Simply put, structure is the contour composition of the lake stream or river bottoms, such as ledges, drops, points, depressions, creek channels, flats and deep holes. Any natural change of the bottom contour is categorized as structure.

Catfish will use these contour changes to navigate throughout the river, lake systems using them as highways to move from one area to the next.

Cover is considered as add on’s to structure or bottom contour! Such as stumps, log jams, bridge pilings or even old sunken boat. Cover can be natural or manmade elements and is either manually placed or has been deposited by Mother Nature.

In addition to knowing the difference between the two elements, understanding that catfish are attracted to certain covers and structures for some particular reasons. Determining which cover or structures are the most attractive to the fish for any given time of year will improve your catch rate.

In the late spring, when the spawn is occurring, a good piece of structure that is located in the deep channel is not going as good due to the fact that catfish have moved to shallower water. The same type of structure near the shore will be a better choice for catfish at this time.

In the warmer summer months, structures which are in deep water can be very good for catfish anglers.
In lakes that produce a thermocline in the summer or fall, look for structures that are above the thermocline of the water, the best structures will provide shade and cooler water that the catfish will seek.

In addition, the baitfish will also be attracted to these types of structure also.

During the fall and winter months, the fish will move to the deepest parts of the area, where the water fairly stable and there is plenty of oxygen. It’s known that deep water structures may be great spots during these times, but there is never a guarantee when it comes to these whiskered adversaries.

Underwater structure plays a big part in fishing for catfish, but it is not the only factor that needs to be considered.

Catfish can be unpredictable however you can make adjustments to increase your odds. Another important part in finding the underwater structures is the food factor. If the structure has no baitfish, the catfish will move somewhere else where the food source is present.
Many anglers will just assume that if an underwater structure is present, there should be catfish down there waiting for their baits, and this is not always true.

Another element to finding a great piece of structure is cover.

Cover is like a bonus when locating structure, if you can locate a piece of cover on some structure, you have again just increased your odds of having a successful day.
Cover on structure will attract baitfish as well as give the catfish an ambush point to feed.

Understanding the migration of the catfish throughout the seasons, as well as the food sources and their locations, will help you find structures that produce good catfish.

Understanding the movements or migrations of the catfish and the baitfish, will help you understand where they will be at any given time, giving you an advantage when it comes to choosing structures to fish.

It’s like a puzzle, all of the factors must be considered together, to help pinpoint structures that have all the elements a catfish is seeking for the time of year and the specific weather and temperatures.

Transition areas are spots where the structure composition changes abruptly. Typically, the transitional areas are defined when the hard and soft bottoms meet. Some good examples would be when chunk rock bank transitions into gravel or mud, another example is rocky bank turning into a sand bank.

These transition areas are simply a breaking point which creates an edge effect.

Below is a small transition but will give you a good visual on what a transition looks like.

Catfish like many other living things are drawn to the edge. By that i mean there have been studies that have determined there is a pattern of animal behavior that has been termed as the (Edge effect). It’s the tendency of so many living things that responds to the edges in their environment.

Transitional areas are just another type of structure that is desirable for catfish and other fish including baitfish to congregate while traveling the migration or feeding routes.

Structure for catfishing can be best described as any change that breaks the general contour of the bottom such as ledges or drops, points or deep holes and should be considered as part of a possible travel route or stop over area, on their way to some other feeding or resting area. This includes transitional areas.

Transitional areas are the most the visible, but probably most over looked type of structures available to anglers. Although transitional areas are not considered a go to spot for numbers of catfish they are considered a hot spot for large cats during the migration cycles.

Catfish will move in seasonal patterns throughout the year. From winter to spring they have reproduction on their minds as they begin to migrate to the spawning areas and will use transitional areas as staging points on their journey up river and again after the spawn on their way to where they will spend the summer. During the hot summer months, catfish will seek cooler waters in the deeper holes and does not have to feed as actively.

Fall brings cooler water temperatures and starts the migration to the shallower feeding areas as they prepare to go deep again for the winter months.
Catfish will often lurk in transition zones as they prepare for the next part of their seasonal journey. Most other anglers will avoid these types of areas because the action can be slow but taking advantage of these types of spots during the transitional periods can often pay off big.

Methods to fish the transitional areas include anchoring, and controlled suspend drifting.

Suspending a Carolina rig over the transitional area will keep the bait in the strike zone. Use three to six ounce sinkers to help control the bait and it allows you to adapt to any sudden changes in depth and adjustments can be made quickly.

Anchoring above a transitional area and casting onto the area with a traditional 3-way or Carolina rigs is another presentation that works well. In this presentation the sinker size should be determined by the amount of current that is present.

