Catfishing For The Impatient

When I was younger, catfishing had a certain flavor to it. There was an expected pace...a specific pattern. Basically, we would find a reasonable looking spot, cast out chicken livers and wait. And wait. And sometimes wait some more. In fact, in my childhood and through my teenage years I can't remember changing locations at all. It was a game of patience. When I rediscovered catfishing several years ago, all that changed.

If you've read my previous articles you'll know that I've spent most of my adult life (some fifteen plus years) chasing primarily large, toothy predators...northern pike and muskies. My primary tactics on these predators was to keep moving, covering water, searching for active fish. When I started catfishing again, this technique just kind of stuck with me. I believe it has enabled me to be a much better catfish angler than I ever was before.

Although I employ several tactics, the aggressive, run-and-gun method I learned while muskie hunting is generally my favored approach. Before I explain in detail the methodology, let me explain that I primarily fish mid-sized rivers with plenty of brush and cover. Also, I will almost always exclusively use fresh cut bait during this technique. I find cut bait the most consistent performer, and it removes one more variable from the equation. In other words, cut bait is my "search lure" of choice.

I'll start with a known good location and bait up. Set the rods and wait exactly fifteen minute. If there is no action, pull anchors and move. I literally use a wristwatch, and if I'm fishing with someone else, I'll generally announce the "deadline" for getting bit. Depending on the size or complexity of the cover or structure I'm fishing, I may just fish it for fifteen minutes and then reposition the baits or reposition the boat for another ten or fifteen minutes. It is important to stick to your timeline, and be disciplined. A morning can melt away quickly if you spend thirty minutes on four separate unproductive locations.

Here is a typical morning employing the run-and-gun for channel cats on a favorite local river:
5:00am - setup on known good current break/eddy location with brush.
5:15am - no runs, a couple of fickle hits. pull anchor and run up river.
5:25am - setup on front of rocky ledge with topside brush.
5:28am - sporadic run, missed fish.
5:35am - good run, boated 10lbs channel cat
5:40am - boated another 10 pounder
5:55 am - no hits in fifteen minutes, but had 3 decent hits and 2 fish in 30 minutes, so will stick it out for another 15 minutes.
6:10am - no further hits, pull anchor and move.
...

From this brief glimpse, you can get the picture. It helps to have the mindset of "eliminating" spots. I know most people would spend more time on the second spot after boating two decent cats in 30 minutes, but the technique as I've described it has put lots of big cats in my boat.

One of my favorite things to do in a local river is to go brush-hopping. I like this technique best when I'm fishing alone. This allows me to more easily fish with just one anchor, to more readily reposition the boat. In this version of the technique, I motor to the top end of a brushy shoreline; often one that has 15 or 20 good snags along a half-mile stretch of river. I set anchor and fish one rod from the stern of the boat. If you're wonderingwhy just one rod, Minnesota's arguably silly state law says you can only fish with one hook at a time in open water. Sometimes these snags are only really big enough for one bait anyway. I'll often only give these small, isolated snags just ten minutes to produce fish. Then I pull anchor and drift into position above the next snag downstream. This particular variation has produced some incredible catches from seemingly insignificant locations.

Although this technique is quite a bit more work than the average camp-out-all-night in one spot catfishing escapade, it has tremendous potential to produce large fish, and numbers of fish. It has the added benefit of helping you learn the river more quickly. Give it a try and don't be afraid to move the boat.