# Catfishing the Escambia or Blackwater



## dbyrd2100 (Jun 21, 2008)

Instead of staying home the days the offshore weather wont cooperate, I'd like to take up some freshwater fishin. I'm kinda lazy and would rather soak a bait for some catfish than try to master the art of bass fishing. Just finished restoring a14 foot Collins V-Hull and can run about anywhere up the rivers. What is a good bait to start with and what areas shouldI look for. Still water, fast water, deep or shallow. I really have no clue but would like some starting point for this type of fishing. Thanks for any help.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

HA u have come to the right place my friend, i was right where u are not long ago, iam a commercial fisherman iam in the gulf 15 days outta the month so when i come home the last thing i wanna do is catch a damn salt water fish, so i decided to take up cat fishing some thing kinda laid back and relaxing , well turns out there is a lot to know about cat fishing, first off u gotta decide where u wanna go and learn that body of water, Escambia river, Perdido river, yellow river are all good spots the best we have any ways, not to sure about black water but i fish Escambia and Perdido very regularly, Perdido is great for Flatheads lots of them bad boys in there with some nice channel cats i got a 17lber not to long ago outta there, use live baits and long waits for the flats heads, fish deep hold in the day and shallow sand bars at night for them, worms work great for the little guys, Escambia is loaded with blue cats, u just gotta know where to look, same thing find the deep holes there's a few i found in escambia that will go over 40 feet + throw away that old chicken liver and stink baits for them, u wanna uses the freshest of cut baits, shad if available, but if not mullet, and Spanish sardines are my favorite, u can buy the sardines from wall mart in 6 pound bags it will last u all day, if u have a fish finder do some dough nuts on the spot your wanting to fish see if the blues are suspended witch some times they are, then set u a sliding bobber up for the depth there at, they seem to like it around 15-20 feet, and the biggest thing bring along two anchor's drop them up stream of ur spot at the same time one off the bow and one off the stern this way your boat will be side ways in the current, and your baits will all be spread out instead of all of your lines going to the back on the boat from anchoring with just a bow line on more thing if u get serious about ur cats buy this book, by far the best book i have ever bought, oh one more thing dont wait in one spot to long and hour with no bites tops, move on (STAY LONG BE WRONG) good hunts..










http://www.promiseangels.com/item/keith-sutton/pro-tactics-catfish-use-the-secrets-of-the-pros/367584.html


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## dbyrd2100 (Jun 21, 2008)

Great info. Exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the response.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

but i dont think we have many serious die hard cat-fisherman around here, i think i might be one in a few


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## maizeandblue (Jun 27, 2008)

There are die hard catfishermen around here. They just don't advertise it because you're not going to catch a 30-40lb flathead on chicken liver or PU stink bait. If'n you do, take it as luck. You want one of those monsters, get out a trot line (make sure you sink it in a deep hole), catch live bait (brim), set'm out at evening and check it first thing in the morning (make sure you have a pocket knife on your person while checking trot lines). WARNING: IT IS ILLEGAL IN FL TO USE LIVE BAIT ON A TROT LINE OR BUSH HOOK!


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

On Escambia, look fer the bends in the river where the current washes out and makes deep holes...I use to just tie off to a tree cause unless you get a HEAVY river anchor you won't stay in 1 spot. Use the cut baits, live bream, I've even used squid before. Usually if you find beaver dams in the back water you can use worms and catch butter cats all day long. Also use a rig like a grouper rig, I usually make my own. You want to have your hook well off the bottom because of brush...You will loose many rigs!!! Be prepared and good luck!:letsdrink


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

They sure have been tricky latley


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