Fishing Rocky Points for Catfish

[fishin_musician]

A Summertime Channel Cat Pattern
by David Strunk




Last spring started much as this one did, dry. It was so dry that I was having a tough time with the channel cats. I normally do really good fishing flooded river eddies however, last spring river eddies were anything but flooded. After a few disappointing outings I decided to switch tactics and see if I could heat up the action. A pattern that I fished occasionally in the summertime came to mind. A few times in the past I had good luck on the exposed rock bars associated with feeder streams and sharp river bends. These bars were not hard to find, due the low water conditions they were exposed and easily visible. One thing I found was that despite the difficult conditions I got into some really hot bites, good fish too. So, that became my mission last year, from mid-spring to late summer I fished all the rocky points that I could find visiting some more than once. In the process I developed some methods that help to make fishing rocky points for catfish more practical and rewarding.
Finding rock bars and rocky points in a normal summer is easy. They begin to poke out of the water as soon as the spring levels start to drop. A drive along the river roads in your area will reveal some rocky points. However, not all rock bars are created equal; those located by some deep water and having a variety of bottom structure are the best. A combination of swift and still waters completes the picture of and ideal rocky point setting.
Having found the perfect rocky point to fish brings us to the next stage of the game, preparation. Rocky points are tough to fish. If like me, you fish from shore, you will have to deal with a hike, the rocks, the heat and the plentiful bugs. You will pay a price of sweat to fish on a rocky point, which is where the preparation comes in, since you will be carrying your tackle and gear further and under more stressful conditions take less and only take those things which you deem essential. A backpack is a good way to get things from point A the point B. I take more stuff along; even on a light trip, a camera, tripod, scale, lantern, and cold beverage, you never know when lightening will strike. Then, I have three rods, tackle and bait to think of too. I generally get to my locations an hour or more before dark and make two trips with gear so as not to kill myself but without all the extras it could be done in one.
The extra time before you start to fish is useful for getting set up and getting things as comfortable as possible. It also gives you time to watch the water and gauge the areas you will be casting to. In addition to my cat rods I like to bring along a light spinning outfit and a small selection of artificials. On several occasions last summer I was witness to frenzied feeding blitzes. I used a spinner to cast towards breaking fish and soon hooked up with a mid sized channel cat. After a few more cats on the spinner I snagged a rock and broke off. I tied on a rapala with the same result except that it is much more difficult to remove a rapala’s multiple hooks from a gummy mouthed catfish than from a smallie or walleye. Eventually I broke off the rapala too, it immediately came floating to the surface and I decided to try to drag my line across it and snag it. I was tying on another spinner for this purpose when a cat slurped up the lost crankbait. Talk about hungry!
This is a shore fishing deal. If you have a boat on a river pool that has a good rocky point you can fish it from your boat but for the most part low water and night fishing don’t make for great boating. I mentioned that I like to bring a spinning rod and a few artificials. Another thing that I have come up with to make this extreme cat fishing work is rod holders. The buckets I carry my lantern and gear in double as rod holders. Out on a rock bar the only way to have a rod holder until now has been to stack stones.  You have to pile up rocks to put your rods on. I'm just not that into masonry. Now when I get on location I just take out my lantern and gear then, toss in a couple good sized rocks and my rod holders are ready. These combination buckets/rod holders are explained with pictures in a post at this link. http://www.fishin247.com/forum/index.php/topic,374.msg1835.html#msg1835
The biggest problem you will have with Rocky point fishing is the rocks. I don’t mind breaking off every now and then but re-tying after every cast gets old. The bottom rigs I use would get snagged frequently so I tried casting over the edge of the rocks out into the deeper water or casting towards the edge of the current instead of directly into it. I experimented with illuminated bobbers last summer and had great success while using them. The ones I bought came in red and green so I had one of each so I would know which rod to pick up when I had a hit. With the bobbers I could fish in the rocks and not loose my rigs. The only problem I noticed with them was that they tend to pop off at shore when you are trying to land a bigger catfish.
My baits were the usual suspects, cut bait and livers. I found that live baits suspended under the lighted bobbers worked very well too.
I know you are probably thinking that I am a lunatic for even trying to do this type of fishing. But I have to say it was a good experience and I will be back out on the rock piles this summer trying to land that great white catfish that haunts my dreams.