Catfishing Rivers

I will reealFrom the depths of the Mekong in Vietnam, to the mighty Amazon in south America, the predatory catfish is the focus of many of river anglers throughout the world.  The United States also has some excellent  rivers for catfishing. Three of the most well known is the blue, the flathead, and one of the most common when river catfishing is the channel cat. The channel cat does not get as big as the blue cat, or the flathead and are not as tasty as their brothers  the blue and the flathead. When river fishing, the channel cat is usually the most common, and grow to a respectable weight, they provide thousands of catfish anglers hours of enjoyment, and have had the seat of honor at many of dinner table.

I will now share a couple of stratagies to help insure you'll have a great river catfishing trip: Always try to /ind at least one bend in the river you are fishing. when fishing these locations, there will usually be eddies. An eddy is a current that flows in the opposite direction of the prevailing current caused by the current hitting against the bank creating a back flow. These eddies are prime locations, and catfish can often be found in these spots for both feeding, and to rest out of thecurrent. If the bend has debris, or other kinds of cover makes these locations even better because it provides the channels cover. Also, eddies tend to produce a digging action in the bank providing a perfect place for the catfish to set up a nesting site. Look for places where there are tree overhangs. During the day this produces a shade over the river. Remember that cats like hiding places and shade so finding a nice bend with an eddy and some shade not only gives the catfish more of a feeling of safety but also provides you a nice place to get in out of the sun. Since catfish seem to like to feed in the morning and evening an overhang would not seem to be that important but think about this. The more shade there is the more the cat will be able to be in shadow.

I will now reveal one of the best kept secrets among anglers throughout the world, and is the mark of a true angler: patience. Drop your line in the water, no need really for casting since you are going to do most of your fishing along river banks. Just find a spot as outlined above and wait. Don't bob the line up and down or move it back and forth in an effort to try and attract the catfish. Let it lay still as possible. Let them come to you. Bring a camp chair. Set your ice chest up with some cold ones, sit back and enjoy. Wait for at least 20 minutes. If no bites or strikes move on to the next spot. If you don't mind whether you catch a fish or not just sit there anyway and enjoy the scenery. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe the best thing to "catch" on your fishing trip is a few and much needed peaceful moments outside under the wide beautiful sky. This can help you gain true patience -- just being out there with no real agenda.

There is, of course, always more things to learn about fishing, but for the point of this article just keep these tips in mind and it will help make your next trip to your favorite river catfishing more successful.

Christopher E Harper