Fishing Information

A Guide to Non-Typical Catfish Fishing Techniques


Introduction

Many of the people about to take one of my guided trips don't believe that Catfish feed as aggressively as other game fish. People are used to throwing out their bait and letting it set while they wait. Some days this works and they don't have to wait very long, but some days we all know that the wait can be very long. This waiting is what encouraged me to try to catch Blue Cats using other methods. Some techniques are passed down from generation to generation and these tried and true methods have caught Catfish since people have fished for them. I have used these methods most of my life and it was the way I was taught to catch Catfish. On the opposite end of the Cat-fishing spectrum, however, are two newer methods that I have been using to consistently catch Catfish, as well.

Fishing for Catfish

Ah, the American Catfish! The big three: Blues, Channel Cats and Flatheads; aren't they a wonderful species of fish? Each one has its own outstanding features to thrill Catfishermen and women throughout the United States and even worldwide. Flatheads, with their big, wide heads and flat tails, have my vote as the hardest pulling fish pound-for-pound in fresh water. No Catfisherman can talk very long without telling their favorite Channel Cat story.

Channel Cats live almost anywhere in fresh water and eat an enormous variety of baits, from prepared stink baits to live baits. I believe these whisker fish are the most versatile and adaptive members of the Catfish family. The next Catfish member, the Blue Cat, also commonly called a White Cat, gets my pick for the best all around, year-round Catfish. This is also the fish I target with my non-typical Cat-fishing techniques. Although Channel Cats and Flatheads are caught using these techniques, Blue Cats remain the king in mass numbers. These dudes grow big and fast and will strike your bait with a vengeance. Plus, they pull hard in the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

The Blue Catfish

The Blue Cat is truly an amazing fish. I have caught these fish as deep as 96 feet at the bottom of a river channel in cold water conditions. I have also seen them come right up to the top and smash a school of shad just as a Striper or White Bass would do in warm water conditions. As far as I can tell, these fish feed aggressive all year, which in my opinion sets them apart from Flatheads and Channel Cats. Reports of Blues falling for lead spoons, jigs, crank baits, and many other artificial lures are not uncommon any time of the year. The other Blue Cat bonus is their size, growing much larger than Channel Cats and a smidge larger than Flatheads. That makes your chances of catching a Blue Cat over 20 pounds a big time reality. Fish over 50 pounds are not that hard to find in reservoirs and rivers that have had time to produce that size of Catfish.

These fish grow to be over 100 pounds - it's the exception and not the rule, but it does happen. That's the beauty in setting up and fishing for Blue Cats: your next fish might be 1 pound, 51 pounds, or 101 pounds.

Make sure to read Part 2 and 3 of this article to learn about Capt. Jeff's non-typical techniques!

Copyright 2002-2005 Jeff Williams

You have permission to publish this article free of charge as long as you are not selling it and that you include the author bylines immediately visible with the article and, if published in an electronic medium such as on a web site, you provide a link back to www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com in the author bylines, both where the web address is listed as well as well as with the text "Lake of the Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service"...

Jeff Williams runs a Truman Lake Hybrid Bass and Lake of the Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service offering lodging and guided trips in Missouri. To book a trip, learn more tips, or find out how Capt. Jeff would fish your own local waters, call 1-866-HOOKSET or visit http://www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com today!


MORE RESOURCES:

San Diego Union Tribune

Council raises fees for boating and fishing at city's reservoirs
San Diego Union Tribune, CA - 18 hours ago
By Matthew T. Hall SAN DIEGO – People fishing and boating on San Diego's reservoirs next year will be the first to feel one effect of the current city ...


Fishing, around the weather, still good
StarNewsOnline.com, NC - 1 hour ago
Red drum, speckled trout, black drum and whiting have provided some great fishing over the past week. They are being caught from the river to the surf in ...
Good bite reported from Gulf Stream boats StarNewsOnline.com
Still plenty of action both inshore and out StarNewsOnline.com
all 3 news articles


27east.com

Long Island Father Killed in Fishing Boat Accident
NewYorkInjuryNews, New York - 9 hours ago
Long Island, New York (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) — On Sunday, November 30th, a Long Island man drowned during a father-son fishing trip off Montauk. ...
Dad Marty McMillan dies in fishing horror New York Daily News
Fisherman drowns after being pulled overboard off Montauk 27east.com
Westbury exec killed in boat mishap off Montauk Newsday
Newsday - Newsday
all 8 news articles


Weekly Minnesota fishing report
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 1 hour ago
The recent cold weather has jump-started the ice fishing season, with anglers in many areas of Minnesota creeping out onto lakes, many only partially frozen ...


Lawsuit means Loch Lomond won't be stocked with trout
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 12 hours ago
The state says it no longer will stock the lake with trout Loch Lomond, which draws several thousand people a year for recreational fishing, ...


Body Found; Pastor Disappeared On Fishing Trip
WSBtv.com, GA - 11 hours ago
More than a week after the pastor of a Brunswick church disappeared while on a solo fishing trip on the Altamaha River, his body was recovered. ...
Hundreds gather to remember longtime pastor WTOC
all 2 news articles


آكي

India to use satellite system for tracking boats, fishing vessels
Livemint, India - 7 hours ago
The perpetrators of last week’s terror attacks hijacked an Indian fishing trawler, Kuber, off the Gujarat coast and used it to reach Mumbai. ...
Coast Guard seize Pak fishing boat off Jakhao coast Press Trust of India
Investigators Trace Boat's Last Voyage Wall Street Journal
50% of fishing vessels on western coast unregistered Business Standard
Indian Express - Rediff
all 158 news articles


Comment on state hunting and fishing regulations
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC - 11 hours ago
Raleigh – The public can now comment on dozens of proposed changes to the state's hunting and fishing rules on the NC Wildlife Resources Commission's Web ...


Filming fishing in Marshfield
Marshfield Mariner,  USA - 44 minutes ago
A: The series is a new series of the successful “Extreme Fishing with Robson Green.” The series is about our British actor and TV personality Robson Green ...


UMPQUA VALLEY FISHING REPORT: Anglers hope rain will boost fisheries
NRToday.com, OR - Dec 1, 2008
Southwestern Oregon rivers are generally running low and clear, and fishing success for chinook salmon and steelhead has only been fair at best. ...
Tuna and halibut offer Oregon anglers options KATU
all 3 news articles

Fishing - Google News

home | site map
© 2006