In this discussion various claims are in red. These are followed by my observations.

Catfish are omnivorous and will eat a wide variety of baits. Different species often prefer different diets. Channel cats seem to eat any organic material. Blue cats prefer fish but hit cut baits and live baits with equal vigor. Flathead prefer to eat live fish. Mature flathead have a diet of 98% live fish.

Also consider that fish must adapt to the most abundant food supplies to feed effectively. This means that their diets will change throughout the year. Ice out provides much winter killed shad that has been suspended in ice till water thaws. This makes cut shad a deadly choice for channel cats when used where feeder creeks enter lakes and deposit the shad.

Later as water warms these cats will be watching for minnows and fry (baby fish) as other fish spawn. Still later they will seek out spots providing lots of insects.

In each case you should use the most abundant food source as bait since active fish are searching for that bait.

Small cats are most versatile feeders because they cannot compete with larger fish. These are most often caught with stinkbaits or soured baits. They do not have the skills or size necessary to hunt and kill other fish for food. They feed on insects or dead fish, which explains their attraction for stinkbaits.

Mature catfish all develop hunting skills to provide an ongoing diet of high protein food to sustain a larger body mass and to grow. Growth is essential to establish and maintain superior standing among other fish. A large body size will give fish dominance over smaller fish that they can use to establish territory, sexual preference, and feeding stature over smaller fish.

While on this subject I would like to note that catfish sensory organs do not work like human smell. Fish detect concentrations in water with both nasal and body sensory organs, such as skin and barbels and their tongues. The sense of smell we experience is from molecules suspended in air. A fishes sense is through taste/smell suspended in water.

I understand that many people feel they have the ultimate tackle or bait for catfish but this may not be true. To catch more fish you must match your tackle, tactics, and bait to waterway, season, and presentation.

To achieve this you must first ask what are your expectations and what products will most closely achieve those needs.

If you fish small streams for smaller channel cats, large saltwater levelwind reels would not deliver small baits to precise locations as effectively as a medium sized spinning outfit could.

If you target 2-4 pound channel cats, a ½ pound piece of cut shad impaled on a 10/0 hook will not be effective. Fishing for large flathead with Zebco 202 reels loaded with 8 pound line might also cause disappointing results.

A small crawdad and split shot will not hold position in the strong current of the Mississippi River.

Many hooks are specifically designed for special purposes. Kahle hooks are made for large live baits. J hooks and baitholders are made for worms. Circle and octopus hooks are best for use with cut baits.

The size of hooks must be matched to fish size to make sure they are small enough to be easily swallowed or large enough to ensure strength on large fish. Often you must downsize baits in colder water and should often go with smaller hooks.

Many novice fishermen hope to impress others with huge outfits or heavy line and monster hooks. These may not be necessary or wise choices in most situations. Consistent catches of fish are more impressive to me.

Another debate is often which waterways are more difficult to fish. This often originates from each anglers experience. As might be expected, current areas and non-current areas must be fished differently. Tackle, tactics, and presentation of bait are different in each waterway. You must adapt to changing conditions to become more consistent at catching fish.

The very easiest way to do this would be to fish with someone who understands the other waterway to learn the differences. Compare the new lessons learned to your previous experience and you will probably find that catfish can be caught in both types of water effectively.

With the possible exception of tidal rivers, moon phase has no effect on catfish feeding behavior. Tidal rivers change current direction and speed with oceanic tides influences by the moon and these affect catfish feeding.

Many other factors influence catfish feeding behavior but moon phase is not one of them. If there were specific timed triggers for fish feeding it would not be a secret and success would be guaranteed.

Once again fishing conditions should dictate tactics. Most reels must be in gear to fish heavy current. Lever drag reels or baitrunner spinning reels with incremental drag settings can be adjusted to freeline baits even in heavy current. In light current, cast controls can be tightened to hold baits while the reel is out of gear but must be readjusted to cast baits.

The real question is which way will catch more fish. The answer is that species, fish behavior, and personal preference should be deciding factors for leaving a reel out of gear or in gear.

Tightlining straight down under a boat should be done with reels engaged. With circle or octopus hooks and rods securely in rod holders the cats should hook themselves. You should use the same system for fishing current areas or drifting.

When fishing for light biting cats or with large live baits in lakes, I often prefer leaving reels out of gear. There is no current to keep lines tight and no way of being sure a cat has completely taken a large live bait. A reel out of gear allows finicky cats to commit to baits before feeling resistance. When fishing for large cats with live baits it is best to allow them to swallow baits or at least be moving steadily before setting the hook. Their movement will reduce slack line and make hook setting more effective.

I suggest using the method that proves more effective for hooking cats where you fish and with the methods and waters you fish.

First I would note if a catfish breaks a hook or line it is terribly difficult to weigh since it was never taken to a scale to be weighed.

Next I will argue that it doesn’t take a 50 pound fish to break 50 pound line. From there I will ask if the line is new, the eyes of the rod or rocks or timber have not nicked it, sunlight or oxidation have not degraded its strength, or it wasn’t around submerged rocks or timber after hooking the fish. A poorly tied knot will yield results much similar to a broken line.

With a correctly adjusted drag your reel should empty of line before breaking the line on any fish. Drag tension should be 30-35% of line test to make up for surges on shortlines, the coefficient of drag created by guides and tips, and increased drag encountered as spool diameter decreases as line goes off the reel during the fight.

A fish could only break a hook if it were damaged, rusted, poorly made, or simply too small for line capability. If your line, rod, and reel can hold up to breaking your hook held in a vise, then your equipment was not wisely chosen. Use good quality hooks of suitable size.

The best time to fish for catfish is when they are actively feeding. This might occur any time of day or night and depends on species, season, availability and type of food source.

One example might be a trophy blue cat in 80 foot of water in winter. At that depth the catfish cannot tell day from night. It can detect if food becomes available and will feed if other conditions induce it to feed at that time.

Channel cats that are feeding on grasshoppers will be actively feeding in daytime. Not because they prefer to feed in daylight but because most grasshoppers will be blown into the water or hop into the water in daytime.

Mature flathead feed on live fish. These large fish are neither fast nor nimble. Their eyesight is not keen. They rely on stealth to get close to their prey. They use darkness to defeat their preys superior eyesight. Since they are actively hunting at night, success rates are higher for nocturnal fishermen.