There are two things that contribute probably 80-90% of your catfishing success. And they are fishing in areas where catfish are, and using the right catfish bait. That may seem elementary, but it really is the most important thing. The gear that you use, the time of year, weather conditions, and other things play a role in your catfishing experience, but when it comes right down to it, if you aren’t using the right bait and fishing in an area where catfish are located, you just won’t catch fish.

Finding the Catfish

This is the hardest task when it comes to how to catch catfish. This is where seasonal changes and weather conditions play a role. Now catfish aren’t as seasonal as other fish, they feed continuously, and they grow to be enormous. But there are some things you can use to help you find the fish.

First, you need to find areas that have bottom structure changes, current breaks, and cover. Particularly useful are areas that have submerged trees (often called stumps, or a stump area). Deep or shallow really doesn’t matter much to the catfish, they just like to scavenge for food in areas where there are trees.

Another good location to find are channel areas, places where there is a shallow water, then a deep drop off. These are excellent points to drift fish or troll, working the edges of the drop off.

Points are another good location. Fish the points around the breaks. Use topographical maps to assist you in finding the specific points an drop off areas.

Last, use technology. Use fish finders to help you locate schools of fish. Once you find an area that is successful fishing, log it in your GPS along with the time of year and weather conditions. Build up a catalog with this information, then you’ll know exact spots to fish the next year.

That’s it for today. Stay tuned in to tomorrow as I take you through more details on how to catch catfish. In this next part, I am going to go over the baits that work for types of catfishing, and some gear recommendations. It will be a fun ride, and I am sure that it will help you to become a better catfish fisherman.