By: FlatheadsRus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

This article is for the newcomer to catfishing and those that don’t have any experience in this fabulous sport. You the experienced catfisherman may not agree on some parts and areas, but it not intended for the average or well versed catfisherman. Most of the information here is provided at the ground level and enough that anyone off the street can have reasonable success and gain the desire to become more proficient and ask more exacting questions of members in their sections of the country and locals. For you the new guy or gal I have tried to show as many pictures and graphics as possible so that you may visualize the sport and methods to have some success. Although you will see many trophy pictures with this article it only serves as the basics in what you will need to get started, baits to use and the areas in which to look for catfish on your local streams and lakes. We encourage you to use the forums and chat rooms on this site to ask more exacting questions of your tackle, baits, and fishing area.

Welcome to all you guys and gals that want to learn about America's most popular fishing sport. Unlike lots of other types of fishing, catfishing has deep rooted history and more followers than all the rest. Catfishing is fun for young and old, men and women, and is pursued by people of all walks of life. Night or day, summer or winter, blue skies or stormy weather---the simple fact is catfish feed and feed a lot. They are prolific breeders and are found in most all areas of the US and Southern Canada. Equipment and bait can range from the simplistic push button snoopy pole to high end saltwater gear and everything in between, the simple fact is you don't need a 40 thousand dollar boat and a tackle box or two full of gear to catch catfish. This is the one sport in which the most simple of gear and an earthworm will bring a relatively high degree of success.

Catfish are found around the world and their species exceeds over 2200 most of which are fresh water. Its true that catfish lack some of the sporting attributes appreciated in other species as they seldom jump out of the water when hooked nor fire off a 100 yd run down river unless you hook into one of the giants over 60 lbs. In fact catfish is the giant of fresh water species and specimens over 600 lbs are not all that uncommon in some parts of the world.

Most people tend to fish for them in a laid back, forked stick, bait on the bottom and wait till something happens manner, Hmm kinda sounds like the relaxing sport most of us need after a hectic week at work doesn't it. Most of the catfish caught are under 2lbs and provide great table fare as an added bonus. On the whole, catfishermen spend many hours fishing for this species after dark as they do during daylight hours. One common but misunderstood element is that not all catfish are caught only on smelly, stinky baits. And not all catfishermen smell bad, wear dirty overalls, and chew snuff. Today many cafishermen might well fish from a sleek and well equipped boat instead of a battered and bare Jonboat powered by a small outboard

So with all this said and your ready to take up catfishing you've probably got a bunch of questions on how to get started, what do I need, where do I need to go to fish and when, plus there’s the issue of getting bait. Hopefully this article will get you off the ground and heading in the right direction and answer the most basic of questions without going into to much detail and confusing you. If you have a friend or relative that catfishes great, hook up with them and coupled with the knowledge from this article and members posts on Mastercaters.Com you'll be way ahead of the game, even without the friend or relative this is a good place to meet new friends and learn the ropes.

Most sporting goods stores and distributors sell a prepackaged fishing outfit by the various manufactures that are well suited to the beginner catfisherman. These rod and reels are specifically matched to each other and are a good place to begin, and after spending some time on the water you'll see other outfits and as time goes on you'll add to your collection and start fine tuning the equipment to fit your needs even better. There are 3 basic setups or types of equipment: Spinning outfits, Bait Casters, and Closed face spincast. Each having their own merits and degree of ease of use and each have their limitation and practical uses. Before we get into each types specificness and relation to catfishing you must be honest with yourself to be able to select an appropriate outfit and set up for your usage.

The easiest to master for the beginning cafisherman is the closed face spinning reel. Often it is associated with kids and not being much more than a toy while mom and dad are on vacation, but higher end units will more than serve your needs adequately. They are easy to operate and maintain while offering the inexperienced fisherman a product that can truly marvel the old guys and pros alike, even the Flathead catfish record of 121 lbs from Kansas was reportedly caught on an age honored closed face spinning reel. One of the true shortcomings of this type of reel is the overwhelming majority are made for right handed people and I cant ever recall seeing a left handed model in over 40 years of fishing. So for you lefties it's just another one of those things you have to get use to doing right handed. They are very easy to disassemble for cleaning and lubricating and with proper care will last many seasons.

