To catch catfish before rain moves in, use shad, bluegills, clam meat, or shiners as bait. Worms and nightcrawlers will work but only for smaller channel cats. Big flatheads and Blue catfish won’t care about worms. To rig a fish for big flatheads, use a whole live shad or bluegill...
Target Location:Medium depth water. Fish baits in water 8-15 feet deep. Catfish aren’t dependent on cover as they’ll often be found on the bottom patrolling muddy flats or gravel bottoms. If you are fishing a reservoir or river, locate the channel on the bottom. This is where channel...
Locate a year-round, freshwater source with enough volume to maintain a current through a small stream. Springs with containment are ideal. You may also divert water from an existing river to build a separate trout stream. Step 2 Draw the plans for your trout stream in coordination with a ...
But before we get into bait, a word on scent—human scent, in particular. A channel cat can detect dissolved substances down to as little as one part per 100 million. That means if something is edible, a catfish find it; if it’s unfamiliar or alarming, it’ll steer clear of it. ...
For my money, there’s no better way to spend a summer evening than catching channel catfish off the dock. I love the simplicity of it—no fancy boats, no expensive gear, no complicated rigs—just soaking bait and drinking beers with buddies, waiting on the next bite. Some people conside...
Learn how to successfully pattern, locate and catch shad all year long on any body of water. You’ll always have fresh bait for catching catfishandyou’ll learn the basics to being a better catfish angler. When you learn how to pattern shad all year long you’ve unlocked the keys to ...