Big catfish are caught via drifting or by anchor-fishing tactics.
Anchoring or Drift Fishing: Which is Best for You?
Story and photos by Terry Madewell
Catfish are caught in excellent numbers using drifting or anchor-fishing tactics. For best results, pick the right tactic for the conditions being fished and your personal style.
Catfishing techniques vary from a big-picture perspective, and in recent years, two primary tactics have evolved as consistently productive: drift fishing and anchor fishing.
However, it’s more complex than one tactic being best for everyone. It’s very individualistic, and one style doesn’t fit all. Finding the best personal tactic requires experimenting with both with an open mind. Blending an angler’s personality with a specific style of fishing enables an angler to cope with varying fishing situations, helping with the decision-making process.
The success of either tactic varies based on the type of water fished, including whether lakes or rivers are the primary targets. Prevailing attributes of the water fished are crucial, including the topographic makeup of the lake or river bottom, availability of channels, deep holes, water color, current, weather, wind and the primary forage base.
Experienced catfish anglers are often devoted to either drift fishing or anchoring, so other anglers seeking advice often receive biased feedback. Professional guides and successful tournament catfishermen are represented in both categories and, clearly, both are productive. Two successful professional catfishermen give their thoughts on their favored style and why it works for them. They can help guide you on your quest for the best.
Anchoring
Capt. Steve Howard is a tournament fisherman and catfishing guide on Kerr (Buggs Island) Lake in North Carolina and the Santee Cooper lakes (Marion and Moultrie) in South Carolina. He said his go-to preference is anchor fishing.
“Anchor fishing has been good to me, but success doesn’t occur without a plan and diligence,” he said. “Patience is vital to anchor-fishing success, but that doesn’t mean the fishing is slow. When I get it right, it’s the opposite. Action is wide open with multiple hookups, not just a possibility, but likely. But those occurrences are sometimes sandwiched between efforts that don’t produce catfish as quickly as I prefer.”
Howard said his key to success is spending ample time searching for the right components that lead to successful anchored setups.
“My goal is locating multiple catfish in a confined area with abundant forage available,” he said. “Catfish are in that spot to eat, providing the potential for incredible action. Random anchoring leads to failure. I search for catfish and forage using electronics.”
Howard said this diligence is a necessary time investment because the payback is fast action and big catfish. Giving catfish time to bite is crucial, and he’s confident they’ll bite in that type of setup.
Howard said catfish congregate in large numbers and close quarters on specific targets, including humps, points and along ditches coursing through the flats on lakes. In rivers, it’s about the current and targets. If ample snags, holes and creek junctions exist, targeting these is a high-percentage option.
Every trip is different, but he’ll usually commit an hour or more if fish and forage are present.
“Ultimately, fish action is the key, so if action is slow, I’ll pull anchor and find another setup,” he said. “But I may return to that area later in the trip and give it another opportunity. The action gets frantic when catfish turn on in an anchored scenario.”
Drift Fishing
Eric “Big E” Sellers is a catfishing guide on the massive Santee Cooper lakes of Marion and Moultrie in South Carolina. At a young age, he gleaned much of his catfishing savvy while fishing with his dad and uncle, both of whom were highly productive catfish guides. He combined the tactics he learned from them with his own experiences.
Sellers has learned he can consistently provide clients with quality fish and steady action through drift fishing.
“The key to successful drift fishing is that it’s never random,” Sellers explained. “Luck isn’t reliable; you must do your due diligence regardless of fishing style. I use my electronics to pinpoint specific targets and often locate abundant catfish and forage.”
Sellers said target size varies. If it’s a small target, he’ll pull rigs after working through a short target area and redrift to stay on the fish. It’s more effort, but that’s simply part of the process.
“When the fish-producing target is large, I can drift for a long distance with steady action,” he said. “Those are the gravy days, and I love gravy.”
Sellers said some anglers think that once the rigs are deployed and drifting on a basic course, it’s simply watching rods and cranking catfish.
“That’s not the case,” he said. “I’m always fishing a specific drift for a reason. That reason is fish and forage are present, and we’re getting bites. When that ends, so does that drift.”
“I make minor course corrections in drift direction and speed,” he said. “Bait, speed and depth controls are crucial, and I vary all factors while searching for the daily pattern. Productive drift fishing is a lot of work, but man, it’s productive. And when I get a drift figured out, I can redrift with the expectation we’re going keep catching catfish.”
With complete transparency, it’s essential to note that Howard and Sellers are highly skilled at both techniques. While they have a personal preference, they’ll employ the tactic that provides the best opportunity to catch catfish. Their preferred choice is a blend of what’s best at any given time.
“As a guide, my job is to produce fish, and conditions will influence what’s best daily and seasonally,” Howard said.
Sellers and Howard enjoy their preferred fishing styles, but they love catching catfish even more, so their style they use will be best for prevailing conditions.
Try drifting and anchoring, and you’ll likely develop a kinship with one over the other. But consider becoming adept at both. Don’t get locked into a single system if you want to consistently feel that addicting power surge of a giant catfish, regardless of the technique employed to hook it.
(Terry Madewell of Ridgeway, S.C. has been an outdoor communicator for nearly 50 years. He holds a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management and has a long career as a professional wildlife biologist/natural resources manager. He’s passionate about sharing outdoor adventures with others.)
