A Cure for the Winter Time Blues

A Cure for the Winter Time Blues

by Mark Bilbrey

      Do you get the blues in winter? There is a cure for cabin fever known as fishing! And in the southeast many anglers fish not to beat the winter blues, but to catch the winter blues, catfish that is. In this entry let us review some pro tips for locating and catching trophy Blue Catfish.

      Lakes that have large catfish have a few things in common, bait, depth and cover. From post spawn through the pre-spawn in spring, catfish will remain in water as deep as seventy to eighty feet deep. In the cold water of winter you can bet that they will be holding in the deepest areas. Using electronics to locate the big blues, key in on structure and move to isolated areas that you see them on your graph. The ideal areas for trophy cats are areas of standing timber and a lot of bait.

      Many anglers use a controlled drift between areas that they see cats on their electronics. To control the drift use the wind and the trolling motor to keep the boat moving vertical to the structure that you are seeing big blues relating too. Some anglers even anchor in the areas that they find fish, but this can be

difficult in very deep water.

      The best bait for Blue Catfish is fresh baitfish from the body of water that you will be fishing. Skip Jack is great bait as well as large Shad. Anglers often cut into the fish to allow the scent of blood to flow into the water. Blue cats forage on baitfish such as Ship Jack, Shad, and during the pre-spawn while the big blues are shallow they will eat fresh water muscles.

      Rig the bait with two size 10 hooks on each side of the gills of the baitfish. And with a third larger size 12 hook inserted into one side of the body of the bait and you are ready to reel in a cat. Remember to size your gear for the size of cat that you are fishing for. A forty-pound Blue may require larger graphite deep-sea rod and reel. Many trophy hunters will spool 50 lb fluorocarbon line and a 50 lb performance braid leader to the hooks.

     The hook set is important for the capture of the big cold-water blues of winter. When a bite is detected, reel the slack line up slowly until you feel the weight of the fish. Then set the hook. It is a known fact that if a catfish feels pressure too soon it will spit the bait out causing anglers to miss the hook set.

 I hope these tips help you to beat the winter blues by inspiring you to get out on the water and fishing for winter blues.

 Happy Fishing!