Jake Nalley (right) and Scott Linton performed some heavy lifting when they
displayed two of the trophy catfish they caught on the Mississippi River
during a Twisted Cat tournament.
Missouri: The Big-Cat State
By Brent Frazee
Searching for a giant blue catfish? Head to the Big Rivers State, Missouri.
Not far from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, anglers can prospect for rare treasure: world-class catfish. As unlikely as it may seem, blue catfish as big as children lurk in the murky, fast-moving current near where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi north of St. Louis.
It’s not the serene, idyllic setting most fishermen would expect of a world-class fishery. But don’t let the skyscrapers, the barge traffic and the fast pace of city life fool you. The Mighty Mississippi is more than just a setting for Mark Twain’s books. It’s home to some of the best blue-cat fishing in the world.
If that sounds like a fish story, consider this. A world-record 130-pound blue cat was caught in 2010 on the Missouri River near where it flows into the Mississippi, just 20 miles north of St. Louis. That record has since been broken, but fishermen haven’t given up hope that another mark will one day be set in Missouri’s two major rivers.
“From the confluence downstream, anywhere the Mississippi touches the state of Missouri, there is still an excellent, excellent blue-cat fishery,” said Joe McMullen, a scientist and big-river specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “From the St. Louis area all the way to the Bootheel, Missouri has a very healthy population. We hear of 100-pound fish caught every year.”
Of course, those fish don’t come along every day. Grizzled veterans who fish the Missouri and Mississippi grumble that they still haven’t come close to joining the 100-pound club. But they continue to chase the ghost, knowing there is always a chance of catching a giant in eastern Missouri.
“I travel all across the United States, fishing for blue cats,” said Jake Nalley, who guides on the Mississippi River and owns Precision Fishing Guide Service. “I’ve fished some of the best-known lakes and rivers, everywhere from Alabama to Texas. But I always wonder why I left home. We probably have the best blue-cat fishery in the country.”
Nalley often uses a fishing trip several years ago to illustrate his point. Fishing in a Twisted Cat tournament on the Mississippi in 2022, he and Scott Linton teamed to bring in three giants that totaled 188.80 pounds. Included were a 90.89-pound fish that Nalley reeled in and an 88-pounder that Linton caught.
But even that wasn’t the biggest Nalley has seen. He remembers a Thanksgiving weekend three years ago when he caught a blue cat so big that it bottomed out a scale that maxed out at 100 pounds.
Other guides have stories that add to the lore of fishing the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Ryan Casey, owner of Show Me Catfishing Trophy Guide Service, has guided clients to five blue catfish exceeding 100 pounds over the years. “Our boat record is 112 pounds,” he said.
Casey and the other guides who work with him take a high-tech approach to locate those big blue cats. They use the electronics on their boats to hunt for giants. Every day is a new day because of the rapidly changing conditions on the river.
“It’s not like a reservoir, where we’re following big schools of baitfish with the catfish underneath them,” Casey said. “We’re targeting the fish themselves. We’ll fish the back side or tips of wing dikes, drift the channels, cast to little breaks or structure, whatever.”
Nalley takes a similar approach. He uses his electronics to go hunting for big game. Sometimes that takes him to unlikely spots, like areas where barges are being loaded.
“We have a lot of grain shipping in this area,” he said. “When they load the barges with corn, some of it spills into the water, and that’s like a dinner bell for a lot of the baitfish. The blue cats follow them in and you can really find some good fishing.”
Fishermen will use shad, skipjacks, mooneyes and cut Asian carp as bait. When anchor fishing, they use weights as heavy as six to eight ounces to keep the baits on the bottom in the fast current.
Fishermen catch big blue cats throughout the year, including in the winter when most anglers have put their rods and reels away.
“Winter is one of my favorite times to go out,” Nalley said. “The blue cats will school up, and you won’t find a lot of boat traffic because of the cold weather. I have a full enclosure on my boat and a heater, so I stay comfortable.”
One thing is certain: There always are big fish to daydream about.
The Mississippi River offers ideal habitat for blue catfish. The fast current, abundant baitfish, fertile water and relatively long growing season all work to their advantage.
“I see the Mississippi River as a catfish machine,” McMullen said. “That is their natural habitat. Same way with the Missouri.
“These rivers have changed over the years, especially the Missouri, which has been heavily channelized,” he concluded. “But our most-recent surveys show they’re still doing well.”
(Brent Frazee is an award-winning writer and photographer from Parkville, Mo. He was the outdoors editor for The Kansas City Star for 36 years. He retired in 2016, but he continues to freelance for magazines, websites and newspapers.)
