|--The Hottest Channel Catfishing Spots in North America--|
Many anglers don’t give up the secret of their hottest fishing spots until the day they die. But catfishing anglers are a gregarious bunch, and they share their hottest spots willingly! Here are some of the best channel catfishing spots in North America.
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Rock River, Illinois
This is one of the Midwest’s top channel cat hotspots. It’s also popular for walleye. The 13-mile stretch from Sterling to Dixon is hoppin’. The river is about seven feet deep on average, and the sandbars are attractive catfish habitat.
The Rock cranks out loads of channel cats. Many anglers can catch 150 catfish a day during ice-out season. And the fish are getting bigger and bigger every year; 10 to 18 pounds is becoming the norm. But they’re getting meaner too, so use a stout rig!
Wintering holes provide good action, too. Holes about 17 feet deep yield lots of fish just before the water freezes in winter. Using a sinker rig with a long leader and a float on the end, baited with cheese or worms, works well.
Upper Mississippi River, Minnesota
This scenic and fast-flowing river offers some remarkable channel cat fishing. The stretch from Anoka to St. Cloud dam is teeming with channel cats. Monticello, which is about halfway between St. Cloud and Anoka, is a great location. It’s also popular for smallmouth bass and walleye.
You can catch at least 50 above any rocky riffle. The average size is six to eight pounds.
In spring, islands and sandy, riffly areas are most productive. In summer, the catfish are in holes, but they’ll travel to nearby shallow rock riffles in search of food. In fall, they congregate at the head of rapids. Cut chubs or frogs on egg sinkers or 2 ½ to 3 ½-ounce Bait Walker Plus rigs work well.
Mississippi River, Illinois
The stretch north of Alton offers easy access, easy fishing, and scads of channel cats. The river boasts a very heavy shad forage base for the catfish. This area is surprisingly underfished, and commercial fishing has had no impact on individual anglers’ success.
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The channel cats in this area are typically two to 12 pounds. Catching 25 to 50 fish a day is the norm, and the action is fast. You can try rigging a night crawler, minnow or leech under a cork and fish near wood snags.
Chotawhatchee River, Florida
This scenic stream in northwest Florida is flanked by pristine oak hammocks and chocked full of channel catfish. The Chotawhatchee river runs from the Alabama border to the Intracoastal Waterway. Since it’s free of dams or spillways and has a large drainage area, water levels can rise suddenly after large rains--as much as four to eight feet overnight.
Ebro is a good location, and it has a nice launching ramp. It’s the best place in Florida to snag a 20-pounder.
You can hone in on zones where the water is about eight to 20 feet deep. It’s common to catch 30 to 40 a day with night crawlers. Hot dog chunks and cut bait attracts the big ones, which seem to hang out in 40-foot holes. There are also shallow shoals and undercut banks with snag cover.
Merritt Reservoir, Nebraska
This place is smack in the middle of nowhere; prepare yourself for the long drive. But in late summer and early fall--particularly July, August and September--you can catch about a dozen 15- to 25-pound channel cats a day.
The drawback is, high winds make casting high-maintenance. But the fish bite so fast that you may not even have to anchor. It’s best to begin upwind on flats close to the river channel. Using chunks of congealed beef blood as bait, drifted off the bottom, works well.
Red River, Manitoba
The mile immediately below the St. Andrews dam at Lockport is nicknamed Miracle Mile. It is home to an absolutely mind-boggling number of big channel cats, especially in early spring during the pre-spawn season. You can also try the three to four miles below the dam. Spawning schools are on the move by the third week of June. Twenty-pounders are average.
Cheatham Reservoir, Tennessee
The stretch of the Cumberland between Ashland City and Madison is the Cheatham Reservoir. Cheatham Reservoir is known for its large numbers of channel cats--not to mention giant blue catfish. And some of the channel cats can be trophy size.
Winter is the best season to catch huge channel cats. The water is about 40 to 45 degrees, and the channel catfish stack themselves in holes 20 to 30 feet deep. Bottom fishing with cut skipjack on Carolina rigs works great.
Now it’s time to hitch up the boat, grab the cooler and head out for a channel cat road trip!
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Contributor's Note
These are some of the best location in the US for catfishing! I hope you enjoyed this posting, I enjoyed creating it. Want more information on catching big catfish?
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