where are all the Alabama Catfishermen?

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Does no one fish the state of Alabama?

[fastfrank]

Greetings: There are plenty of great catfisherman in Alabama. Your avitar doesn't include where you are located in Alabama. I'm on the north side of the Tenn. River, near Rogersville. Good luck

[baitchunker]

of course im an alabama catfisherman. the problem is 2 fold. 1. its deer season 2. i live on the eastern shore of mobile bay and usually fish the delta for catfish. the drought has pushed salt water way up into the delta and rivers. making it a 2 hour drive to get on some good whiskers.

[CJ21]

I do it just aint many Alabama boys on here.

[mossy500camo]

HERE I AM! CHAMBERS COUNTY ALABAMA.=-)

[sherlockian]

I'm here in Athens, Alabama. There is not a lot of local talk here, most of us post in the other forum areas. I think maybe the talk will get better when spring rolls around.

[Mike81]

I haven't got out lately, my truck is broke so i can't tow the boat, plus like baitchunker said, it's deer season. Hope to be back in action soon though. What part of the state are you in? I am aroung Montgomery area.

mike

[CATFISHERMAN001]

I am in Birmingham and fish Logan Martin, Martin, Smith, Inland, and on occassion get up to Joe Wheeler state park and fish up that way. Cats been biting good around here during the day. You all keep me posted.

[BAMA_CAT]

LOL I am still alive!!!!!!!!!!!! Just been WAY BUSY!!!!!!!! Here in BOAZ AL !!

[bluewatercat]

Killen area here. Been retired 2 months been fishing one time. what happened?

[dinger66]

i know what happen to you trish wont let you go fishing lol

[BLKCLOUD]

Yeah.. almost every weekend on Wilson..Below Wheeler Dam..

[BLKCLOUD]

Killen area here. Been retired 2 months been fishing one time. what happened?

Hey, Butch.. do you fish in Bluewater creek??

[BLKCLOUD]

Greetings: There are plenty of great catfisherman in Alabama. Your avitar doesn't include where you are located in Alabama. I'm on the north side of the Tenn. River, near Rogersville. Good luck
Say Frank.... where bouts you catch that monster??:wink:

[bluewatercat]

yes I fish bluewater and any where else if i get a chance. Born with in 200 ft of the creek years ago.

[dinger66]

butch i saw where yoy were born that was no creek then it was trickle lol

[thumprr]

Hello to all. I fish the Demopolis Lake and below the damn at Demopolis.I have had my best fishing days up at Lock 15 though.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Fishing has been great on Logan Martin on the edges of the river channels. How is it everywhere else?

[huntduck]

lovin the Tennessee tail-races

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

I live on the Coosa River I have Logan Martin lake at my backdoor a quick 45 second walk and I am fishing. I moved here in late October and have already banked a few 3lb, a 7lb, an 8lb and a 17lb blue that I cought on new years eve 2007. By far the best catfishing I have found, I am still getting good 30 and 40 yard runs from blues but have been unable to stick one in the last week since the weather took a dump and dropped to 16 degrees. Can't wait until spring/summer for flatheads.

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

I caught 2 decent size blues today at Riverside marina, one was 7lb and the other was 10lb, fishing in 8-12 foot of water with cut threadfin shad both of them ran hard wasn't much of a fight with my heavy equipment...but still fun. Came in to eat lunch and going to try a different location. Good Luck to you all.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Keep me informed David, I have caught several nice fish near riverside. Last one I caught weighed 51lbs. That was in late Nov.of 2007 and it was freezing out. I catch them all the time around 28 to 35lbs. Let me know how it goes for you.

[fastfrank]

I went Sat. and Sun, with my buddy. We were fishing 2 - 3 inch shiners, hoping for some winter crappie, but we hit a "loose" school of blue cats, all ranging from 4 to 6 lbs. We had a ball..... catching and releasing them using ultra light tackle. Tight lines, Frank

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

James,
I will let you know if I get any big blues like 20+ I usually fish off the old Snack Shop at Riverside Marina if you ever see me out there say Hi or whatever. I will be the guy with the heavy Penn rods with Garcia 6500's on them probably be the only one not crappie fishing. I will probably be there this Sat and Sun (provided I can get some bait running low).

[CATFISHERMAN001]

try to get you some crickets and catch some brim, they really work good on the blues there. float them off the bottom or fish them about 3 ft from the top. If I see you. I will hollor.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Frank where are you fishing?

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

James,
Yeh I've been catching bluegill off redworms about 6ft deep, but it seems to take longer for the blues to run off with a bluegill as opposed to a shad which gets hit fairly quickly, but I will take what I can get at this point, I have a 10# bonito and some bluefish in the freezer I could use but kinda trying to save them for summer and fish big chunks in the main river channel behind my apartment.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

I have steady hits on Bluegills. I take them and filet them on one side and cut the dorsal and tail fins off. I hook them on towards the head and put the hook on the inside of the cut and have it come out the whole side of the uncut side. I also float them about 3 ft off of the bottom and fish the drop off's of the channels. I know that at Riverside they are biting good from just before sun up til around 3 p.m. Give it a try and keep me posted.

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

Thanks for the tip on the bluegill I usually will use the head or a center cut of the body with the guts still in it. I will try that this Sunday when I go out. Thanks

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Let me know how you do. Also what size hooks are you using? Weight, line, etc.... I am going to get some pics of the rig I use to share with all so keep an eye out for it. I have been real successful with the different rigs I use depending on how I am fishing.

