Big cats love to feed at night, especially in warmer weather. The best catfish anglers know this and have their technique down to a science. The trick is knowing where to start.“A lot of how I approach catfish, especially at night, depends on the water temperature,” said Craig Collings of St. Joseph, Mo.
“Summer water temperatures are generally warm and the catfish have moved down off shallow flats where we generally find them in the spring and I target deeper water, 15 to 25 feet. I look for ledges, submerged creeks, rocks, channels or any type of structure.”
Collings starts by checking a topographical map before navigating, especially in lakes or rivers he has never fished. He then relies on a combination of graphs and GPS devices.
Electronics are common on most serious catfish boats. This is especially important for boats traveling fast at night, an unadvised act that is commonly done, especially in night fishing tournaments.
But a bit of common sense often makes night time the right time. This type of preparation has created some excellent experiences for Collings.
“Last summer we catfished Milford Lake, located by Junction City.,” Collings said. “I have catfished lakes all over the country and consider Milford one of the top ten trophy cat lakes. We have commonly weighed our five best cats for totals of 150 to 200 pounds, a great string.”
Collings had this kind of night on a night fishing trip in the summer of 2012. He moved out to waters 18 to 20 feet deep along an old creek channel and watched two rods double on the first drift. Collings was fighting his big cat when another rod suddenly doubled over from the weight of a second big cat. He eventually landed the 38-pounder.
“During the summer months we drift,” Collings said. “We check the graph and position sideways with the wind and drift socks on each end of the boat, devices to slow down our drift. Then we bounce baits in productive areas. We occasionally troll when there is no wind.
“I occasionally will drift a big area without a bite, say 400 yards, and then pull up and drift it again when I know it’s holding fish. Big cats will sometimes let a bait pass and then start feeding later.” Read more….