Favorite Lure for Cats-Success photos

[doublehaul]

What's your favorite lure for icin' some channel cats?
Favorite bait? Location? Time of year? Depth?

How about some success photos?

[adammd]

Bait - can't seem to do better than wax worms.

TOY - No specific time of year.

Depth - Never seem to find them on the bottom, or they never seem to hit when they are at the bottom.  I prefer fishing the channel but fishing at the depth of the channel sides. 

Pics -

[Jerry1492]

I've never tried fishing for channel cats through the ice but I know people do it.
 I never thought wax worms would be effective. Do you use a jig or just a hook?
I'd like to try it this winter since we have a good population of cats in one of our local lakes.

[doublehaul]

Nice fish. How'd you fit his head through the hole? Never thought to try waxworms.

[adammd]

I've never tried fishing for channel cats through the ice but I know people do it.
 I never thought wax worms would be effective. Do you use a jig or just a hook?
I'd like to try it this winter since we have a good population of cats in one of our local lakes.

I will generally use a teardrop with one or many waxies on it, or a spoon, never tried just a bare hook, but I don't set out in search of cats only.  I am never really targetting them, just end up finding them, and usually when I find one I find many.  I generally fish with one minnow dead-sticked, and another with whatever I am acutally doing.  Have had experiences where they will not touch the minnows, but love the wax when they are side by side, not sure why.  I have tried any number of baits, and minnows work OK, but as far as other artificials, cutbait, or anything else teardrops seem to be the best for me.  Also I would say a minnow head jigged produces better for me compared to a swimming minnow. 

Another thing I noticed with cats, is when you get into numbers of them, they are often very similar in size.  Not sure if this is just what I have experienced, but seems to be the case most of the time. 

Nice fish. How'd you fit his head through the hole? Never thought to try waxworms.

Had to pull good to get it out, went back in fairly smooth. 

[Oldfart]

I catch a lot of cats but you got yourself a good one there!

[Jerry1492]

Thanks Adammd, I appreciate your information about catching cats through the ice.

[mt.redneck]

I have caught them on both maggots and frozen minnows at the pondoor I fish for them at. Kept the baits within a foot of the bottom and they have only hit dead rods. I catch them on the outside of an area that I usually do pretty well at for perch. I would love to find numbers of them cause they fight so well but only get about 1 threw the ice a season

[Monticatgeek]

The one place I fish channel cats I like to use chicken livers, minnow heads or whole minnows. one of my rods is set up with a plain glow hook and on that I put a whole crappie minnow. this particular chain of lake will produce not only catfish on this but crappies, walleyes, and even once and awhile I will hook a aggressive bull bluegill that will hit the minnow too. on my other rod I like to run something like a rattlin flyer spoon or a time bomb spoon with a minnow head only on it.

[panfishman13]

i mostly catch them on small jigging spoons crammed full of waxworms. particularly fond of the northland buckshot rattle spoon.
the cats i get aren't really anything to brag about size-wise, but they're a lot of fun on panfish tackle