Cat Tip of the Day: Cat Bait Harness

I’ve read my 2009 In-Fisherman Catfish Insider from end to end and found one rigging option that has me very intrigued. The blue cat article featuring John Jamison and Jeremy Leach showed a two hook rig they use. What they do is make a standard 2 hook minnow harness using 7/0 to 5/0 circle hooks with the hooks separated about 3” to 4”. I liked the thought of being able to two hook a large bait. That extra stinger hook might just be that hookup advantage that a lot of us are missing during hook sets.

Trouble is that in Minnesota inland waters we are restricted to using only 1 hook unless you are using a lure. The way around the one hook rule is to make your rig a lure by adding a spinner or some other type of lure device hence that is how worm harnesses and minnow harnesses become legal. With the lure idea in mind I made myself a few two hook cat bait harnesses using real size hooks (5/0 to 8/0 sized) not those little bitty walleye hooks and placing some beads, a clevis and a small spinner in line just in front of the first hook. The spinner may give us some additional vibration and help the cat find the bait. The addition of the hardware should make this a legal lure. Here is a photo of a circle hook bait Harness:

Here is a photo of a J hook Cat Bait Harness:

You can see from the photos that a standard snell knot works perfect. After rigging up several cat harnesses using circle hooks and a few with some standard J hooks I set out last night to give them a test run. I’d like to give you a report that they were the miracle cure for early season flatheads but unfortunately you still need to put the bait in front of a hungry flat to catch one. Even though I still need to catch a flathead on this setup I was convinced that it will work after seeing it in action. I thought I would throw it out here so you can add another tool for the cat box and maybe help me test it out. Here is a picture of the bait harness in action. I was using a sheepshead head for some early season flathead cut bait. In this case I had the front hook bridle hooked and the stinger hooked in the back of the bait. No luck with this bait tonight – but it will be out there again soon and I hope to put it in front of a big pre-spawn flathead.

I’m interested to see how this works for you. I’d be very nervous about that snell slipping. Power Pro is slippery stuff!

Tie palomars on both? I am intrigued by this. Slow trolling the thermocline for suspended cats here on the lake. I might add a keel weight above it somewhere. I am going to run some bouncers this year and maybe a couple of these so I can fish the bottom and the thermocline at the same time when it suits me. Nice tip Steve.

Quote:

---

I’m interested to see how this works for you. I’d be very nervous about that snell slipping. Power Pro is slippery stuff!

---

Ryan – I snell all my hooks and all I use for leader material is PowerPro. I’ve never had one slip.

I was inspired to learn how to snell my hooks after seeing Steve’s pre-tied leaders. After playing around with a snelled hook, I am convinced it is a better knot for circles and any hook with a offset eye. I like how there is less play in the hook and to me it seems like once the tip contacts flesh, I want less wobble and more stability for it to work itself into a secure hold. But what do I know?

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I’m interested to see how this works for you. I’d be very nervous about that snell slipping. Power Pro is slippery stuff!

---

Ryan – I snell all my hooks and all I use for leader material is PowerPro. I’ve never had one slip.

---

Good to know. I’ve messed with snelling Power Pro, but never had the confidence to try it out on fish. I do snell some of my mono leaders, though.