really, REALLY want to catch some fish, not necessarily the big blue brutes you see on here, but some really good eaters, do this: 

Find some flooded timber or anything sticking out of the water in a good water depth, 15-20 feet or so. Ideally, this will be in a location of the lake near a river or creek that brings water into the lake, and is kinda muddy water. 
Buy yourself a metal fish basket, the kind you see old timers load up with crappie or bluegill, and make sure you get one without the floating top. Tie this basket to some part of the timber or structure where you can find it again, but is nice and inconspicuous so that noone else will bother it. It should hang three or four feet into the water.
Fill that basket up with 20% protein range cubes, found at your local feed store. Should run $5-7 for a 50 lb bag. When you get all this set up, either fish right there for a little while, or run somewhere else on the lake and fish somewhere else. For your best results, bait this basket as often as you can, and I mean load that sucker up! Fill it up with the range cubes! Fill it when you get to the lake, fill it back up when you leave. If you can go to the lake several consecutive days in a row, even the next day, there should be catfish waiting on supper. 
If you can keep this up, baiting the hole out regularly, you should never have any trouble catching a mess of fish from there. Actually, you could use some burlap sacks and bait out several holes around the lake in this manner. 

All I know is, on one of the biggest lakes in Oklahoma, I kept a wire fish basket baited with range cubes on a boat dock in about 12-15 ft of water for five days in a row. Put it out the evening we got there, and fished for 5 days. We caught catfish, crappie, and sandbass (whitebass) off that hole for 5 straight days, and by the last day, some 5-7 lb catfish we were catching had such bloated stomachs from the grain, it probably added at least a pound to their weight. Funny thing is, the fish were biting on anything we'd put down there. Minnows, worms, punch bait, livers, you name it.

Doggg, if you bait out a hole like this with range cubes for a few days in a row and don't catch fish (barring any inclement weather patterns or the Apocolyps), I'll owe you a fishing trip.


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## capn (Aug 11, 2005)

Brazman has the right idea. Better to abandon the big cats if you can't fish at night, or maybe try for them in the first hour of light after baiting a hole. Another way to find channel cats this time of year is to fish under cormorant roosts. Be quiet, and use either punchbait or liver.

When you decide to get serious about the big uns, launch at dusk, fill till dawn, then go sleep.  

Or you could use some flagging jugs and be done with it.


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## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

Where can I get these flagging jugs ?


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## Wastrel (Jan 20, 2009)

If you really want to learn how to catch cats, drop me a line and I will take you out on Lake Houston and show you what to do. It's not difficult at all to catch cats, they will practically jump in the boat for you, hehe.


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## capn (Aug 11, 2005)

Google mudcat flagging jugs, or check out the catfish jugs thread for a diagram.


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## brazman (Aug 22, 2006)

Or click this link for the flagging jug post http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=195463

Towards the bottom there's a great diagram showing you how to build a passel o' juglines.


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## jamesgreeson (Jan 31, 2006)

Go to walmart buy a lakes & Nbays atlas.Check out the spots they have on thier map.Most are marked with jugs are some sort of device.anywhere in the general area will work.Most of the marked areas are on the north end in the trees and creek beds.


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## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

Thanks guys, Well today I had intended on going out to Conroe, had the boat in the driveway, bait in the freezer and new casting net, a drift sock, etc etc, well this morning my daughter woke up with Pink Eye. So maybe this weekend, I will keep yall posted.


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## jamesgreeson (Jan 31, 2006)

Real catfisher-men don't clean their boat that good!!lmao


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## Devildoggg (Dec 18, 2008)

I like that Headshaker.............real comedian huh ? Just messing, it is kinda new.


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## capn (Aug 11, 2005)

Devildoggg said:


> bait in the freezer


Heresy! :rotfl:

Never use frozen bait. If you can't catch fresh shad for bait, use beef heart for jugs, or livers/punch bait for rod and reel. NEVER frozen.


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## Wastrel (Jan 20, 2009)

I agree with cap. Frozen bait, especially shad, tends to fall apart when you try to hook it. The freezing process does too much damage to the tissue, and when it thaws out it is like mush.


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