Understanding the difference between structure and cover for Catfishing

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.

Of the many places catfish anglers look for fish, transitional areas are often over looked and typically do not get a lot of pressure by other anglers. Learning to identify and when to fish these transitional areas can produce good results for trophy catfish during the migration cycles.

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.