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!

Choosing a good rod is a major decision for the fly fishing angler.
Shopping for that new rod can also be allot of fun. But how do we know what the right rod is? Here are some tips to help you make your purchasing decisions.

Fly rods are about the action, casting speeds, weights, and many more factors. You generally want a soft or slow casting rod. Softer is often better because the line will land in the water with less impact. The faster your rod is the harder the impact.

You need to purchase a rod that suits the type of fishing you do. If your into bass fishing you will need a strong rod and one that’s longer. Fishing for more active fish will generally require a much stronger and longer rod.

Shorter rods are great when your around trees and objects. You need a much shorter length in order to avoid getting caught in objects.

If you like to fish where there is lots of action and rough waters your going to need something that is much heavier. This will provide a much faster casting speed. The only problem with this is that its not beginner friendly. If your new to fishing start by fishing for small fish in a calm environment.

These are just some beginner tips for choosing the right rod. Remember to ask the stores sales person when buying your rod. If you plan on buying one online most stores have guides to help you with your decision. Don’t be afraid to email them with a question either. Most online stores will be happy to respond.

Tyler Casselman Reviews fly rods at Fly Rods Guide.

Method 1

Equipment

I fish baits at all depths, not just the bottom, in wide-open water. I always set up and fish deep lake structures. Besides an understanding of the contours on the bottom of the lake, being mobile and being able to read your fish locator are the keys. The tools I use are 8-foot heavy action rods, circle hooks, cut and live shad, balloons and the all-important fish locator. I use 30-pound line, large capacity reels, 8-foot heavy action rods, 2 oz. Egg sinkers, barrel swivels and #7/0 circle hooks.

Basically a Carolina Rig, I have a hook with an 18-inch leader tied to your barrel swivel, which is connected to your main line, which is where your egg sinker is attached. My boat is equipped with steel rod holders, a hand-controlled trolling motor, two fish locators, a big dip net and marker buoys. My equipment is not the most expensive but it is practical. The main thing to remember is to keep whatever equipment you use in good condition. Many know all too well about the disasters that can be caused by old line and improperly maintained fishing equipment and big Blues will test everything from your knots to your rod holders. If there is a weak link, they will expose it.

Find the Big Fish

You need to know how to tell the difference between larger fish and bait fish while using your fish locator.

There are two main structures that I catch Blue Cats on: ledges and humps. Blue Cats are creatures of edges and they seem to congregate on the brake lines of ledges and humps. The one-two punch comes when you find these structures with both bait fish and big fish mixed together on your locator. There are very few spots that I will stop and fish where I don’t see either big fish or bait fish on my locator. The ledges that I primarily fish are old river channels edges. The fish can be scattered up and down the edge but the best fishing occurs when they are on the top.

Catching Them

Typically, when I set up to fish these ledges, I run my boat over them and throw out my marker buoy where I see the fish. A little trick to using your marker buoys is to throw your marker upwind of where you are going to fish. If you drop the marker right on top of the fish, you will be bumping it and will eventually move it while the wind is pushing you around. If you throw it upwind of the fish, you can run your trolling motor right up to it without the wind pushing you over it.

Next I bait my rods, staggering them at the depth I see the fish. If the fish are up high, above 10 feet, I use a balloon and live shad on two rods. The other four rods will have half live and half cut shad, which I will suspend over the fish, continuously moving around the marker until the first strike occurs. In the warmer months the bite will usually occur on live shad. The colder the water, the better that cut bait seems to work.

Keep moving the depth of your baits up and down according to what your locator is telling you. An easy way to determine the depth of your bait is to measure the distance between the first guide and your rod’s reel. My rods are two feet from reel to the first guide so when I pull out twenty sections of line between my reel and the first guide, my bait will be approximately 40 feet deep. Stagger the depth of your bait so that you know how deep each is. When you get your first strike, move your other rods to that depth. If no strikes occur within 30 minutes move to another structure. I have set on the same ledge for many hours and caught fish, but I will usually have to move after catching 5 to 10 active fish. If you do not have a trolling motor you can use anchors, but it requires many sessions of heaving up heavy anchors and can soon kill the fun of ledge fishing. When water is at its coldest, the anchor method will work better due to the inactivity of the fish below.

In other words, the warmer the water the faster the fish will spook out from under your boat. The colder the water the less chance the fish will want to move away due to their comfort zone in the water column.

Make sure to read Part 3 of this article to learn about Capt. Jeff’s second non-typical technique!

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!