Cumberland Cats
 

I have been in Nashville for 15 years but have not really ever had much of a chance to fish. My cousin recently moved here on Cumberland between Old Hickory Dam and downtown Nashville. We decided we wanted to get out and run some limb lines to catch a mess of catfish.

Now, being from south Louisiana, catching river cats on limb lines and trot lines has been something I have done since I was little, but never on a river like this.

Needless to say, we did not do very well.

We tried limb lines at various depths from 18" to 5'. We used gold fish, shiners, tadpoles, and chicken livers. We also had 7/0 hooks, which we believe is too big.

Can anyone else give us some tips on what has been successful for them?

When we wanted a mess of catfish, we would jug fish on the Cumberland river.

The most important thing is to watch the dam generation. 5000cfs seems perfect for me, But a lot of flow can be dangerous..

The jugs are a pool noodle cut down to about 12" with wire weaved through them and a 6' to 8' leader attached. A split shot and a 2/0 bait hook, and shad or skipjack for bait.

Set them out and float along with them, til they start dancing..

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I second the jug fishing when little or no generation. Cut shad always worked best for me, just keep it out of the schools of gar. I always try to stay above the "poo poo plant", probably makes no difference but for catfish I just have it in the back of my mind when I'm eating them.

More importantly, Where did you find Shiners?

BTW, Cut shad is the best. It's really hard Not to catch one with that on your hook.

might want read read fishing regs pretty sure they made it illegal to fish with gold fish as of this year. I could be wrong though

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Right now there is a major mayfly hatch going on Old Hickory and other bodies of water.
Now Is the time Cats hit the shallows. Catch them 10-2" deep since they are on Bed and just fish with nice smelly bait.

Shrimp is great.

shrimp or chicken breast...Marinaded in Strawberry Koolaid...Been my "Go To" for 9 yrs.:)

You gonna spend more in bait than what fillets cost at Kroger! Lol. I'm a little cheaper on what meat to use. We all know cats like to have some kind of meat flavor. I soak hotdogs in a garlic oil. And also cut bait. Whether it's bluegill or skipjack.


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Meant to also say that I have done the kool aid trick and it works also. Grape is another good one that works.


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A catfishes primary food source is what works best and thats shad. Invest in a cast net and catch fresh bait right before you go out. Prepared baits, hot dogs, chicken soaked in koolaid and such may work for little dink channel cats and fish that are starving but nothing works better than natural baits. Just my 2 cents.

Oh and also the catalpa trees are full of catalpa worms right now so if you see any catalpa trees on the river, tie a few limb lines in that area. The cats love catalpa worms.

shrimp is not that expensive
 

Shrimp is not that expensive. You can get at least two baits out of most shrimp. What you don't use goes back in the freezer for next time. Before you pass on shrimp because of cost check how many raw frozen shrimp you can get at Walmart for 5-6 dollars.

Been pretty successful with catfish over the years , my go to bait for catching numbers is Spam cut in 3/4 inch squares, if going for bigger fish like flatheads live goldfish and bluegill are the best

cut rainbow trout is very good but may be illegal in Tennessee IDK

Oh wow, I haven't seen a catalpa worm in years, never used them but have old timers that swear by them

If any one has Catalpa worms or trees I would pay to get them.

Had trees on my old work site at Mid Tenn Fords Body shop on Spence ln.
we had tons of worms and would freeze them in water to save for later but Mid Tenn cut All the trees down when they bought our Heavy Duty Brake
shop Building!

Just look for top leaves torn and tattered and you will know Catalpa are there.