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I've been thinking on this one all day

1K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  Taliesin 
#1 ·
Define the "perfect" spot or area for cats. I'm still working on mine. There are so many things I look for but most of all it is just some intangible thing that just lets me "know" it's right. I'll try to post a description as soon as I get it finalized.
 
#3 ·
For me I would have to say an outside bend in a river with lots of wood structure and a deep hole. The hole would be preceeded by a long stretch of wide flat river bottom with good shading and cover to hold baitfish. That section of river preceeding the hole would have very little cover that would attract and hold catfish. The current speed would be moderate and large sandbar would be on the inside of the bend. My boat would be positioned just above the head of the hole and the fish would be aggressive. That would be my perfect spot.:big_smile:
 
#4 ·
That's a tough one for me too. I thought I had a perfect spot. Once when a local canal was low enough, I was walking along the shore and marking some good spots to fish when the water level went back up. One spot was a tree that had the roots under the water line and extended a ways out into the canal bed. This is also close to a spillway that has a constant flow of muscles and other kinds of forage running into a hole that is maybe 7-9ft deep. I have fished there many times and I have not gotten a single bite:crazy: !
 
#5 ·
First and foremost I prefer to fish rivers so current is a definite. Medium sized rivers so a moderate current. I like my rivers just small enough that the spot encompasses bank to at least mid channel. That way I can cover half the river. You big river guys and reservior fishermen have your work cut out for you.
There needs to be some feature that breaks or shifts the current causing a seam or difference in current velocity. This can be vertical, such as that caused by a bar or sharp turn and bluff bank, or horizontal, such as that caused by a hole, riffle or flat. This seam is often a place where I find cats just waiting in the slack water waiting for dinner to come floating past in the faster water.
A nearby hole needs to be associated with this spot. The hole can be something as simple as a small depression as long as it provides a current break and cats are using it. It does not have to be flat on the bottom. It could be a break caused by an underwater hump or an eddy behind a point or bar. Just a slackwater area with enough depth and cover to shelter cats.
Now I want to find the route these cats are using to access the seam. An underwater ledge or shelf really catches my eye especially if it leads to a flat where baitfish are present or are being pushed by the current.
Current is my number one focus so here are some of my ideas on current. Rising water is better than falling water. Current is always to be preferred over no current even if that means falling water. I live on a dam controlled river (Okay it's officially Bankhead Lake but it is entirely riverine in nature) so it pays to know when they are pulling water at the dam.
Now on to the extras that make for a good spot. Cover is always to be preferred. Wood is excellant whether that nearby flat has logs and root wads or a log pile in the hole wood is nice to have. Bluff banks or undercut banks with lots of crevices are a plus as well. While on bluff banks I have found that rock is always to be preferred over mud. I find that blues and flats relate better to rock substrates than they do to mud. Gravel and sand are also to be preferred over silty mud. If you have gravel and sand on or near the flat it more than likely has a mussel bed associated with it and will be on the menu for blues.
Places I look for these features are bends , especially the outside of a bend but dont overlook the inside. Sometimes the inside will have the ledge I'm looking for with flat/bar on top of the ledge. River islands are another good spot as there will usually be a difference in the current from side to side of the island often creating a seam and eddy just down stream sometimes a scour hole can be found. Most of these features are found where the river makes a change, bends, shallow to deep, or bottlenecks. Straightaways are the least likely looking spots but dont totally write them off. Some have a distinct deeper channel where subtle current breaks occur or change from shallow to deep. So keep an eye on the depth finder.
Just my ideas on the subject.
 
#7 ·
Where the fish are.
 
#11 ·
I had a nice spot before I moved. 750 acre lake with a covered fishing dock near an feeder creek. I would cast towards the bank on the other side of the cove that was formed there. With my largest pole I could get to a weeping willow that hung over a hole near the bank. Caught a LOT of channel cats that were roaming the shore on the way to or from the feeder creek or that hole.
 
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