3/6/08
Get the drift on Lake Marion’s big blue catfish
By Terry Madewell

Terry Madewell Photo

Blue catfish are being taken in good numbers and sizes by drifting cut bait on the flats. Obviously, Rodger Taylor had a great day.

During late February and March every year, the blue catfish do go on the prowl and start feeding heavily. Such is the case right now as numerous very good catches of blues are being reported not only from lakes Marion and Moultrie, but most other area lakes as well. The blue catfish, more than the channel or flathead catfish, seem to respond to the still cool but warming water in the spring and get active.

The fish not only actively move towards shallower water, they feed heavily. Even though the water temperature is still quite cold, the fact that the water temperature is on an upward climb seems to be a key factor in the blue catfish activity. The past couple of weeks where we’ve experienced several warm days have certainly got these fish on the move. Granted, as is the case with everyone species this year on lakes Marion and Moultrie, some of the favorite early spring haunts where blue cats are typically caught have changed from the higher water levels of previous years. But the fish are getting active and are being caught by anglers seeking them out.

Rodger Taylor guides for catfish as well as regularly fishing catfish tournaments on a number of lakes in our area. Taylor said that one of the keys to catching blue catfish right now is using a fishing technique where the anglers stays on the move until they can figure out where the fish are.

“Right now, we’re having more success by drifting than by any other method,” he said. “The rig we’re using is simple. It consists of a three-foot leader, with a two-inch, crappie-sized float about a foot from the hook, to keep the bait just off the bottom. I’m using a 6/0 circle hook on 20-pound test line. We’re using a slinky type sinker in the 3/4 to one-ounce size to keep the bait bumping along the bottom.”

Taylor notes that there are several keys that an angler needs to focus on for consistent catfishing success right now.

“The water is still quite cold, but it is warming,” he said. “The blues are moving from the deepwater areas they stayed in much of the winter to more shallow flats and humps right now. One of the places we’re catching fish now is a flat near the old river channel that is in 18-22 feet of water. Not long ago, we were catching fish in 26-34 feet of water. So, in recent weeks there’s been a major shift in the actual depths we’re catching fish and this pattern should continue to get even more productive on the shallow water areas. Plus, we’re beginning to catch more big fish, in excess of 25 pounds, than we had been. It looks like we’re just about to break into a very exciting time for fishing for springtime catfish.”

Taylor uses a wide variety of baits but the standard for now is cut bait. Typically he’ll use cut perch, bream or shad or herring.

“Generally, I will experiment with different baits on each day to determine what works best on that given day,” he said. “It’s surprising but some days, the cut perch will work great; then the next day the shad or herring will produce most of the bites. It’s simple enough to just give the big blues a choice and let them decide what they want on a given day. Of course, sometimes these fish are just not at all discriminating in what they eat and they will take just about any bait you chunk out there. Those are the days we all look forward to.”

According to Taylor, the fish are not necessarily located right at the edge of a channel on the flat where he sir catching fish. Sometimes the blue catfish, even the larger fish, are back on the flats apparently roaming and foraging for food.

“Sometimes during the year the blues seem to get oriented right on the edge of the drops and humps, but that’s not the case right now,” he said. “It seems to be necessary to have some deep water in the area, I suppose as a general travel route. But the best fishing seems to be up on the flats, sometimes a good distance from the actual drop. That’s where the drifting technique is really effective. By making different drifts, generally we can get on a productive pattern where the fish are stacked in an area really well. When that happens, once the productive portion of a drift is over, we’ll reel in the rigs, crank the motor and drift it again. For whatever reason the fish are attracted to a single spot may be difficult to discern, although I always try to figure it out. However, it’s enough as a fisherman to just sometime know the fish are in a certain area and that by making repeated drifts over the same area, you can continue to catch catfish.”

The speed of the drift is also a key to success, according to Taylor.

“You certainly want to move along to cover some territory, but if you move too fast you’ll likely miss some fish action. I think ideal is a .4-.5 miles per hour on the drift. We’ll catch fish in windy weather even moving as fast as .8 miles per hour, but that’s faster than I prefer.”

Again, Taylor notes that experimenting with different speeds on different days is a good tool. On calm days he’ll use his electric motor to move the boat. On windy days he’ll use sea anchors to slow the boat to the appropriate speed.

“One factor that we do often identify as a reason for fish being in a certain area is the presence of baitfish. Big clouds of bait will show up on the graph as we drift or slowly motor along. If we all of a sudden start catching fish in that specific area, the math is pretty easy to do in terms of figuring why the fish are at that specific spot. Other times there may be a small ditch that is holding the fish, or perhaps the water is a foot or two shallower or deeper than the rest of the area. The key is to be able to mark that area and keep fishing it if it produces and the other nearby areas don’t produce fish. Most modern graphs have GPS capability so it’s relatively easy to get back to the same spots for repeated drifts.”

Taylor notes that the old fashioned method of simply tossing out a marker buoy to mark a location is great if you don’t have all the bells and whistles on your graph.

The key is now is the time to fish for the early spring blue catfish. Get your rigs ready and go now.