Most fishermen give up on the idea of fishing once the temperature drops to announce the arrival of fall. "What's the point?" they ask, "the fish are so sluggish they won't bite." They are all wrong. Catfish fishing in cold weather is just as good as fishing in the summer months. You just need to know where to find the catfish and what to hook them with.
You needn't buy a different tackle for the winter months; the summer tackle will do just fine. A good graphite and fiber-glass rod labeled medium to heavy action, a good transparent line that can hold weights over 20 pounds, and big hooks like 4/0 Kahle hooks are all you'll ever need to set up your rig. You do need to consider that this is late fall and it can get really cold, so you will need to take some warm clothes with you when you go fishing. It's also a good idea to take your fishing buddy with you. Also bring a thermos filled with chocolate milk with you. And don't forget the munchies!
If you've been refrigerating your prepared bait to make it stick to the hook, you needn't do that anymore; the cold weather will help keep it hard. Cut bait works the best during fall and winter. Most fishermen I know use cut up eels. For some reason the catfish just love eels in late fall and winter. One person tried hotdog chunks and got two decent sized cats in 30 minutes! You can get good catches even with smaller chunks of bait. The water is cold and the fish are hungry and this makes them go after smaller baits too. It is also easier to get a bite during winters because there are fewer fishermen out fishing that time of the year.
It is good to fish for catfish when the sun is warm. Park your boats near the bank and load your lines with roll-weights. The fish will be likely hiding beneath the surface, soaking up all the sun they can before it gets dark. You might get more bites in winter when the food is scarce. Be patient, sooner or later the monster cats will get a whiff of your bait and come up to investigate. Always set the drag to loose; in the winter time, the cats love to take the bait and move to deeper waters before they ingest it.
Both drift fishing and trolling work during winter time, but you can get some decent catch even when you are standing on the bank or wading into the waters. The fish are slow due to the cold and often hide near the banks in the cold winter months. However, you might not like wading into the water because you might catch a cold. If it is tolerably cold that day, you could try noodling for catfish too. A word of caution: it is an extreme sport; always have two or three guys around to help you with the catfish when you go noodling. I've heard urban legends of men being dragged and drowned by the monster cats.
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