I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE GETTING OUT ON THE RIVER FOR A LIL CATFISHIN AND YOU’VE GOT A SECRET TECHNIQUE THAT PROMISES YOULLE CATCH FISH!  WOULDN’T THAT BE AWSOME?  WELL YOU DON’T HAVE TO IMAGINE IT ANYMORE, BECAUSE IM GONNA SHOW YOU HOW! BUT FIRST LET ME TELL YOU A LIL STORY ON HOW I DISCOVERED IT.  

WHEN I FIRST GOT INTO CATFISHING ME AND A BUDDY OF MINE DECIDED WE WOULD PULL AN AL NITE CATFISHING TRIP.  WE GOT ON THE RIVER AND HEADED TO OUR SPOT AND SET UP ON AN ANCHOR, WE NOTICE ANOTHER BOAT HAD SLIPPED IN ON US, AND WAS FISHING THE SAME AREA. WELL WE SPENT ALL NITE FISHING AND DIDN’T HAVE A FISH.

DAY LITE COMES AND WERE BEAT , SO WE HEADED BACK TO THE RAMP TO FIND THIS OTHER FELLA THAT FISHED AROUND US  ALL NITE  LOADING HIS BOAT WITH SOME SUPPLYS, I GUESS HIM TO BE 70 YEARS OLD AND PROLLY WEIGHED BOUT 90 LBS. LOL HIS BOAT WAS AN OLD BEAT UP 14 FT FLAT BOTTOM WITH AND OLD JOHNSON MOTOR,

 SO I GET TO TALKIN WITH HIM ASKED HIM IF HE DID ANY GOOD, HE SAID NOT MUCH AT ALL, BUT SAID IM HEADED BACK OUT TO CATCH SOME BLUES! I SAID WHAT? HE SAID YEA  GONNA GO CATCH SOME BLUES.  IM THINKIN HMMM! SO I JUST COME RITE OUT AND ASK HIM, SIR IM NOT TRYIN TO BE A SMART ASS BUT WE BOTH SPENT ALL NITE ON THIS RIVER AND DIDN’T HAVE MUCH LUCK, SO WHAT MAKES YOU THINK  YOU CAN CATCH THEM NOW?

 SO NOW THIS IS WERE THAT LIL MAN CHANGED MY LIFE AS A CATFISHERMAN. HE SAID DRIFT FISHING AND THE STARTED TELLIN ME HOW TO DO IT, AND ABOUT THE FISH HE HAD CAUGHT,  BY THEN I WAS ALL FIRED UP AND READY TO TRY IT MYSELF SO I WENT HOME GOT CLEANED UP AND A NAP AND WAS OUT THERE AGAIN TO TRY THIS SURE FIRE WAY TO CATCH BIG BLUES.

 I PICKED MY SPOT AND PUT MY RODS OUT AS HE EXPLAINED AND WITHIN 15 MINS I HAD A FISH, I CAUGHT SEVERAL FISH THAT EVEING BUT NOTHIN HUGE, BUT IT WAS ENOUGH TO GET ME HOOKED ON THIS DRIFTING TECHNIQUE THOUGH. IVE NEVER RAN INTO TO THIS OLD SCHOOL STRANGER AGAIN, BUT HE DID LEAVE ME WITH SOME VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT I VE USED FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS AND IT ALSO ALLOWS ME TO PASS ON TO OTHERS.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about thermoclines lately so I will share here on discovercatfishing.com what I know about them and how I use thermoclines to my advantage to target lake and reservoir catfish.

Being able to locate active feeding catfish on lakes and reservoirs is an important skill that a catfisherman should develop. You can mark fish all day long on your depth finder and still not persuade them to take your bait if they are not in their feeding zone.

Thermoclines are best defined in lakes where there is little if any running water. The thermocline is a thin layer of water in a lake which is sandwiched between the upper layer of warmer water and the lower, colder layer of water. During the summer months, surface water is heated by the sun and the surface temp could be 85 degrees or more. This floats over a layer denser colder water. Now between these 2 layers you have a thin layer in which the water temp drops considerably, this will be the thermocline. The temp at this level may be as low as the high 60’s to low 70’s in the summer months. Lakes go through seasonal water temperature changes. There are times when the layers mix and then separate especially in the summer your lake will develop 3 distinct water layers and temperature changes, usually occurring at these guestimated depths, depending on the body of water your fishing water clarity, ect.  0 to 12′, 12′ to 22′, and 22′ to 45′. The temperature may drop by as much as 8 to 10 degrees at each depth.

You will find some fish in the top layer, the bottom part of the top layer and at varying depths within and just below what is called the thermocline. Many times your electronics can pick up these varying layers of water. You’ll see a distinct faded line running horizontally across your depth finder. This will represent where there are drastic differences in the water temperatures are. However keep in mind that most times you will be wasting your time if you fish much deeper than the thermocline. Reason being is that the oxygen levels are low due to rotting debris or  matter sinking to the bottom and eating up all the oxygen in the decaying process. I can almost assure you that 98 percent of the fisheries population prefers to be above the bottom of this zone, but if you do see fish deep below the thermocline I can assure you that they will not be very active. The one exception to this would be in a lake where the water is very clear. In a clear lake, photosynthesis can occur below the thermocline. When you have phytoplankton growth the oxygen levels will be higher because of photosynthesis, catfish could seek out deeper water.  I like to fish from about five foot below the thermocline to up above it about five feet at no matter what depth I find the thermocline. Keep in mind though the thermo cline can and will change from day to day, wind can and temperature can change the thermocline.

