Capt. Jeff has been featured on The American Outdoorsman TV Show as well as in the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Kansas City Star, Daily Oklahoman,
Tulsa World, Wichita Eagle and In-Fisherman's Catfish Insider 2003 Guide.
If
you if you want to be the very best fisherman you can, there are 3 things
you must learn how to do:
1)
Buy the very best electronics you can afford. I would suggest saving
your money and getting one in the $400 to $800 range. My boat is equipped
with $1500 of electrinics and they are the most important tools in my
boat. I am lost without them.
2)
Learn how to read maps while on the water and using your electronics
to find all those underwater hiding spots that everybody else is driving
over.
3)
Learn the habits of your fish. Bluecats have different habits than Channelcats.
White bass act different than Crappie. Study the fish themselves and
you will soon see that they will show up in the same places and times
year after year and bite the same baits year after year. Remember, fish
do not know where they live or what lake or state they are in. Patterns
from Oklahoma lakes work in Kansas, etc. Fish behave the same wherever
they live.
Catfish
When
catfishing a lake with a manmade current or natural current, always
anchor your boat on the upstream side of the submerged river channel.
It might not even seem like there is any current, but if you have had
high water or if they generate for electricty, there will always be
a small amount of current flowing through the lake. Fish the submerged
river channel just like you would any other river with the current taking
the smell of your bait downstream.
The
cycle of Bluecats is exactly the same as the cycle of the Shad or other
baitfish you have in your lake. Don't kid yourself: pay attention to
your fish locator. The masses of Bluecats will always be somewhere around
the masses of Shad. Look for the bait, catch some bait, cut them up
and driftfish with a carolina rig through the schools of baitfish.
Dont
be scared to fish in 30 to 50 feet of water: Bluecats can tollerate
deep water yearround.
Always
fish for Flatheads with live bait and remember, there is a difference
between live bait and lively bait. Make sure your bait is really squirming:
the more vibration in the water, the better the chance for a Flathead
find it.
Believe
it or not, but wintertime is the best time for Bluecats. Catching the
fresh bait can be hard, but after that has been accomplished, look for
huge schools of fish in the submerged river channel. It might take 4
hours to find the schools, but once you've found them, anchor your boat
somewhere on the top side of the channel and cast your baits from the
top of the river channel to the bottom of it. Wait 30 minutes and move.
If they are there and in a feeding mode, it will be fast and furious
action.
A Great Crappie Lunch Recipe
Walleyes Inc - Your Walleye Fishing Resource