Look for prepacked outfit with a medium action rod 5 and half to 7 foot long with the reel prespooled with 6 to 12 lb mono line. These are quite popular at most all sporting goods stores and retail giants, just speak with the sales person and tell them what your looking for and most of the time they can point you in the right direction in helping you make your selection.

If you are truly a beginner and have never casted a rod before---take it to an empty ball field or lot and practice casting so you can get the hang of it and get use to the feel of cranking the line in. Showing up at a fishing dock or pier with your gear isn't the place to learn especially if there are others around—hooks are sharp and dangerous and sinkers are projectiles, you need to be fully aware of where they are at, at all times. Buy a practice casting plug or use a ½ to 1 ounce bell swivel sinker tied onto your line and go practice and be careful, they can travel quite some distance and have a pretty hard impact similar to a projectile fired from a sling shot. The act of casting a closed face spinning reel is relatively simple: depress the button and while holding it down firmly, raise your rod tip vertically until it is nearly horizontal behind you, then bring your rod tip back over the top and release the button (not the entire reel) at about the 12 o’clock position. Follow the imaginary bait (sinker or practice plug) from behind you to your target with your eyes---this will teach you safety so that you don’t inadvertently hook someone behind you. This is the basic overhead cast that will serve most of your casting needs until you have some overhead obstructions---then you will learn to use side arm, flipping and backhand casting techniques. Use easy fluid motions initially and develop some accuracy by trying to hit a sheet of newspaper or something. Keep the distance short initially as well, perhaps 25 yds or so...walk around, shorten the distance, lengthen the distance, cast into the wind, against the wind, and perpendicular to the wind so you will learn the affects of casting in these conditions. Next change up the weight, make it lighter and see how much more casting force is required to hit your target, make it heavier and you'll notice the opposite.

Do not think for one moment that your being foolish as most of the best fishermen practice extensively on dry land and can hit a target as small as a doughnut from 75 yds or further. Catching any fish is not a contest of who can cast the furthest, but the one of who can cast the most accurately. If you remember but one thing about fishing it should be that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water you fish---you need to be able to hit that 10% with your bait and casts.

Next in line is the Spinning reel and a modern favorite among fishermen of all types. It's only slightly more complicated than the closed faced spinning reel as you will hold the line your self with your index finger, then flip the bail back and go thru the previous casting motions explained earlier. With just one exception, instead of releasing the button you release the line from your index finger. With just a little bit of practice you will be able cast accurately and much further---that’s one of the inherent features of spinning reels---being able to cast further.

Spinning Reels come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and price ranges from a host of manufacturers. There are two basic shapes and they are the models with a front drag and those with a rear drag with the only real difference of being able to quickly adjust the rear drag a little more easily when fighting a fish versus the front drag systems. Sizes range from ultra light (size 10) to heavy duty saltwater outfits (size 90). These numbers may be expressed differently from different manufacturers like 100, 1000, or even a 1 for the size 10 and likewise for the other sizes, sometimes even in between sizes like 1500 or 6500 and similar numbers (1500 being in between a 10 and 20, and 6500 being between a 60 and 70). Your needs again will probably be filled with a reel that will handle 6 to 15 lb test line and those sizes would be a 20 to a 40 size reel depending upon the catfish for your area. Other features on spinning reels are anti reverse and free lining in which case a catfish maybe able to pull out the line from the spool freely until you flip a lever and engage the reels gearing to set the hook and fight the fish. Spinning reels are easily converted from right hand to left hand by simply removing the cap on the side opposite the reel handle and reversing the assembly. Unlike most closed face and bait casters, a spinning reel hangs down from the rod handle when in use, whereas the other a on top of the rod for thumb controls of the cast.

The final reel I will discuss is the bait casting reel, perhaps the most difficult of all the reel types to master and generally more expensive. The attributes of a bait caster are many as they are generally very strong when it comes to handling a big fish, fairly easy to maintain (cleaning and lubing), and can cast very long and accurately in the right hands. Some people never get the hang of casting this type of reel and give up and go back to push buttons or spinning reels, but those that do learn the art of using them wouldn't trade them for nothing. Bait casters are commonly made with a level wind system that lays the fishing line from side to side on a horizontal spool Although some do not have this feature and must be done using your "off hand" while cranking in the line with your other hand. The drag systems on a bait caster are second to none and a well seasoned angler can wear down and catch much bigger fish than what the reel was intended to do. If you have some fishing experience and are ready to take on the challenge of learning this type of reel, by all means do it and spend time learning to cast properly. If you have little or no experience you probably should consider waiting a couple years before proceeding to this type of reel.

