That got ya reading, didn't it ;)

I'm a girl, and I love to fish. I've been out 7 times so far to SARL and Irvine Lake, and caught a massive haul of zero. Not a damned thing. I go out with friends who are seasoned fishermen, and they say I'm not doing anything wrong.
I have tried for trout with 2 rigs, using different variations of powerbail (Gulp!, Nitro etc).
I've actually hooked a couple of fish, but due to idiot people I never landed one and hooking them doesn't count as catching them! (One guy pulled the fish by the line and snapped it, the others didn't reel in and the fish got snagged in between everyone's lines. I was pissed!)

Anyway, I just went to my favourite store and got a new rig-up so I can try and catch me some catfish.
I'm perfectly capable of getting my gear together, tying hooks, swivels etc and have cleaned various friends trout - I've also read up on the interweb about cleaning and cooking catfish.

Just 'cos trout season is over here in SoCal, I don't want to have to wait until October before I fish again so I figured I'd try my hand at the cats.

My favourite guy at the favourite store hooked me up with 12lb test line, some 1 and 1 1/2 weights, hooks and carolina keepers. I intend to use shrimp or mackarel as bait (I'm terrified of worms, ok? Well I am a girl!)

What else can I do to catch me some fishes?