If you don’t know for sure where the thermocline is, let the bait fish tell you. If there is a thermocline present, bait will be above it. You will see a distinct zone where the majority of fish are holding on your depth finder. This is how I decide on the depth I’ll fish. If I’m seeing a bunch of fish at 15 to 18 feet, I’m going to target structure or even open water at this depth. If I see a lot of shad and bait fish that are present above this line, the catfish will be close by. So locate some deeper structure along the thermocline, and you’ll more than likely find a sweet spot. This can take a minute or two to find but when you do hit one of these spots, you’ll be glad you spent the time.  Also keep im mind that the catfish will also relate to bait fish in open water as if they were structure.

Watch your depth finder as you travel down or across the lake, look for fish to appear along the thermocline, this the best way to locate catfish.
What a lot of folks don’t realize is that there may be schools of catfish along a thermocline in the middle of a lake. Although the water is 50-60 feet deep, the catfish will be suspended on the thermocline over that deep water. I’ve had great success placing my baits in 15-25 ft deep, drift fishing over that deep open water in and around the thermocline.

Keep in mind though, Just because you spot fish around the thermocline in the middle of the lake doesn’t always mean that these fish are catfish. But it will still give you some indication as to what depth you should target. About the only way you can know for sure what types of fish are occupying the thermocline is to put your baits out and see what happens, if you don’t catch a catfish within at least the first half hour, then more than likely the fish your seeing on your depth finder are not catfish. Once I spot the fish, I’ll start putting out my baits. If the fish are 20 feet deep, I’ll stagger my depths, one in 20 feet of water, one in 16 feet of water and the other bait in 24 feet of water, targeting all three feeding zones associated with the thermoclines, increasing my chances  of hookin up with a catfish, whether they’re feeding below the thermocline, on the thermocline or just above it.

Its been my experience that at night the catfish will more than likely feed up above the thermocline. The big cats will come up as much as 6 to 8 feet from the surface, while the smaller catfish may feed as high up as 2 to 3 feet from the surface and even on the surface. The cats will move up into more-shallow water all summer long from dark until just after daylight. So, if you’re going to be catfishing at night, you may want to put your lines a little more shallow than you will in the daytime. Just remember that the deeper lines that are still above the thermocline will usually produce bigger fish.

In the fall, the thermocline will sink and dissipate. As the water starts to cool in the fall, it becomes denser and begins to sink to mix with the water in deeper layers associated with the thermocline. The bottom water travels to the top and the top circulates to the bottom. This is normally called a turnover and all the layers are now mixed together. This is probably the worst time to try to catch fish is during this period. The water will begin to smell and look like thick coffee.

Theres always a wise guy!

 Tommy Morehead!  i would appreciate it if you would not link my sites to anything you have goin on. you need to read this article closely dude, im talking about lakes and reservoirs, not a huge body of water like santee, or the Atlantic ocean.  This article is aimed toward the new anglers eager to learn what they can about the there most comman body of water throughout the US and theres a big difference between fresh water and ocean. So please keep your novice opinions on your sites without linking to me!

Steve Douglas

There he is! Ahh man he’s a big one too,  get the net!  What the hell? Dude that fish just came off. 

Have you ever been in that situation?

Sometimes fishin doesn’t always turn out the way you want it. Even with the seasoned anglers, mishaps will and still can happen. Even some of the smallest details that are sometimes overlooked, may jog your memory as to why your standing there lookin at your buddy holding an empty net,  but don’t sweat it! It can happen to the best of us. To this day I  can remember most every big fish Ive lost do to anglers neglect of the small details and wondered and dreamed as just to how big he was. Just last week i had my memory jogged real good, with a lesson that i learned long ago in a similar situation, and i knew better but for some reason this day i had overlooked the small detail of checking my hook point before i placed it in the river, resulting in a big fish not getting hooked. Thinkin what the hell just happened, i pulled my line in to inspect it to see if the line broke or what and as i got the bait in my hand, i see a big scale from the herring i was using for bait stuck to the point of my circle hook, which didnt allow it to penatrate the fishes mouth.  i learned this lesson a long time ago, but didnt pay attention to one of the small details that had haunted me once before, a lesson learned but apparently neglected and now im standing in the middle of my boat with a dumb look on my face, like danm i knew better than that. 

so in this article im gonna re-visit some small details that when put in play together will definently increase your chances of landing that trophy catfish.

