[roostertail24]

Blue cats like faster current than other cats and they also love cut bait. Flatheads like slower creeks and streams at times and prefer live bait. Do you use cut or live bait due to where your fishing? Like if you fishing in a main river with strong current and muddier water would you go with cut bait instead of live? Or do most of you always use live if you can get it? This is for big Cats.

 

[boredgunny]

I usually only fish lakes/mill ponds. When I am going for cats I use mainly "Blood Bait Dough Balls". My favorite, and the one I've caught the most fish on, is beef blood.

 

[sundrop]

I dont fish fast current if I can avoid it, if I do its cut baits/ scented baits. I still look for holes, drops or bends where fish can get out of the main current to feed. Still or slow waters with cover I use both but always have some live out there on the hook somewhere. Flatheads like to ambush, so heavy cover is a good place for live as well but doing it w/o hangups is tricky.

 

[roostertail24]

So in a river like the neuse its good to find the eddies or creekmouths and places with less current? You hear people fishing and saying that 8 oz wouldn't hold. That's pretty heavy current!

 

[Tomahawk]

On badin and tillery when they got the floodgates open the blues cats bite like crazy. Blues love current. In those conditions I have to use 5-6oz to stay on the bottom. Flatheads like moderate current. When the water gets above 65* you want to use all live bait. Thats what the bigger fish are looking for.

 

[Brenardo]

If river fishing, I almost always prefer to set up near a log jam. Which in turn most of the time results in an eddy. So by fishing near or in an eddy it gives you the option to fish both high current and low to moderate current.

Most people tend to agree that cut bait for blue and live for flatheads, and this is a good general rule but just because you don't have live bait don't think you can't catch Big flatheads.

 

[riverpirate]

On badin and tillery when they got the floodgates open the blues cats bite like crazy. Blues love current. In those conditions I have to use 5-6oz to stay on the bottom. Flatheads like moderate current. When the water gets above 65* you want to use all live bait. Thats what the bigger fish are looking for.

This is the guy to be listening to.

 

[Mack in N.C.]

So in a river like the neuse its good to find the eddies or creekmouths and places with less current? You hear people fishing and saying that 8 oz wouldn't hold. That's pretty heavy current!

I like creekmouths and logjams in the neuse and like Brenardo said cut bait for blues and live for flats and it doesn't always hold true....blues love live bait and flats will eat cutbait. blues will hit the fire out of live bream on the nesue but my best luck has been on bream heads for blues and live bream or crappie for flats.

oh , never had in the neuse where 5 oz wouldn't hold but I am not fishing it in really highwater...I like lowwater the best. rising is better but I would rather fish it low. 1 reason being bait is hard to catch when the neuse is out of the banks and the bait is all spread out plus in low water the fish are concentrated..

 

[roostertail24]

Good info here guys. Thanks!

 

[sundrop]

When the Neuse is fast I have never had much luck nor anyone else I know. Now growing up on the Santee in SC when the dam was open and the Diversion Canal would rise an 8oz the Blues were crazy. As with anything I guess it depends on where and when.
I like jams, eddys, creek mouths, curves and deep holes or shallow flats depending on conditions.