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A Guide to Non-Typical Catfish Fishing Techniques Part III

Method 2

The second method that works really well for me is drift fishing. Lets start by explaining how drifting works. It’s really pretty simple: you cast out bait and drag it behind or from the side of your boat while the wind pushes you along.

Where to Fish

The majority of Cat-men that I know all use the same rig, although their tackle will differ from one guy to the next. Whatever tackle they use, they are all dragging some kind of bait on the bottom. The big difference between most drifters and myself, however, is that I usually do not drift in water any shallower than 30 feet deep while most others like to fish much shallower, such as 10-20 feet deep.

The shallow waters of most lakes contain a few big fish and lots of little ones resulting in lots of action, but not too many that will test your string. I have said before that Blue Cats can and will live and feed in deep water. My best day of drifting, as far as numbers of fish weighing between 3-20 lbs. goes, occurred last December. In one drift I caught and released 47 Blue Cats. These fish all came off of a huge flat that runs parallel to the main river channel with an average depth of 45 ft. Its surface has a few small humps and a couple of old ditches running across it. People drive by me and look in disbelief when they see me drifting in 30 to 50 ft of water, but when that fish locator shows big fish marks on the bottom at those kind of depths I have a pretty good idea of what’s down there.

Not all lakes are as easy to drift: some have gobs of timber and some have tons of rock on the bottom. The best lakes I have found have had some silting or massive mud flats that were old fields at one time. Simple structures like old ditches that carve across mud flats give Blue Cats a place to ambush their prey and might give them a little relief in the water column when the water is at its coldest or warmest. Look at these flats from different angles and ask yourself, “How does the bank look?” Could the surface under the water look similar to the structures above the water? Chances are that it will be pretty close.

These ideas are not really new. Bass and Walleye fishermen all over the U.S. use land structures to locate their fish and when it comes to locating these structures, fish locators are very valuable tools. My opinion is that you get what you pay for with electronics, but if you can find shad or baitfish with your locator as well as see the big fish marks, that’s all you need.

Catchin’ the Big Cats

The speed of your drift makes a huge difference. A good rule to follow is ‘the colder the water, the slower you should go.’ A big Blue Cat will not want to chase bait that’s traveling fast in cold water, so when you are dragging bait on the bottom you should use some kind of drift sock or sea anchor. You might have to experiment with different sizes until you figure out what size slows your boat down. Manufacturers of drift socks will usually give you an estimate of the size of sock compared to the size of the boat you are using.

Furthermore, just because you are a Cat-fisherman, it doesn’t mean you can’t use the tools other fishermen use. Experiment with different hooks, weights, line, rods and reels, but my advice would be to eventually work your way into having an exactly matched set of at least 4 rods and reels. When you learn what works for you, you will be much happier with a matching set of gear. Having your gear match might not sound like much, but when you start catching Blue Cats over 20 lbs you’ll know the limitations of your tackle. Furthermore, you wont have to worry every time you set a hook about which rod the fish hit because they will all perform the same.

Closing

Get some good gear capable of handling big fish. Get your tools so you can go out and learn your lake. Spend time learning your water before you start to fish. If you can’t or don’t want to spend the amount of money necessary to purchase all the equipment and cover all the various expenses, don’t be afraid to take guided trips. You’ll have good company from someone who knows the lake well and can teach you a great deal, plus it takes A LOT of guided trips to add up to the cost of equipping yourself.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new tactics after you start fishing. Always remember: Blue Cats are Blue Cats, they don’t know what lake they’re in or where they live. They will behave the same where I fish or where you fish. If you’d like, I can actually travel to your lake to prove it, as well as show you what a professional guide would do on your lake or river. Always keep your eyes on your fish finder, and get out there and try some non-typical Catfishing!

If you missed either of the first 2 parts of this article, head to this URL for the complete article: http://www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com/nontypical-catfishing.htm

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!

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Hemmingway’s Nile Perch

About 20 years ago I was window shopping in the lovely little village of Long Melford in Suffolk, England. The mile long main street of mainly Georgian shops is an antique collector’s heaven. Towards the top of the village is a specialist shop selling stuffed animals, birds and fish which are not usually my type of thing.