Fishing transition areas could seem like a waste of time to some anglers. Simply because they are not a good area for numbers of catfish, however If you are looking for quality and not quantity, the transitional areas are a great place to cut a trophy catfish off at the pass during the seasonal migration periods.

Patterns are an important key in consistently catching catfish, the bass guys have honed their skills at finding patterns but it’s rarely talked about in catfishing.
A pattern can be most anything, you just need to pay attention to surroundings and the type of structure or banks you are fishing and try to duplicate the same types of conditions you have already been successful with. Whether it be mud banks, deep holes, shallow sand bars, rock banks, wood structure, smaller or larger baits, etc.

Paying close attention to your surroundings is the best way to put together a solid pattern for catfish. Understanding how you were able to catch the first fish will play a key role in finding patterns for catfish. If your fishing a drop and catch a catfish, was that fish on the top side or bottom side of the drop. But there are many other variables you should consider when you’re locating a pattern. Weather, time of year, time of day, water temperature, stained water, clear water, current speed and many others.

At times catfishing patterns can be hard to nail down, as patterns can change throughout the day due to weather conditions or barometric pressure changes. So if you’re catfishing and you’re not having any luck, you may want to make some adjustments. Try a different type of area or try different bait. Maybe it’s the size of the bait or a front has moved through and the fish you were catching has now moved tight to wood structure. Bottom line here is, duplicate your bait presentation by finding similar places that have the same characteristics as the first spot you were successful.

For an example:

This is one of those times where I had a good pattern on Friday but weather and river conditions changed and I had to find a back up pattern to make up for lost time I spend on a failing pattern I had the day before.

During the 2011 Cabelas King Kat tournament on the Ohio River I developed a good pattern the day before the tournament, drifting baits in 50 ft of water over a hard bottom. On tournament day the river conditions had changed and the river was on a rise and current had picked up pushing my fish to the banks. After realizing this about mid day, I changed patterns. I located a point that had a current break with a current seam and tried it and found success.

After I caught a couple 20 lbers from that spot I ran a little farther down river and found a similar point that had all the same components as the first spot that I had caught fish in, this allowed me to finished out my limit for the day. That pattern took me from three small fish that I had caught using my failing pattern to culling them for 5 respectable fish that put in 8th place in the top 10.

Don’t be afraid of trying new things to establish a new pattern if the pattern you thought was paying off goes sour. Establish a pattern and you’ll put more catfish in the boat.

drift fishing is the best technique for fishing for catfish in the summer time. Fish around ledges and drops along the river channel. Deep channel banks or channel bends are good for big catfish but the deep flats will produce numbers of 5-15 pounder’s. Use cut skip jack herring or shad for bait and chunk it in large pieces for the trophy catfish and smaller pieces for the fast action. More on Drift Fishing for Catfish

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The ditch is a hot spot that only occurs in lakes and reservoirs, it attracts many kinds of fish which in turn attracts the big monster catfish looking for a meal. You can locate most of these by looking at a decent lake map or visually look to the banks for your clues, reading the banks will tell you a lot about what’s going on, generally what you see on the bank will also be happening under the water too. So for this hot spot, I’m going to look for cuts in the bank and by cuts I mean those v shaped fingers that you see extended off the main body of water, which are really just rain water run off creeks and ditches that used to feed the main channel before the lake or reservoir was built.

These run off ditches and creeks can be at any depth and because the ditches can be as short as 100 foot or as long as 500 yards, each one with will have a variety of depths above it, it really just depends on the terrain that the lake is built on.
Ditches will also vary in actual ditch depth, some will show up on your depth finder as small 1 or 2 foot depressions and others will show definite depth change of 5 to 10 foot, along with a variety of widths, most of these old ditches and creeks will be most likely silted somewhat, so don’t expect to see a quick depth change on your depth finder, but of a more gradual change.

Catfish use these types of spots for navigating the lake system, cruising along to locate food that has washed into the lake and to blend into the structure for a ambush point. Keep in mind though, that the smaller lakes my produce a thermocline in the heat of the summer so the deepest parts of the ditch that extends below the thermocline will not produce well. You can still catch catfish but you just have to fish the ditch above the thermocline. spring, early summer, late fall and winter when the thermocline is non existent will be the best time to approach the deep water cat fishing hot spot in the smaller lakes.


The larger navigable reservoir water ways which produce current and do not develop a thermocline, and will hold fish year round although the ditch itself as a whole is good place to fish, the deeper portions of the ditch that extends out and meets the main channel seems to hold the bigger fish.

Use your favorite technique once you have found your hot spot! Catfish frequent these areas regularly and will hit on most all presentations offered. My two favorite methods for fishing the ditches are, target anchoring and a controlled suspend drifting, targeting key areas along the ditch, finding the spot with in the spot. The target area I will always key in on first is where the ditch or creek meets at the main channel and then I work my way back from there!

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