by Jeff Samsel
Don’t stop fishing. Just stop moving when you fish.
“I can summarize that in one sentence,” Brian Barton replied when asked about his cold-water approach to catfishing. “When the water temperature reaches 45 degrees, you are in anchor mode.”
Barton (brianbartonoutdoors.com, 256-412-0969), a veteran guide on Alabama’s Wilson Lake, uses a mobile approach for most of his catfishing by drifting or slow trolling to find the most active cats. When water temperatures drop into the upper 40s early in the winter, he slows his boat to .2 or .3 miles per hour. When it reaches 45, he slams on the brakes. The catfish will still feed. In fact, fishing action can be outstanding. They become less active overall, though, so a stationary approach produces the best fishing. Let’s look more closely at the strategies Barton employs.
Set Up Shop
Because Barton’s mid-winter approach is stationary, and because catfish tend to congregate during the winter, setting up in a good spot is critical. Therefore, he spends extra time searching with his sonar, seeking big concentrations of cats. Prime mid-winter areas virtually always offer plenty of woody cover. On Wilson Lake, that means submerged standing timber, often in 70 or 80 feet. On other waters, it might mean fishing around the ends of large laydowns that fall into deeper water.
“Wood is the key during winter,” Barton said.
Assuming at least a bit of current, which is the norm on all the Tennessee River impoundments, Barton uses Spot-Lock on his trolling motor to hold the boat upstream of trees and the best concentration of fish. He then puts out a spread of lines, casting two lines off the back of the boat and two off each side to cover a broad area.
If the current allows, Barton uses weightless rigs for the most natural presentation, and he has found that to make a huge difference in his success rate. He fishes with cut bait on 7/O or 10/O Daiichi Circle Hooks, with 80-pound braid as his main line and a 24-inch 50- or 60-pound mono leader. He uses baitcasting gear, with medium heavy rods.
Wait and Wait Some More
Waiting might not sound like much of a catfishing strategy, but when the water turns cold, it is a critical element that must be intentionally heeded. Barton has learned through years of record keeping that cold-water cats feed in bursts. He has often sat in a spot, knowing his baits were among plenty of catfish, and had zero action for a very long time before the fish suddenly turned on and fed well for quite a while, with absolutely no conditional changes.
“There is a time when those fish will feed best, so when that happens, you want to be on a big school,” Barton said.
He’ll commonly look at multiple areas that are likely to hold fish before starting, but once he’s in place, if he has marked plenty of fish, he’ll stay in place and wait for the catfish to bite.
Barton believes the feeding periods are moon related, but he has not found one table that consistently pinpoints when the best action will occur. He simply knows from experience that fish not biting does not mean those fish will not bite or that it is time to move. Therefore, he waits and waits some more!
Downsize
One of Barton’s most basic cold-water adjustments is to universally downsize baits. He uses the same cut skipjack (clear first choice, when available) or gizzard shad as he does at other times. He simply cuts it into smaller pieces, because experience has taught him that mid-winter catfish will much more readily take a smaller piece of bait.
“Of course, it depends on the size of catfish I’m targeting,” Barton said.
If he is after trophy fish, instead of the normal 4- to 6-inch strip, he’ll use a piece that is about two fingers wide. If fast action is the main attraction, he’ll use a piece that’s golf ball sized or smaller.
Watch for Dead Shad
If the water temperature fall dips beneath about 40 degrees in waters where threadfin shad are plentiful, a shad kill sometimes occurs. When that happens, the fishing can be exceptional for a few days, Barton said. When thousands of shad minnows, which are 2 to 4 inches long, suddenly become readily available, fish go into glutton mode. If you don’t initially notice the dying or dead shad along a lake’s edge’s, gulls and other birds feasting on the same massive buffet will likely clue you in on what is happening.
A shad kill is the lone occurrence that causes Barton to stray from cut skipjack or gizzard shad as bait. In this situation he wants to give fish what they are keyed in on, so he’ll find an area where freshly dead shad are gathered and scoop up as many as possible. He then baits each hook with four to six whole shad.
Threadfin shad mostly stay shallow at that time, so shad kills commonly occur next to or near the bank. However, Barton has found that when he can present the same baits around the deep cover where the catfish congregate during the day, they can’t resist biting. The most productive holes, not surprisingly, tend to be close to shad kill concentrations.
With or without a shad kill, winter catfishing can be outstanding, as long as you’re willing to adjust strategies for the water temperature.
