| Introduction | | | | best all around, year-round Catfish. This is also the fish I |
| Many of the people about to take one of my guided | | | | target with my non-typical Cat-fishing techniques. |
| trips don’t believe that Catfish feed as | | | | Although Channel Cats and Flatheads are caught using |
| aggressively as other game fish. People are used to | | | | these techniques, Blue Cats remain the king in mass |
| throwing out their bait and letting it set while they wait. | | | | numbers. These dudes grow big and fast and will |
| Some days this works and they don’t have to | | | | strike your bait with a vengeance. Plus, they pull hard in |
| wait very long, but some days we all know that the | | | | the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. |
| wait can be very long. This waiting is what encouraged | | | | The Blue Catfish |
| me to try to catch Blue Cats using other methods. | | | | The Blue Cat is truly an amazing fish. I have caught |
| Some techniques are passed down from generation | | | | these fish as deep as 96 feet at the bottom of a river |
| to generation and these tried and true methods have | | | | channel in cold water conditions. I have also seen them |
| caught Catfish since people have fished for them. I | | | | come right up to the top and smash a school of shad |
| have used these methods most of my life and it was | | | | just as a Striper or White Bass would do in warm |
| the way I was taught to catch Catfish. On the | | | | water conditions. As far as I can tell, these fish feed |
| opposite end of the Cat-fishing spectrum, however, | | | | aggressive all year, which in my opinion sets them |
| are two newer methods that I have been using to | | | | apart from Flatheads and Channel Cats. Reports of |
| consistently catch Catfish, as well. | | | | Blues falling for lead spoons, jigs, crank baits, and many |
| Fishing for Catfish | | | | other artificial lures are not uncommon any time of the |
| Ah, the American Catfish! The big three: Blues, Channel | | | | year. The other Blue Cat bonus is their size, growing |
| Cats and Flatheads; aren’t they a wonderful | | | | much larger than Channel Cats and a smidge larger |
| species of fish? Each one has its own outstanding | | | | than Flatheads. That makes your chances of catching |
| features to thrill Catfishermen and women throughout | | | | a Blue Cat over 20 pounds a big time reality. Fish over |
| the United States and even worldwide. Flatheads, with | | | | 50 pounds are not that hard to find in reservoirs and |
| their big, wide heads and flat tails, have my vote as the | | | | rivers that have had time to produce that size of |
| hardest pulling fish pound-for-pound in fresh water. No | | | | Catfish. |
| Catfisherman can talk very long without telling their | | | | These fish grow to be over 100 pounds - it’s |
| favorite Channel Cat story. | | | | the exception and not the rule, but it does happen. |
| Channel Cats live almost anywhere in fresh water and | | | | That’s the beauty in setting up and fishing for |
| eat an enormous variety of baits, from prepared stink | | | | Blue Cats: your next fish might be 1 pound, 51 pounds, |
| baits to live baits. I believe these whisker fish are the | | | | or 101 pounds. |
| most versatile and adaptive members of the Catfish | | | | Make sure to read Part 2 and 3 of this article to learn |
| family. The next Catfish member, the Blue Cat, also | | | | about Capt. Jeff's non-typical techniques! |
| commonly called a White Cat, gets my pick for the | | | | |