Secret Fishing Tips for Catfish & Mullet

Catfish Location

Remember what catfish like. Since they are bottom dwellers, they tend to stay where the bottom goes from shallow to deep. Because they like the slower current, they often situate near a log or tree which helps slow down the current as well.

Catfish Hooks

While you can use a typical hook, line, and sinker method, a trick of the trade is to form a "trot line." This line contains a large number of hooks, as many as 50. You attach one side of the line to one fishing pole and the other end to another fishing pole. Find the place where you feel the catfish are congregating, and drop the hooks in the shallow area. This method is often highly effective in June and July, when catfish are abundant.

Catfish Bait

For bait, you can use pretty much anything you are willing to put on a hook. Some fishermen tout hot dogs, cheese and liver as particularly effective. For bottom dwellers, however, live or dead bait work equally fine. While this may not sound like a secret, catfish are one of the only fish you can catch with just about anything. People have their preferences, but feel free to get creative.

Mullet Bait

Mullets are vegetarians. They can be tricked into liking some meats like sausage, but are inherently drawn to things like bread flakes, cheese paste and pasta; thus, those will produce better results. Consider also spreading bread on the water to draw them to the area.

Mullet Tricks

If you choose to surface fish, you can free line at close range with no additional weight; just be certain to dunk the bread prior to casting. Surface fishing means keeping your line near the very top of the water. If you want to use a clear bubble which helps keep the line afloat, be sure to use at least a 15-inch length of five-pound Flouoro carbon to the hook, as this will mimic a naturally-floating piece of bread. The fish will notice any surface skid (ripple in the water near the line) and not take the bait.

Mullet Net

Mullet can also be lured with a good prebait or through dropping bait in the water before putting in your hook or net. You might want to use small mesh bags filled with a mix of fish food, bran, white bread and pilchard oil. You lower this in the water, tying it off to keep a constant flow of food in the water. This should serve to encourage the mullet to keep feeding near the boat. Perhaps you can use a mullet net to snare many at once. Some fisherman believe mullet to have a soft pallet, thereby easier to catch via net, while others argue their tough lips make hook fishing just as effective.