Finding spring catfish

​The warm winds of spring bring in the cats. Once the water temperature hits 70 degrees, channel cats become active. Good areas to start your search are undercut banks, stumps or logs and rocky banks and points. Cats are getting ready to spawn, so they are eating as much as possible to bulk up before they take their beds. Since catfish scavenge the bottoms using their whiskers to sense the presence of food, fish with pieces of cut baits like shad or skipjack herring, stinkbaits or chicken livers––these baits put off strong scents that catfish can easily find. For best results, fish these baits on a bottom rig during dawn and dusk or at night. The Shimano Convergence 9’0” medium-heavy spinning rod is a top choice among catfish anglers across the country. Longer rods result in further casts, and the rod has the power to pull fish away from heavy cover.