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Effing right on, dude! That's 23 inches of more catfish than I've caught since moving to Idaho 8 years ago. I've read your post, and it's interesting that the channel took your live bluegill. I don't mean that to say that they don't like live bait, but I don't think they are the prolific hunters like flathead are. It's entirely possible your bait could have been dead like you said, my experience being if you catch them out of the same body of water and hook above the lateral line they stay lively for a good long time. That's how we would bait our trotlines as well. But what do I know! Congrats on the fish is what's really important!

Do yourself a favor and check out this book and video if you have not seen them before.

In-Fisherman Catfish Fever Book -

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0929384040/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This is a book my dad bought new and I read I don't know how many times as a kid. It covers the BASICS and FUNDAMENTALS of catfishing. Some stuff I'm sure you already know, but it's a great, fast read, nonetheless.

In-Fisherman Catfish Fever Video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNJrMr4PcsY&list=PLVUyyZUmtqDBtDWs7GsRUs1dPYd6SDrVU

This is the VHS video that was released alongside the book that somebody was cool enough to break up into 6 episodes and upload to the YouTubes... If you don't want to read the book then at least watch these, it's only an hour of your time. Otis 'Toad' Smith is dead now, but he probably shit out more catfish knowledge every morning than most of these folks have total these days. Doug for that matter, too.

Sorry for rambling, but nobody has ever taken my fishing advice before... Good luck, man! I hope those other resources can help you too!

I'm just gonna add personal tips/ideas based on my 10+ years of fishing experience. Just a small warning I haven't fished a whole lot of different areas just local stuff so my range of experience isn't "huge"

Okay, patience is the biggest thing. I've let my pole sit for two hours before moving it or reeling it in. You gotta let it sit there much longer than 10 minutes.

For baits, any live or fresh cut bait is amazing. I use bluegills, shad, and ESPECIALLY skip jack if i can get my hands on it. I also use chicken liver, cherry garlic hot dogs (literally take a pack of hotdogs cut them in to 3 or 4 pieces put 2 packs of cherry jello and a bunch of garlic powder in the bag and shake it up) Raw shrimp with the shell and tail still on, occasionally chicken liver, and you can't go wrong with a night crawler from time to time.

Also I HIGHLY reccomend secret 7 from team catfish. It slays catfish no matter what. It just smells extremely bad, so if you have a strong enough stomach I'd use it. Heres a link to the bait and here's a link to the hooks I use with it personally I don't like using treble hooks so I swap those out for a size 6 circle hook and take a sponge and cut it up into squares and add that to the bottom of the hook to soak in a little bit of extra secret 7.

Weights wise, it depends on the river. The rivers I fish here aren't too strong so I can get away with a half ounce sinker. I use egg sinkers with a split shot about 16-18 inches away from my hook with a small bead in between the splitshot and my hook to protect my knot incase the split shot breaks or comes off. I'm not too experienced with stronger rivers but the biggest tip I have there is don't cast against the current

As for fishing with floats, i do not recommend it for catfish unless you're on a lake or a pond. It doesn't really work with catfish in rivers. However if you do I recommend using slip bobbers so you can adjust the height that the bobber will hold and it's a lot easier to cast than a normal float.

Fishing line: I have one pole with 25 pound test and a second with 40. You don't really need to go higher than 25 to be honest because in the event that you hook into a fish bigger than that you're gonna spend some time fighting it and wearing it out anyways so you just have to be patient and use your drag to your advantage.

That's all the basic stuff I can think off the top of my head, I'm about to go fishing myself so feel free to ask me any questions and when I get back I'll answer them to the best of my ability!

Rig as in line set up? Like I said I just put my hook on the end of the line and tie a sinker about 1 1/2' up from that. I've tried the more intricate rigs before, and while they do work, after catching a fish or two they get so damned tangled up that I'd always end up cutting them off and starting over.

As far as pole set up I have kind of a hodge podge collection of poles I've gathered over the years. Depending on where you're fishing and the general size of the fish will determine your pole type. If you're further south with generally larger fish you'll want at least a heavy medium I suppose. I have bought a couple of the Ugly Stik cat combos in the last couple years and am quite happy with the poles, but the reels are junk.

All my reels are spin casters, but as far as I can tell this is purely personal preference.

For line I use gorilla braid, 35# test.

These are the bells I use. They're cheaper than the cowbells, more sensitive, and easier to get off/on than the threaded ones. If you do any night fishing (my favorite) the attachable LEDs are great, although they are pretty cheaply made and need some slight engineering to get working correctly.

Ironically the cheapest no-rolls I've ever found were at a mom and pop shop where everything else was pretty marked up. I never shop at super outdoor world places like bass pro, but I go there with my friends to get inspiration from their overpriced shit. Walmart is the best overall prices you will find. Second to that is aliexpress, but the shipping times are killer. Amazon has some good deals. I got these JSHANMEI 5 Sizes 120 Piece 3 Way Swivels Crossline Swivels Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S4CFZB0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_m8LU1CRAGHarj

Anyway. Simpler is generally better for me. Many of my friends have just a hook on the end with a single no roll.

I’ve seen these on amazon not sure if they are worth it... Saim LED Light Clip Sea Night Fishing Rod Tip Twin Bells Ring Bite Lure Indicator Alarm 20 Pcs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XGZD8HZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V-ByDbWX256DN...might in the long run just make something myself.