Be prepared to pay more for a good quality bait casting reel as they should run from about $50 and up depending up on the bells and whistles they may have. Some will have levers to disengage the reel handle and gears for casting purposes and some will have push buttons, generally speaking those with push bottons are for people that are doing a lot of casting like pan and bass fishermen. While those with the levers are probably a little more in line with bait fishing like us catfishermen. Some will have line out clickers, either a top sliding bar or a sliding button on the left face plate for a right handed reel. Again your gonna have to choose the correct reel depending upon whether your right or left handed as these are not interchangeable like spinning reels. Drags are usually a star arrangement on the same shaft as the handle and by turning the star clockwise you will increase drag pressure and counterclockwise to decrease drag pressure, a few models are now produced with levers that adjust your drag nearly the same way.

Reel overruns, birds nests or backlashes are caused by inexperience in casting with a bait caster and is what turns a lot of people away from this type of reel. Some reels use simple bearing pressure to help prevent this from happening while most of the more expensive models will use centrifugal braking thru some mechanical means, or Magnetic braking in which magnets are used in a caliper type arrangement similar to you cars braking system. Some of the newest and latest model incorporate computer chips that will sense the rpm of the spool and slow it down towards the end of the cast. But regardless of the method it is up to you to properly adjust this type of reel before each cast to help prevent this from happening. But this is just a portion of reel braking as you must provide the majority of the breaking with thumb pressure on the spool.

Granted the pro fishermen that make thousands of casts everyday and their manufacturers make it look real easy to get the hang of doing this, but please note; Bait fishermen like catfisherman are casting ever changing weights that may be 1 oz one cast and 12 oz the next depending up on sinker selection, hook size and bait size. It is one thing to cast exactly the same weight all day long and something entirely different to cast ever changing weights. So get use to the idea that its going to be up to you and you alone to thumb that spools and control that cast.

Well we have covered a lot of ground with the different reels and their pros an cons, but that is only half the outfit. First the rods need to match up with the reel type meaning a spinning reel must go on a spinning rod, and a bait caster or closed face spinning reel needs to go on bait casting rod, with one exception---a few closed face spinning reels are built to be used like a spinning reel (upside down or under the rod) and those need to go on a spinning type rod. The basic difference is in the handle and reel seat. Casting rods have a trigger on the bottom under the reel seat and since this type of reel has a small line play out area the rod eyes are smaller than the spinning reel rods. Spinning reel rods typically have a very large first rod eye because of a large rotational area for the line play out and the large rod eye does not hinder the line out during casts.

The length of rods may vary from a couple feet (usually used in ice fishing) to nearly 20 ft for surf casting or when very long casts are made. Generally rods come in a single piece construction or in 2, 3, or even 4 piece construction. The single piece construction is all most always the strongest type of construction as the joint in the others presents a weak spot that can fail when playing a very large fish. But you got to get your poles loaded up in your vehicle to get to where your going and having a take apart type of pole certainly aids in that.

Rods are built with many different materials today and construction methods will vary just as greatly. Fiberglass, Carbon fiber, and even some newer types of fiber to give a rod its characteristics and those characteristics are based upon the bending properties of the rod when under load. Rod tips that bend only during the last couple of feet are called a fast action or extra fast actions, those that bend all the way back to the middle of the poles are called medium action and those that may bend all the way back to near the handle section are slow action.

For the most part cat fishing tends to work best with medium and fast action rods. I personally prefer medium action with spinning reels and fast action with bait casting reels. Rod length also comes into play as longer rods will be able to cast baits much further than shorter rods, but rod length selection is mainly reserved for the type fishing you are going to do. Long rods (greater than 8 feet) are usually reserved for bank fishing as it is very hard to land a fish when in a boat and the rod length prevents you from getting the fish near enough to slip a net under the catch, so if your fishing from a boat you should consider rods from 5 to 8 ft in length and bank fishing without over head obstructions 7 to 12 ft will work very well. If your going to be doing a little bit of both and will be fishing on a bank with overhead obstructions a 7 ft rod is a great choice.

