In general, as temperatures fall it spurs catfish to make seasonal migrations. Depending on where you fish geographically in the country, these migrations may look different. In Northern climes, large numbers of catfish from miles around will often concentrate in the same small, deep water pockets. Channel fish in Midwestern rivers have been known to migrate as much as 30 miles to find wintering holes, again concentrating in large numbers. In warmer Southern states, catfish still respond to cooling temperatures by moving to wintering areas, although they don't gather in as large of numbers as their Northern counterparts. CatDaddy says the cooling of water temperatures can be a gift to anglers if they know how to use it. Because these hungry fish gather in decent size numbers in small places it can make them easier to catch, if you can pinpoint these wintering locations. CatDaddy says flatheads nearly go dormant during the cool months and they are harder to catch, channel cats like to go deep, but the blue catfish can really turn on the action during this time. The blue cats group up and head to their wintering destinations, but they still stay quite active going out and prowling the water chasing shad schools. CatDaddy recommends anglers take their cues from nature and target blue cats with fresh shad. Catching your own bait will save you a stack of cash as a jar of shad guts can cost you more than $20. Instead, take your net out and catch your own shad and you'll get a fresher product to entice the bite and plenty more to freeze and save for later!
Listen in as CatDaddy talks cool weather fall fishing for catfish. He'll also discuss panfishing and a great new rod called the Slab Hunter from Tackobox.
Trav