1.  SET YOUR DRAG BEFORE YOU SET YOUR BAIT:

For some reason when you dont use your reels for a few days especially weeks, the star drag will stick or lock, and not work properly when needed. One way to prevent a loss of a trophy catfish is to check your drag on every fishing trip. I like to grab my line before I set my baits and pull the line out with my hands, breaking loose the drag from being sticky so that im sure the drag will fuction properly just incase a big fish decides to hit.  now you dont want it to be too loose of course,  you want to make it tough for a fish to pull your drag but not so tight that he pulls your rod holder off your boat or breaks your line. So you definently dont want it locked down tight. Once youve got the rig in your hands and your fighting the fish, you can then start to re-adjust your drag if needed.

2. BE SURE TO CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK YOUR LINE AND KNOTS

Periodictly throughout your trip be sure to check your knots and line for freys and abrasions, especially the mainline where the sinker slides up and down on your fishing main line. The first 2-3 foot of main line will take the most beating so when you retie be sure to cut a little extra line off to get above the worn line.  Also inspect the leader material for abrasions due to getting hung up on  structure on the bottom and pulling it loose, this will also weaken the leader line.  Also be sure to tie the knots properly, dont take shortcuts, if the knot you tie requires 5 twist and back through the loop, dont get in a hurry and just twist it 3 times and back though the lopp and expect it will hold.

3. HOOK INSPECTION

Be sure the point of your hook doesn’t have a scale attatched to it after you’ve threaded it on the hook, and be careful as to what bait cut you use. Bait cut a certain way will sometimes hook back on it self and cause the hook point to be buried in the bait rather than the point extruding from the bait. just spin the bait cut around on your hook , if it acts like it would be able to hook back into the bait, re hook it in a way that will not be able to hook back into itself. There no getting around it, you just ain’t catfishing if you don’t get hung up from time to time, and this will sometimes cause your hook points to get dull or bend, so be sure to inspect the hook point thoroughly and sharpen as needed through out your fishing day. 

LESSONS LEARNED 

Sometimes we lose sight of the little things or just take for granted that every thing will go our way.  Nothing is ever guaranteed in fishing  but a little preventive maintenance can make the difference between takin photo’s or cussin like a sailor. These are just a few small details that Ive learned over the years that may help some of you NOT lose a fish of a lifetime and also help some recall the small details that also caused you to jump up and down in your boat because you lost what you felt on the other end of your line.

THIS IS EVERY CATFISHERMANS DREAM!

More Catfishing info.

We at discovercatfishing.com would like to congratulate! Greg Bernal of Florissant, Missouri

 A Missouri couple may have possible broken a  world record by catching and landing in a 130-pound catfish with a rod and reel, breaking  the previous record set 5 years ago by Tim Pruitt by 6 pounds. 

Greg Bernal and friend Janet Momphard used pieces of Asian carp that jumped in there boat while fishing  in the Missouri River in the Columbia Bottoms. Bernal Say’s he brought the monster catfish to the side of the boat in about fifteen minutes, but took  an additional thirty minutes to actually get it into the boat and requiring two dip nets to do so. They finally got the fish in the boat at about 1:30 a.m. Bernal used a Penn reel and 40-pound fishing line to catch  the catfish. Because he caught it in the middle of the night, Bernal could not get the fish to the Department of Conservation office until later Tuesday morning, unfortunately by then, the fish had died. The fish measured 57 inches in length, and 45 inches in girth. It has been confirmed by Missouri Department of Conservation biologists as the new state record. Application for world record status has been submitted to the  Game Fish Association and is currently awaiting confirmation.

Check out the video of the fish here.

second place prize goes to stonewall starter kit of skippi jigs

third place prize goes to reel squealer of a value pac of skippi jigs

goes to discover cat fishing member (draggon)

thanks again everyone for your support with discovercatfishing. check back soon for more awesome giveaways

JULY IN KENTUCKY IS A GREAT TIME TO CATCH POST SPAWN CATFISH FROM THE OHIO RIVER, THEY TEND TO SCHOOL UP ON THE DEEP FLATS. 

HERE’S THE BASIC INFO YOU NEED TO CATCH FISH NOW

 Are you ready for the FREE STUFF?

Hello everyone!

Most of you may already know me, but if you dont, my name is Steve Douglas, avid tournament Catter with Cabelas King Kat and owner of the Monster Rod Holders. I started this blog to help others learn the sport of Catfishing and to help the sport excel. plus its gives me another avenue to pimp my Monster Rod Holders in.

FREE ROD HOLDERS? BUT HEY THERE’S ALWAYS A CATCH, RIGHT.  

Well not today!

Today i want to give back  to everyone that supports the Discover Catfishing blog. I have some FREE stuff to give away! (To three lucky winners)

This will be a drawing of names in a hat type giveaway : commenting blog member only names will be drawn as first,second and third.

First Prize = Two Monster Rod Holders with economy bases

Second Prize= Skippi Jigs, Seasonal Starter Kit 

Third Prize=  Value pac of Skippi Jigs

To have your name thown in the hat for a chance to will some cool fishing product, leave a comment on any of my pages. NOT A MEMBER? CLICK HERE.    http://discovercatfishing.com/wp-login.php Leave a comment to WIN!        PRIZES WILL BE DRAWN  JULY 4TH 2010