So how do you know all that information about a rod? It written on the rod just above the handle. Rod length (in feet), type (casting or spinning), action (ultra light, light, medium light, medium, medium heavy, heavy, and very heavy), Lure weight (1 to 4 oz or something similar) and Suggested Line sizes (8 to 12lb or 15 to 40lb, something like that will also be written on the rod info). Generally speaking you need to match your rod to your reel for best performance, so lets say you purchased size 30 spinning reel, you should select maybe a 7 ft spinning rod, with medium action that will handle 2 to 6 oz baits and 10 to 20lb test line. Again this is all based upon the general size of fish in your area, and the type of catfishing you will be doing and going over size for the beginner is probably better than going under size until the new fisherman has some time and fish under his or her belt.

Now that you have your rod and reel selected you will need to fill up your reel with some line and monofilament lines will probably best suit your needs. Again go back to your rod and reel combination and select a line size that will fit both your rod and reel combination. If you reel is rated somewhat lower than your rod, stick with the heavier line rating on your reel, or if it is Higher than your rod go with the lower line rating. This will come closer to providing you the new fisherman a better experience, thru overall casting, retrieving and fish playing ability. Only after getting some experience under your belt should you start playing with line sizing by going way over or under in line size to prevent breaking rods or reels.
Stick with a basic mono initially with limp qualities, most of the lines will specify things like extra limp, easy casting, and things like this vs extra strong, extra tough, or similar descriptions which sometimes means you will loose castibility and add to some frustrations. They will come in an array of colors, some invisible in water, some will stand out and some are kinda of neutral to their surrounding---just pick out what ever ya want because catfish don't care and are not a line shy type of fish.

Now for the business end of your fishing outfit, the hook. There are so many styles, shapes, manufacturers and sizes that your head will hurt if ya think about it too long. So what I will try to do is keep you limited to the basics, how they are used and what to expect from them in performance.

The J hook comes in popular sizes from #4 to huge 10/0 sizes and is generally an over all good choice. With this hook it will be necessary for you to set the hook with a jerk of the rod. Simply put on your bait of choice and cast it out and wait for the tell tale signs of a bite, when you see the fish running with bait by the line going out, steady pressure on a rod tip or your floater going under a simple jerk on the rod will impel the hook in the fishes mouth and the fight is on. A couple of down fails for this type of hook is they are easily hung up on rocks and debris such as trees that are in the water. Another down fall is you may sometimes have a fish swallow the hook and embed it deeply in their throat or stomach, if you were planning on releasing the fish the mortality rate for deeply hooked fish are high.

The circle hook is a relatively newcomer to freshwater fisherman and has been developed and adapted from ocean commercial fishing long liners. Due to it's shape and design it is simple hook to use and is sometimes thought of as the "do nothing" hook. That is because when the fish turns and runs, even with swallowed bait, the hook slides out and imbeds its self into the corner of the fishes mouth---no jerking of the hook required, simply pick up the pole and crank your fish in. Catch and release fishermen truly love this hook and it is quickly becoming the choice of hooks. Down falls of this hook is jerking the pole in an attempt to set the hook---it won't happen---if you yank on your rod the bait will simply fly out of the fishes mouth with out imbedding its self.

Kahle hooks is the all around catfishing hook as it works like either a circle hook allowing the fish to set the hook or the hook can be set like a J hook. Probably the best attribute of these hooks is the very large gap---point to shank---they have. The large gap allows the use of very large baits and still allow for plenty of space for hook ups by you or the fish. I recommend this hook from size 2/0 to 10/0 for all your catfishing needs.

Final notes on hooks are to insure they are very sharp, you can test the point to see if it will easily cut into a fingernail, if it is dull it will simply slide across without cutting in and it's time to get a file out and bring the point back to being very sharp. In my opinion colored hooks work no better or worse then any others because of the depth at which they are used for catfishing. Hooks are dangerous, be careful while using them so as not to embed them in yourself or bystanders, but eventually you will probably embed one in yourself. I recommend that you become familiar with the string method of extracting a hook from yourself and immediately apply some antibiotic solution to the wound. Just do a search online for Hook Removal and I'm sure you will find plenty of information on how to perform this.

Sinkers are used to keep your bait down in the water and in place. There are nearly as many types of sinkers as there are hooks and with nearly as many situational usages, but we'll stick with the basics for now.

The first sinker we will discuss is the split shot or pinch sinker. These are generally used in small slow moving streams, ponds or lake---simply pinch them on above the hook 6 to 18 inches. The size or number (quantity) you use are more dictated by the fish and how sensitive they are to taking the bait, some finicky ones may want very little weight and will drop the baits if they feel to much resistance, still yet others will attack the baits and won't care if they are held in place by a Volkswagen. Let the fish decide what they want.

