This past season, my son Braden, who is now 14, and I were going to go catfishing because I was on a good bite and had a guiding cancelation. We were talking the night before the trip, and I asked him if he had ever used bait clickers on casting reels (or bait runners on spinning reels) to catch catfish. He told me that he had used them one time from shore, but that was about it.

I am sure that many anglers around the country still use the bait clicker feature on their reel for catfishing. But it seems to have become a thing of the past as circle hooks and catfish-specific rods came into play. When I learned to catfish, it was basically using a muskie rod with a baitcaster. I was taught to use the clicker, and it was years later when I finally switched.

It is important to note that, when fishing with bait clickers, a stiffer rod helps get a good hook set, and it is imperative that you use a regular, old-fashioned “J” hook. Circle hooks are designed to hook themselves, and if you set a circle hook, you have a much higher chance of pulling the hook out of the fish’s mouth.

One thing I have always missed about switching over to circle hooks is setting the hook. Using a clicker or when holding the rod, you must set the hook to catch the fish. There really is no rush quite like setting a hook into a big catfish.

When fishing for catfish with the clicker, you cast the bait to where you want it, and then engage the clicker with the bail of the reel open so it freespools and clicks out when a fish hits it. When the fish picks up the bait and runs with it, the fish doesn’t feel the tension of the rod, and the clicker notifies you that there is a fish on. From there, pick up the rod, engage the bail and set the hook.

Back to the day with my boy. I told him, just for fun, we should pack our Ugly Stik Carbon rods. They are perfect for fishing with J hooks, as they are very sensitive but have a stiff, fast action. He thought it would be fun and different, so we packed them.

While fishing, I was telling him about learning to fish with clickers. I don’t like them when guiding because I have so many different skill levels of anglers in the boat and timing of the hookset is key. I explained to him how to pick the rod from the rod holder, lock the bail and set the hook.

The first couple fish didn’t take the long, hard run that you might like, but took it and stopped, so we had to hold the rod and feel for the fish. As the day went on, the runs got harder, and both of us were laughing and cheering about the rush of the hookset.

Over the rest of the 2024 season, I know I ran clickers at least another five times just for pure entertainment. It reminded me that there is a time and place for using this method to catch fish.

If you enjoy catfishing, you’ll find suggestions for locations and techniques in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.