/ 
Essential equipment
Equipment plays a vital role in your hopes of catching fish of this size. The rod and reel must be sturdy, an echo sounder is most often necessary to locate fish, and a clonck is optional, but it can attract fish by vibration (but should be avoided on overfished spots).
The rig can be as simple as a heavy lead (100 to 200 grams) attached to braid, connected by a 15 to 40 cm fluorocarbon leader or directly to a 100 kg braid attached to the triple hook. You can also add a soft teaser if bites are shy.
As far as worms are concerned, we generally use large earthworms (Canadian or equivalent), in clusters of 3 to 6 on a 1/0 or 2/0 triple hook to maximize attractiveness.
Main technology
To fish vertically for catfish with a worm, you need to lower the bunches close to the bottom using your depth sounder, and position the bait just above the catfish echoes. Then guide the line without animating it too much (80% static), and/or lift it slightly with longer or shorter pauses.
The best way is to hold the braid in your hand (always gloved!), and shoe with feeling.
This fishing technique can also be practised from shore, sometimes using a float. In this case, a lighter sinker and a cut-worm bait are used.âeurosâeuros
Using the sounder
The echo sounder is a key tool for targeting catfish when worm fishing, allowing you to locate the fish precisely and adjust the presentation of the worm cluster vertically.
You can use your fishfinder in 2D mode with dual beams (20° narrow for near-bottom accuracy, 60° wide for distant detection); then set the sensitivity to 5-6 for the wide cone and 3-4 for the narrow to avoid parasites while still seeing catfish (green to red echoes).
Then activate the real-time view (RTS wide) to follow fish arrivals from afar, and lower the surface sensitivity if necessary to clarify the muddy or structured bottom where the catfish rest.
Catfish detection
Look for massive echoes (thick orange/red lines) near the bottom or blistering on structures (pits, rocks); an echo rising towards your mount indicates interest, so position the cluster about 50 cm above it.
With a live probe, view catfish approaching under the boat live (down or forward mode), and follow their behavior to anticipate bites or escapes (echo changing from red to green).
