24 | 9 JULY anglersmail.com
GUEST INSTRUCTION
Building
BLOCKS
for catfish
This week’s guest: DEAN ALDRIDGE
Over the past four seasons, Bromley, South East London, specialist Dean
Aldridge has banked an incredible seven catfish of over 99 lb, the largest 107 lb,
from Crow Green Fishery, in Essex. Sponsored by Big Cat, the co-founder of the
Wels Catfish Community shows us his secret tactic – the ‘block rig’.
You need to use strong tackle
for taming catfish, and that’s
the reason why I use 12 ft
4.5 lb Feline XT rods, Shimano
Baitrunner Ci4 XTR-A
Longcast reels and 99 lb
Suffix 832 braid.
Many fisheries insist on
running rigs for catfish, but
some allow semi-fixed rigs,
so it’s worth checking before
you fish.
I’ve been fishing Crow
Green Fishery for four seasons
now, and always use a 5 oz
in-line lead on a 3 ft length of
80 lb Solar Contour leader.
I remove the insert from the
lead and thread a tail rubber,
thin end first, onto the leader,
so that it can be pushed over a
hook length swivel, to protect
it. The lead can then be slid
over the tapered sleeve, to
create some friction, but it's
still a safe running rig.
A robust hook length
material is important, too,
as catfish have thousands
of minute teeth that form
crushing pads, which can
easily damage line. Catfish
have pretty poor eyesight,
so there’s no need to worry
about them being able to see
your hook link, which should
always be abrasion resistant
braid.
I knotless knot 15 in. of
50 lb Korda Arma Kord
Sinking Leader to a size 1
Korda Curve Shank XX hook,
crushing and filing away the
barb, leaving a short hair, towhich I attach a quick-change
swivel.
I also put a little bit of shrink
tubing over the top of the
shank, as it helps the hook
turn in the mouth of a catfish,
securing a good hook hold. To
complete the set-up, I tie on a
heavy-duty swivel to the other
end of the hook length.
Back leads are essential
for keeping your main line
pinned to the bottom, out of
the way of feeding catfish,
and to help prevent a hooked
cat from picking up other
lines in the water. Think about
the topography of the lake
between your rig and rod tip,
as back leads will need to be
placed at different distances
to have the desired effect.
A lot of time spent casting
around with a marker rod to
understand the contours of
the lake can be done in the
middle of the day, as long as
you’re not upsetting other
anglers by doing this.A block rig has served me
well at Crow Green Fishery
and many other venues. It
features 16 mm Big
Cat Stinky Krill, Crab &
Salmon Pellets and a
pop-up boilie, such as
a 24 mm Oily Prototype,
which helps lift it off the
bottom, in a very similar way
to a snowman rig for carp.
I create six hook baits
in advance, simply by
threading three pellets onto
a loop of mono, followed by a
bright pop-up, then another
three pellets, before tying
a knot and burning the tag
ends with a cigarette lighter.
If you’re using different
pellets and pop-ups, you
will need to drop the rig into
water, to test it. You want the
bait to sink slowly and then
sit upright when it reaches
the bottom.
I keep a container of
pellets soaking in Big Cat
Hook Bait Soak, as they willDean’s TACKLE
Powerful rods and
reels with reliable
clutches are
paramount when
fishing for catfish.Use an abrasion-resistant hook
length to withstand catfish teeth. Dean’s^ BAIT