Capt. David Magness of Hernando, Mississippi hoists a fat Mississippi River blue cat
into the boat. He caught it using basic spring fishing techniques. (credit: Keith Sutton)
Catfish Basics #165—with Capt. David Magness
Springtime. The dogwoods are blooming, birds are singing, turkeys are gobbling, temperatures are going up, and the water is usually rising. This all equates to catfish on the move and looking for something to eat.
Catfish will follow rising warm water, searching for anything that swims, crawls, wiggles or sits on bottom to consume. Do not overlook shallow, 1- to 4-foot-deep water for our whiskered friends.
This time of year is when almost any bait will work. Baits such as night crawlers, minnows, stinkbait and small pieces of cut-bait will all help make your catch.
Some anglers swear by chicken breast for bait. It can be used as is, cut into bite-sized pieces or marinated in strawberry/cherry Jello or Kool-Aid.
If they are available to you, I suggest you try my personal favorite bait: catalpa worms. These caterpillars are found only on catalpa trees, and can be harvested and saved in your freezer for later use.
Tightlining with bait on the bottom works well, but my favorite technique when fishing in shallow water is suspending my bait 12 to 18 inches above the bottom beneath a cork/bobber. Lot of childhood memories flash when I see that ol’ red/white bobber go down.
Get out there, and “get your line stretched.”