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

I use for a hook during the winter time I use either a 2,4,or 5/0 Oshanessy hook, for weight I either use 3 or 4oz. egg sinker, I tie it Carolina rig style with a swivel and a 50lb leader from 2-4ft long. I put the lead above the swivel this I can set my clicker on my real and he can make a run without acctually having to run with the lead therefore the cat doesn't really feel any resistance, I usually let a cat, depending on how hard he is running, run for 15-30 yards before I set the hook on it. This is just how I do it and it seems to work.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

I will send you some pics of several rigs I use. You can try them or not but will give other setups to try if you find you aren't getting the strikes as often as think they should be. I use the rig you are using as one of my set ups too. You may find the others useful too.

[AlaCatter]

Hey guys, I lived in Talladega for the past 3 years but have finally relocated back home to Gadsden. I spent many hours searching for monster cats on the northern half of Logan Martin and up to Neeley Dam. The best spot for consistent blues is during the dog days of summer in the main river channel where chocolocco creek merges. It's 30-38 ft deep and the creek feeds in with cool spring water into the channel. Bream on bottom on the channel edge is where it's at. During the great spring migration hit the bottleneck at I-20 bridge at nite, rumor has it that a 100 lb'er was caught there 3 years ago. Logan has the genetics and acreage to produce a monster, I wish you both lots of luck

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

Greg,
I hear that too that there was somone caught a 90+ right by the bridge that goes over the water of Logan Martin on I-20. I am assuming they were in a boat because you can't acctually park on the bridge and walk down to the water. Thanks for the tip about Chocolocco Creek, is there anywhere to bank fish on that particular creek? I am going to try many different places on Logan Martin this spring/summer I hope it pays off.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Hey guys, yes that 100lbr was caught on the 3rd bridge support coming from Riverside. I know friends of the guy that caught it and yes several other 90+ lbrs have been caught right in that area too. I have fished that area a few times and have landed many 30lbrs. and a 51 lbr. The funny thing is they change feeding patterns there so frequently it's hard to know when they are going to be there. One night I caught fish at 9p.m. and the next night nothing but at noon they started on fire. I will get it figured out. Will keep you guys posted. Headed that way this weekend.

[AlaCatter]

David, it's getting harder and harder to find good bank fishing areas. You will find that chocolocco creek is the life-blood of logan martin. The cool water provides comfort for the cats in summer also the stripes and hybrids pile up in there during the hot months. It is a fishing marvel the size and number of stripers in such a small area. It is also a shad magnet, kinda of like nursery and brothel. My best advice would be for you to get a small jon boat with a 5 or 10hp motor. Something small and manageable. You could put in at Chocolocco under the Hwy 78 bridge south of Lincoln free of charge or put in at Poor Man's Marina for a few bucks. A very small boat opens up a huge world of fishing space. If your not up to the boat idea, get you a 15ft surf casting rod (seriously). There is some bank fishing space on Hwy 78 in Ohatchee below the dam, pretty good for flatheads. good luck

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

Choccolocco Creek that is near the Stemley bridge, on the map it looks like Stemley Bridge goes right over the particular creek. I think I might drive down to Stemeley Bridge this weekend and check it out.

[AlaCatter]

David, Diawa Beefstick is the best value on the market as far as surf rods. Bass Pro Shops in Montgomery is probably the closest place to pick one up, until the new store opens in Leeds. I have three that I have been using for 5 years with no problems. They are heavy, but they last. good luck

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

I have 2 7 foot Penn Slammer Heavy Action Rods I am looking to replace them with a 10 foot and a 12 foot Penn Power Stick Surf Rod. Just so I have a greater distance and better leverage when fighting a large cat.

[Hootowlc3]

David, Diawa Beefstick is the best value on the market as far as surf rods. Bass Pro Shops in Montgomery is probably the closest place to pick one up, until the new store opens in Leeds. I have three that I have been using for 5 years with no problems. They are heavy, but they last. good luck

When is the BP store opening in Leeds? I get up that way every year on vacation.

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

Bass Pro Shop in Leeds is opening up in Fall of this year(so they say)according to Bass Pro website. I just hope it has what I need at that store.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Well they better get on the ball cause it hasn't been long since they just broke ground. They have alot of land cleared now but they better slap that thing together if they want to open by fall.

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Greg, when was the last time you up in there? Is there any water in there at all?

[AlaCatter]

Choc was way low this summer, about three weeks ago it was just shy of winter levels. I went out 2 weeks ago up here in Gadsden and te Coosa was aBOVE WINTER POOL.

[AlaCatter]

There is a bad spot going from choc creek to rushing springs(it should be on the map).If I were going out, I would put in at Poor mans and work back up the creek. good luck

[Coosa_Cat_Man]

I looked at lake levels and it said that Logan Martin was 1.5 feet above normanl winter pool. Excellant tip AlaCatter about putting in at Poor Branch and working your way back up, I have always thought that area looked right for cats, especially right by the bridge it has a sort of a bottle neck to it. I have only catfished at Poor Branch Marina 1 time and caught one about 3 pounds. I look forward to fishing that area this spring/summer.

[fichere]

i went mon ---2 yellows(flatheads?) 19.2&8.6# friday--3 blues -12 =9-5.went to holy ground. only fished til 11 am,too cold to stay, try again next week in selma.

[mcronican]

Me and a buddy of mine are in Tuscaloosa, and up for anything, classes pending, we don't get out a ton but we love our time on the water, if anything comes up let us know! mcronican@gmail.com

[CATFISHERMAN001]

Good fishing Tom. I am ready to get back on the water. I am probably going to go tomorrow for a while and then again this weekend, rain, sleet, shine, h#$% or high water!! Ya'll keep me posted on how you guys are doing out and I will do the same. There are a couple of new spots I am going to try out in the next few trips and if they are honey holes, I will be sure to share.