The second sinker we will discuss will be the bank sinker, bell sinker, or pyramid styles. These generally go on the end of your line with drop lines above the sinker for the hooks. The will weigh considerably more than the split shot sinker and range from a quarter of an oz to nearly a pound. You the beginners will probably be using ones from ½ oz to 3 oz in larger streams that have moderate current. Most fisherman use only enough weight to keep their baits from moving and nothing more, of course the size and amount of bait, current speed and line size will play a crucial part in selecting that weight and you'll quickly learn to make that decision with a little fishing time under your belt.

The third and final sinker we will discuss is the sliding sinker. They come from a multitude of styles and shapes but the two primary for catfishing is the egg and the no roll. Both work the same and are usually attached to the line above the hook or above a swivel if you should use them. The advantages of these type of sinkers is nearly no resistance to the finicky catfish when he picks up the bait and runs....used in conjunction with a bait caster reel, bait feeder spinning reel, and soft tipped rods they will offer more catches consistently. Select an array of sliding sinkers from 1/4 to 2 oz and you'll be ahead of the game.

Well we have covered all the basics in gear, but we haven't touched on what works well together. Interestingly enough matching all this gear to favored performance starts at the hook end and works its way back. So here goes decades of knowledge by a lot of catfishermen all rolled into just a few sentences.

J hooks are hooks that you must yank to set therefore you will want a monofilament line with low stretch going to a relatively stiff rod, any type of reel will work fine, just remember to engage the gearing and set the drag to about 25% of the line ratings on all the reels. If you have line out alarms (clickers) or bait feeder functions you may want to play with these to learn more about your quarry and how they react when taking a bait.

Circle hooks are the do nothing hook---always remember that. The fish sets the hook in the corner of his mouth when he turns and runs with the bait. You should use a sliding sinker in conjunction with the circle hook so the resistance he feels will slowly build up from the rod---not the sinker. Stretchy lines or lines with high shock absorption work along with the circle hook in setting it. A medium action pole with a soft tip is the ticket with this hook. I prefer the spinning reel when using circle hooks although both the closed face and bait caster reels work well. Do not use your bait runner, or line out clickers, instead engage the gearing and set your pole tip high on the rod holder (about 45 degrees or more) so the fish pulls it down gradually increasing the pressure on the fish until the hook sets in the fishes mouth.

Kahle hooks are the all around catfishing hook. They can set themselves just like a circle hook by using the above method for circle hook or you can use them like a J hook in which you set the hook yourself so the basic J hook setups are recommended that way.

Whew we're finally done with the equipment and now will move on to catfish baits. There are very few things in which you cant catch a catfish on so your open to making your own stink and dough baits, but here are a few of the most popular:

chicken livers
turkey livers beef livers
worms and night crawlers
cut fish in strips or chunks
live and dead fish or minnows
crawfish and frogs
insects
shrimp
squid
cheese
soap chunks

Of course there are many more, but lets break this list down into two groups, hard and soft, probably never thought about bait in this way, but it has everything to do with putting your bait on a hook, and the type of hook.

Soft baits can simply be gobbed up on any hook as the cat will simply destroy it when he takes it into his mouth exposing the hook to catch the fish. They would included the livers, worms, crawfish, soft cheeses and dead minnows.

Hard baits need to be hooked in such a way that the hook gap is not over filled leaving the point exposed, this is very important for circle hooks or the hook and bait will simply plop out of the fish's mouth. These baits would include soap, shrimp, fresh cut fish, frogs and live fish.

You will surely hear along the way about using hot dogs, kool aide flavored chicken, marinated shrimp and host of other concoctions that will all work sometimes, most of the time, and all of the time. But 75 percent of all catfishermen fishing for a day or two of meals will be using chicken livers and worms, another 20 percent will be using store bought and homemade concoctions in hopes of finding the holy grail of catfish baits. The other 5% well they are the Trophy Catfishermen who dedicate their time and effort to catch the really big monsters with some regularity, take pictures and release em so they may tangle with them another day. I don’t recommend to you new catfishermen go the route of trophy catfishing until you get a couple years under your belt and a little more understanding of your quarry.

