The blue catfish population continuing to expand, both in numbers and in size, enhances the possibility of your catch of a lifetime.
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Bait - James River Catfishing
Now big and fresh are key words in describing bait. The larger the shad, the more oil they contain, which means more scent in the water. A few catfisherman use a bait tank but in the fall and winter all seem to use coolers packed in ice. To keep shad fresh they need to be on ice but without being in the melting ice water. I just bag my shad and keep them on ice. If the shad are allowed to set in water they become soggy and also loose some of the scent. As a rule of thumb most will change bait on the rods every 30 minutes or so, to keep it fresh and to release maximum scent to the bait area.
Former DGIF biologist Bob Greenlee said "All the information I have at this point indicates that the 100-pound mark is within reach, Greenlee, who manages the James' catfish fishery. "The James is a highly productive system, and as long as the forage -- primarily gizzard shad -- holds out we will continue to see the size structure for blue cat catches expand upward, possibly topping the 100-pound mark this year or next. all & winter I have not talked to anyone...ran across anyone....heard of anyone that used anything but cut bait on the James fishing for the trophy blues.....other than bait be sure to gear up that tackle for the big boys and girls. In the spring...White perch usually arrive in the James around end March- middle April. A lot of fisherman use perch for live bait. Also there are some that use Bluegill and Crappie.
Below are pics from John Sherman's article...he will get 4 pieces of cut bait from an 12-14 inch shad I only get 3...always dispose of the tail.
HeadMid Section or some refer to if as gut pocket
Shad cut in 4 sections
Read John's complete article with lots of info, bait, tackle, the river:
Trophy Blue Cats
Best Fishing For Blue Catfish In The State
I
would guess 75-85% of the catfisherman use chunks for cut bait...but some do
scale all the shad they use, some will fillet the shad, using the head and
carcass on other lines. I have seen some cut the fillet up to the head leave it
attached and run the hook through the fillet and head.
Just remember never leave a scale on the point of the hook and always leave plenty of hook exposed...
Filleting a shad, with
the fillets cut and then the remainder
of the shad cut into chunks..
Also let me mention if you are not after altogether trophy size blue cats, eel makes an great bait and would keep one more interested as usually you will bring more fish in the boat just smaller. Eels will bring a lot of the smaller size fish to the boat, fish them live or in 4" chunks. Fishing them live cut off 4" from the tail and hook them at the cut. Run the hook from the inside meat at the cut then through the tough skin...makes it a little easier. If you hook the head they will wrap around the leader. You can go to a bait store and buy a few of the biggest eels that they have, then cut them in 6" lengths and butterfly them open to present a big bait.
James River Tackle and Fish Tales Bait & Tackle Shop are 2 shops in Hopewell.