Keys to Trophy River Cats

Keys to Trophy River Cats

By Brad Durick

Trophy catfish are an amazing animal. This APEX predator is the key to survival and keeping the species going and like big bucks sometimes they are elusive. Everybody loves to catch a monster fish and catfish provide the best opportunity to do just that.

Some bodies of water are better known for their abundance of trophy sized fish than others and some have more big fish than others but there are trophy catfish to be found and caught in nearly every catfish water.
What a trophy catfish is can be interpreted different ways by different people. We must remember that to keep expectations in check for both new anglers and old. To some young kids, a five-pound channel cat is a trophy while to some grown men a 70 pound blue cat is a trophy.

Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you find and put more trophy catfish in your boat or get them to the shore for you.

Fish where the fish are
This is a fairly self-explanatory and obvious statement but it is a very overlooked piece of the puzzle. When looking for trophy catfish you have to go where those fish live. This may be to a different section of your river or even a car ride away.

Trophy catfish live in the best conditions they can find. Much of the time they are located where all of the best places to hide and feed exist. In the summer this will be a winding stretch of river with some deeper water, shallow water, faster and slower currents and structure both in and away from the holes and current.

Current can also dictate where the fish will be. When the current is average to high they may be located in one area of river feeding and living in areas I laid out earlier. When the current is low, sometimes locating current is the key to finding the biggest and baddest catfish in the river.

One example of this is my home river, the Red has many different sections with different cover and currents. When the water is normal to high the fish will be in one section but when the water gets very low the fish will spread out over vast miles of cover. In this case, I have to trailer to a different section of river to locate heavier current that will hold the big fish in a more predictable way to ensure success.

Understand the seasonal pattern
A catfish is a catfish and water is water. The water temperature and the sun dictate everything a catfish does in life. There are distinct seasons that have been laid out in for a catfish’s season. The simplified version is spring cold water, pre spawn, post spawn, summer, fall and winter.

If you understand the season, the catfish are in based on water temperature and time of year you already have an advantage to catching big fish. There are books out there that clearly define these seasons no matter where you live and match them to current conditions telling you where the fish should be. From there all you have to do is make the minor adjustments based on flow and current weather conditions.

Understand break lines and current breaks
Over the past year I have spent many hours studying the teachings of Buck Perry. While Buck and his protégé, Don Dickson were mainly bass anglers (and some walleye) the lessons they teach on utilizing structure and break lines works with rivers and catfish.

All rivers have break lines that create current seams. Trophy catfish relate to these distinct seams using them for both feeding and traveling. These seams create “tunnels” so to speak where the current is less making travel easier and when combined with structure create optimal ambush points for feeding.

Knowing how to read these current seams and identify these feeding locations can be a quick way to locate a hungry catfish that might be willing to take your bait.

Don’t be afraid to go shallow
Going back to current seams for a moment, some current breaks can be very shallow and should not be overlooked. Over the past decade or so much has been written about fishing blue catfish deep and the deeper the better but catfish, especially flatheads and channels can do just the opposite and anglers sometimes overlook the shallow water.

I am not talking shallow like 15 feet off of 20-foot water, no I am talking one to two feet next to water that is anywhere from eight to twenty feet. If the current and structure is right these shallow areas can provide great resting and ambush points for catfish that may not be actively feeding but would not say no to an easy meal.

Shallow water can be so fun too as when a catfish hits your bait the water will just explode, making for an even more exciting trophy experience.

Use the best bait
Bait is a regional and seasonal thing. Your job as an angler is to do local research figuring out the best baits for the area and the best times to use it. Catfish are APEX predators and they hunt for what they want when they want it. Having the right bait in the right place to encourage those fish to have a meal is a huge key to catching the biggest fish.

Time on the water
Even with all of these lessons to locate and catch trophy catfish you still need to put in the time on the water. You can study maps and ask questions all you want but you still have to get out on the water and do the research in person. You have to look at the water and distinguish the higher percentage spots from the plan B spots. You have to gain a grasp for the lay of the land. If you have electronics do some mapping and looking to make sure that what you see is what you are actually getting on the bottom.

Lastly, get the bait in the water and put together a pattern. Make some changes and adjustments to your presentations and locations and when it all comes together you will be rewarded with a successful day and hopefully a trophy catfish.
One last reminder, a trophy catfish is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t forget to have fun.