Well now we have everything in place to go catch some catfish and only need to know where to go. A few good places to start would be talking with your local sporting goods stores and speaking with the fishing gear managers, local marinas, and your own conservation officer---don’t forget to buy your license and study you local fishing laws, so you can ask him about anything you have questions about. You'll probably never hear about the best of locations as they are generally kept a big secret among fellow fishermen, but after getting on the water a few times you'll soon notice that a lot of fishermen may congregate in specific areas or the same people are fishing the same spot time after time---take that as a hint as people don’t go back to unproductive spots. Next look at the area and try to figure out why they are fishing there, is there a deep hole of water there? does there seem to be an abundance of bait fish in that area? is there a reason for the bait fish to be there like downed trees, aquatic vegetation, or feeder creeks that provide the first run offs from rain storms and such? All of this combines to make an area in which catfish will congregate and feed in.

Fishing areas for catfish are broken down into two time frames -- prespawn and post spawn. Most catfish have a fairly long spawning period as compared to other species of fish. Blue cats tend to be the first to spawn in slightly cooler water than Channel cats, then the Channel cats and then in the warmest of water the flatheads go to spawn. You can generally break this down in a time line of water temps; 65 to 72 degrees for blue cats, 68 to 75 for channel cats, and 74 to 82 degrees for flatheads. Weather conditions play an important role as the fish prepare to spawn, sudden spring cold snaps may shut down the spawn along with cold rain run offs, so keep an eye to the sky when fishing the prespawn period and take advantage of the conditions that may make for great fishing. Sudden warm rains in an overabundance that may cause local flooding may bring on feeding frenzy as the water is rising providing for new found food, a personal note from me is to try just a few feet from the edges as the catfish will be getting out of the raging currents and moving up on newly water covered ground in search of food.

Prespawn feeding is necessary for the fish to acquire as much protein in their diet as possible to insure a productive spawn. Leaner natural baits such as blue gill, crappie, minnows and crawfish provide the necessary protein they are looking for. Those natural baits will have just finished up the spawn and will be guarding their nests in the shallower warm waters, so keep your baits in the 6 to 1 ft depths where the cats will be raiding those nests and the fish that will be guarding them.

Spawning cats are very difficult to catch, they become very larthargic in their activities and reduce their activities to conserve their energies. You nearly have to hit the catfish in the head with your baits to get a bite. Since your probably wanting to catch more catfish in the future it may be a good time to fish for other species so the catfish can guard their nests from other species and predators. Even after the guarding phase is winding down and the water temps continue to go up, feeding is somewhat slow to very slow for several weeks to a month or more which will lead us in to the post spawn phase of catfishing.

New time, new place, same fish. Late summer and fall should not be an end of your catfishing but the time to load up on new techniques and methods as the cats will be just as active if not more active than the prespawn phase. Getting a slow start in feeding by early Aug., the cats will sometimes nearly go into a feeding frenzy by late Oct to mid Nov. Cats are now in need of food with high oil and fat content to convert into their own body fat to insure their survival into and thru the winter months. Down stream migrations of 75 miles or further will take place over a few short weeks and feeding the entire trip is a must to sustain the energies put forth in this migration. Natural baits on this trip will include shad, suckers, carp, skipjack, and most all small bait and game fish. The fat and oil content is readily converted to both energy and body fat storage. This time frame and natural movement is what accounts for what I call the crazy bait period. Some really strange postings go on the internet about people who have used french fries, Churches fried chicken, Big Macs and hog/cattle brains. Well just look at these foods, they are chocked plum full of oils, grease an fats. If I was wanting to gain weight before a 4 or 5 month starvation diet it certainly would be on my menu.

Catfish are now found in new locations in both lakes and rivers as the forage species have also moved out of the shallow waters and into deeper channels and tributaries. A good method to gauge this is fishing for the panfish species, once you have found that they have moved into 15 to 30 ft of water so will the catfish and your fishing should follow accordingly. Areas that haven't produced nothing over the past few days will seemingly turn on as new fish pass thru an area on their way to wintering holes. As they gang up into these wintering holes the water temps begin to drop significantly and the feeding activity also drops off. Most winter catfishermen have some success as long as the water temps remain above 40 degrees, but even then the bites will slow down and you'll have to watch for gentle nudges and pulls on your line.

Well that about covers it in a nutshell for you the new catfisherman, and we all here at Mastercaters, staff and members alike, hope this has been informative and helpful in your quest to catching catfish. Please only take what you need and release the rest to catch another day.