My eye was caught by a gigantic stuffed fish which I did not recognise, so I had to go in to have a look. The inscription on the very old glass case showed that this rather ugly, but immense fish was a Nile Perch of 124 lb in weight, and caught by Ernest Hemmingway himself. Having hooked this monster it took him over two and a half hours to land it on the shore of the Nile, the boat he was in being too small to safely land it in any other way.

My imagination being caught up with this amazing creature, which looks rather like a cross between a fat pike, a perch with enormous and sharp teeth and a freshwater shark, I could not but help myself researching into this phenomenon of the Nile.

I discovered that this fish, native of Africa, is one of the most sought after by anglers, it being easily the largest freshwater fish in the world, with only the rare manseer in India and Mekong catfish reaching anything like the size of the Nile Perch. This fish is a voracious predator, and when introduced into Lake Victoria in the 1960`s it decimated 95 per cent of the local fish stocks.

Unlike the stuffed one I saw originally, which had yellowed with age, the Nile Perch is silver in colour with a blue tinge. They can grow to over two meters and weigh over 200Kg (440 lb). As food the Nile Perch is a very important fish in Egypt, fishing, aquaculture as well as being avidly sought by local fishermen mean that it is often on the table. They are a bit oily which makes them difficult to dry, but have a pleasant and distinctive flavour.

Many of Africa’s large river basins and lakes support this fish including Lake Maryut in Egypt which has brackish water, and Lake Nasser. Many people catch the biggest fish of their lives in Lake Nasser and it is considered a centre of sporting excellence by big game fishermen the world over. The largest recorded Nile Perch caught from Lake Nasser weighed 176 kg (392 lb) and fishing from the shore with a lure can bring in fish of 20 to 100 lb.

The larger Nile Perch tend to be in the large Egyptian lakes if you are a keen specimen hunter, however one of these days I hope to catch one of these incredible fish on the River Nile itself, just like Hemmingway’s Nile Perch in Long Melford, Suffolk, but I suspect my own Nile Perch will be a mite smaller than his.

Interested in this subject? Try this link for more of the same.

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Saltwater Fishing For Fun

While it may be true that some 10 million salt water fish are kept as pets in the United States, saltwater fish are primarily harvested for fishermen looking to sell and eat their catch.

Besides the fact that saltwater fishing is one of the more enjoyable activities, saltwater fish are one of the more nutritionally abundant fish when compared to others (e.g. freshwater fish).

Much has been said about the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids that are found in saltwater fish, like Salmon and Tuna. These fatty acids do wonders for the body by supplying it with the essential nutrients that can help curve the threat of cardiovascular disease and mental impairments, like Alzheimer’s disease. DHAa specific kind of omega-3 fatty acidis particularly important to pregnant women in a baby’s brain and retinal development.

But much of the good news about omega-3 fatty acids has been obscured by the risks involved in eating saltwater fish. Mercurywhich has been linked to severe birth defectsis found in saltwater fish, leaving pregnant women confused on whether fish should be eaten at all. But according to researchers out of the University of Auburn, studies suggest that the abundance of omega-3 fatty acids found in saltwater fish may counter the adverse effects of mercury.

This debate will continue to swirl, but the fact remains that the positives vastly outweigh the negatives when it comes to eating saltwater fish (tuna and salmon are two of the more readily available omega-3 fatty acid sources for Americans).

Outside of the benefits that come from eating saltwater fish, the enjoyment and camaraderie that comes from saltwater fishing is something that only true anglers can testify of. By entering “saltwater fish” into any web search engine will bring up a host of web sites, giving specific reports on what fish are biting and where. From the chilly waters of the Atlantic off the coast of Cape Cod, to the more tepid waters off the coast of Puerto Rico, saltwater fishermen are able to stay on top of the actionor should we say “ocean“on where to go for the best catch possible.

For more information go to http://www.infostormpublishing.com/ebooks/?bk=39

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