Bait Fishing: How To Locate Channel Catfish In Reservoirs Details Here!

The channel catfish is often thought of as the smallest of the catfish that are sought after in reservoirs

. They may be the smallest but you can catch many 1 to 3lb good eating catfish fairly easy. The channel catfish may be smaller when comparing to the other blue catfish and flathead catfish in reservoirs but these catfish can grow to well over 50lbs in these freshwater impoundments. You won't find many of these monsters because they grow very slowly but they are there. Also catfish catches over 8 lbs are not rare in big reservoirs.

Channel catfish are affected by the seasons and there is enough of a migration with the season changes to make them predictable. As the seasons change you can target different migration areas once you learn where they are. As spring breaks and the water starts to warm you will find channel catfish mixed in with blue catfish chasing a variety of bait fish along the banks. Normaly they will be holding on the windward side. There main food source in early spring are the winter kill of shad. If you can find multiple dead shad in an area most likely there will channel catfish feeding on them. Once the shad kill is depleted the channel catfish will travel up the small tributaries located around the reservoir and will stay there feeding aggressively in a pre-spawn mode until early summer.

The channels will seek out cutbanks, riprap and hold there for unsuspecting bait fish. Channel catfish also love mussels and if you can find sandy flats that hold mussels and that are close to deep water, you can go bait fishing with mussel meat and catch some great table fare. Once the water really warms channel catfish will head back to deep water. They normally do not like open water structure so look for deep water on the main body of the reservoir at the mouth of large creeks and rivers that dump into the reservoir, channel catfish like to hold there. For example if you can find the mouth of creeks and rivers that have structure and is adjacent to deeper water you can catch channel catfish and blue catfish.

Look for points or a bar that drops into the creek near where the creek empties into the main reservoir. Also if you can find a large flat that is close to the opening of the creek you will catch channel catfish. A flat at these locations are ideal setup locations for night fishing for channel catfish and blue catfish.

Well folks that ends my article for today about reservoir channel catfish. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip.

by: Mark Fleagle

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