Spawn-Time Cats

There was nothing "iffy" about the strike. The rod was angled upward in it's holder one moment, and bent double the next. As the tip headed downward, Jack Robinson shouted, "Shut the door on him!" I picked up the big spinning rod combo (a Walmart special) and "slammed the door". It felt like I'd stuck that "Whisker Sticker" into a brick wall, only this one was shaking it's head and bulldozing across the bottom as slowly and powerfully as a steamroller.

I've caught some big ones in my day, including 45 pound stripers, and carp with scales as big as silver dollars, but absolutely nothing in my fishing experience could compare to the fight this monster dished out. I stood, straining against the "monaster" for what seemed like an hour, my "Catfish Combo" rod loaded up to the max. Every once in awhile, I'd gain a foot or two of the 20# Trilene XT, only to have this monaster snatch it back. This was more than fishing--it was a battle of wills. I was determined to see just how big this fish really was. It was just as determined to stay pressed against the bottom of the river.

Just when I was sure I could hang on no longer, the fish moved, thrashed in the current, and rolled at the side of the boat. The net stretched as Jack hefted the monster aboard.

It was a huge blue cat, 53 pounds on Robinson's scales. I quickly snapped 2 or 3 pictures with my disposable camera, and then dropped it on the floor of the boat, stepped on it and broke it when I almost lost my balance. My arm was shaking from the long fight. Jack wiped the slime off his hands, and said "now let's see about catching a big one!"

Southern fishermen get so caught up in spring-time bass, crappie, and bream fishing that they are missing out on some of the best fishing experience to be had. Blues, channels, and flatheads are an overlooked angling resource. They are abundant in Alabama, and can grow to be whoppers. When they are in a spawning mood, you're likely to hook a giant.

To get my spring catfishing started off right, I went to a local legend, Jack Robinson, of Moundville, Alabama. He's caught cats near 90 pounds, and his methods and experience are hard to beat.

Robinson, a man widely known throughout Moundville, Tuscaloosa, and Greensboro, has fished for catfish for 20 years. He's on the river nearly every day and is an expert at tight-lining for big catfish. He's caught channels to 35 pounds, flatheads to 65, and blues to 87 pounds. He's also tangled with fish that must have been over 100 pounds, monsters that can spool your reel and make you think you are going to be pulled into the river. Although Jack targets big catfish all across Alabama, his favorite big-fish area is between old lock 8 and old lock 9 on the Black Warrior River, between Akron and Moundville.

Jack believes springtime offers catfishing on several levels. You can catch plenty of "fish-market" size fish, or you can introduce the kids to "bank-fishing', and get plenty of action. Or, if you want to tangle with the big "line-stretchers", spring is the right time.

He says you just have to understand a few basics about when and where catfish spawn. The 3 main types of catfish all spawn at about the same time, but usually in different places. Channels like shallow banks and flooded brush. Flatheads love heavy brush and logs, but may be in deeper water than channels. Blues like rocky banks, gravel bars, and points with wood cover. Smaller blues spawn in larger groups than the big ones, which are loners that don't stack up in large numbers.

A favorite for bait, is skipjack herring, scaled, filleted with skin left on, cut into strips or chunks. Same can be done with buffalo carp. But the all-time favorite "natural" bait is shad, freshly caught, dead or alive.

Jack offers the following advice for nailing giant catfish this spring:

* Be quiet - Cats are very sensitive to noise. Carpet the floor of your boat.
I've seen steady bites cut off after dropping one lead sinker on the bottom of the boat.

* Fish Deep - Small fish spawn shallower, but big ones will probably spawn deep.
Going for big ones will mean fewer bites, so decide if that's what you want.

* Creeks vs. main river - Channels and flatheads are more likely to spawn in tributaries
than blues, which usually stick to structure on the main channel.

* Bank on it - In spring, bank fishing can rack up big numbers. Fish 2 to 5 feet deep in
heavy cover. A float rig won't get hung up as much as a bottom rig.

*Catch and release - You'll have better catfishing next spring if you release most of
your fish this spring, especially the big, genetically superior fish.




	Targeting Spawning Cats