# Need advice on how to fish for bream and small catfish on rivers - specifically the Choctawhatchee



## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

Most of my freshwater fishing was focused on bass with occasional trips to catch crappie or fly-fish in a lake.

I have recently decided to spend more time on the Choctawhatchee since it is about 30 minutes from the house. I don't want specific spots, but would welcome any advice on how to find and catch bream and eating sized catfish on rivers.

Some questions to get it started. Do you fish the main river or creeks and backwater lakes? What kind of water/structure do you look for? What bait do you use for catfish?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Rick, you're lucky there's a gentleman on here, Fishwalton, that fishes the Choctawhatchee with regularity. He belongs to a fishing club based out of Defuniak (I think), and between him and his club members, you should get all the info you want. I'm guessing he'll be along shortly.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

You should book a trip with JB. He goes fishing somewhere just about every day. I haven't been with him since hunting season started so I may have trouble getting a seat back in his boat. I have learned enough that I could go some by myself but would much rather tag along with FishWalton.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

wonder why ole jb hasn't told us the details? he can't be fishing this late. lol
jack


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

He is probably in bed. Went with Gil today and going with Rob tomorrow. He is in his mid 80's but still going strong.


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

Bodupp said:


> Rick, you're lucky there's a gentleman on here, Fishwalton, that fishes the Choctawhatchee with regularity. He belongs to a fishing club based out of Defuniak (I think), and between him and his club members, you should get all the info you want. I'm guessing he'll be along shortly.


Thanks for all the replies above.

I've read a number of his posts over the years and hoped that he would provide some advice since he fishes it a lot. I figured there were plenty of other freshwater fishermen who know how to catch fish on rivers and could pitch in with some info too.

I love offshore fishing, but sometimes it is too windy and freshwater is a better option. And sometimes I don't feel like taking a beating on my 60 year old body and just want to relax.

My wife and I went Saturday and Sunday. We caught about 15-20 small bream yesterday where a pond meets the main river.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

Very few on the forum fish the Choctawhatchee. Some like me go to Yellow and some fish Escambia. Do you live in Panama City?


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

Look on a map using aerial option. Locate some small creeks where they empty into the main river. Either remember where they are or print a page and take with you. The smaller creeks will be warmer than the main river and fish will hang around the mouth of the creek to feed and/or for the thermocline. Fish these areas. 
If no luck, go up river and then drift back down with the current, either scull or use your trolling motor to keep the boat straight. Splash-fish as you are drifting downriver. You can use bream buster poles for bream, spincast for bream or bass with weedless worm or plugs. Use big gobs of worms or your favorite bait for catfish in and around log jams. I've never fished choctawhatchee river, but splash fishing works on any river, lake or pond. g/l


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

billyb said:


> Very few on the forum fish the Choctawhatchee. Some like me go to Yellow and some fish Escambia. Do you live in Panama City?


Yes. I think that the Choctaw is probably like any other river in the south that has mud banks and fallen trees. I would love to hear what works in other places as they'll probably work here too.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

so if you're in pc, where bouts on the choctaw are you planning to fish? up around ebro maybe? i think jb and billy fish the lower end close to the bay.
jack


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

JB has been going to Bull but I don't know where that is. He knows every landing on the river. The first time I went with him he took me on a tour. After many turns to the right and to the left and crisscrossing into this slough and that slough he asked me if I knew where I was at. I said no that I had been lost since we had left the boat ramp. I got a trail marked on my hunting app to one mullet hole. The others I have no idea how to get to them.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

billyb said:


> JB has been going to Bull but I don't know where that is. He knows every landing on the river. The first time I went with him he took me on a tour. After many turns to the right and to the left and crisscrossing into this slough and that slough he asked me if I knew where I was at. I said no that I had been lost since we had left the boat ramp. I got a trail marked on my hunting app to one mullet hole. The others I have no idea how to get to them.


this sounds like what i remember in the river estuaries where the rivers come together going into the bay. this is where we baited mullet holes. i mean, sometimes you come to a river crossroads where two rivers cross each other. take a left, or right, or straight ahead.
my stepfather knew them well.
jack


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## Walton County (Aug 23, 2016)

Fishing the choctaw is tough with a tough learning curve. It is all about water level. Everything looks fishy and it is impossible for me to distinguish what does and does not hold fish. The guys like FishWalton that do it and do it regular, are pros.


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

jack2 said:


> so if you're in pc, where bouts on the choctaw are you planning to fish? up around ebro maybe? i think jb and billy fish the lower end close to the bay.
> jack


Yep - Ebro area. It is about 30 minutes from my house. I know there are a few landings above Ebro and near Holmes Creek.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

I have a client who has been catching plenty of crappie in some of the lakes off of the river in Ebro. He uses minnows.


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## Ecarus (Jan 20, 2021)

Walton County said:


> Fishing the choctaw is tough with a tough learning curve. It is all about water level. Everything looks fishy and it is impossible for me to distinguish what does and does not hold fish. The guys like FishWalton that do it and do it regular, are pros.


I’ve been in Pensacola for 22 years but really have not fished much until last year. I grew up in Mississippi and knew how to catch pretty much anything in the lakes and rivers in north Mississippi. Started taking my 4 year old son last year fishing Blackwater and Yellow River for freshwater fish and it was very humbling. Everywhere looks like the best fishing spot I have ever seen but finding fish/getting fish to bite was a challenge. Been catching on a little but it’s a little tricky. You just don’t realize how much knowledge you gain growing up hunting and fishing a certain region. But a lot of the tricks I learned fishing in north Mississippi do not readily translate to estuary/freshwater interface areas....plus we spend a lot more time swimming and exploring than we do fishing. Haha. Good luck to the original poster and post a fishing report every now and then...help us all out.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

The upper Yellow has a lot of pressure. I know guys who catch 5 bass and take them to camp then go back and catch another 5. A couple of dozen fishermen removing a limit of bass 2 or 3 times a week will deplete the population quickly. Have a friend who bream fishes. Called me earlier and said he caught 48. All of them together wouldn't weigh 3 pounds. Dinks but he keeps them. Not like the slabs JB reports about.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Lot of good chatter here about the Choctawhatchee River, and a lot of good advise how to fish it. Pretty much the way I fish it myself. I do fish a lot and most of it is on the river. However, I have plenty of fair and miss days, but just being out there is what's important to me. I'll be 85 in a couple of months so no time to let the grass grow under my feet. So long as the good Lord is willing to allow me to rise out of my Lazy Boy and go enjoy the outdoors I'll be out there from time to time. I don't watch TV, but fish a lot on my laptop, watch a movie now and then, and check a little news....LOL

The river is in excellent condition right now just about anywhere you want to go. It will be even better next week if the predicted rain does not make it rise very much. I fish from Cerro Gordo to the bay. Above hwy 20 it's primarily Berrian Lake (Bull Landing), Morrison Springs, Comanders (currently closed for construction) and Dead River (7 Runs). I rarely fish CowFord (Ebro). On down the river it's the old Simplers Landing, Smokehouse, and out of Black Creek Lodge. Now and then Black Creek at the bridge on 3280.

I'm not a bass fisherman. Bream/shellcracker, catfish, and mullet with a hook and line is my bag. There are four community mullet holes down near the bay. That fishery should start up soon, but two trips in the last couple of weeks I caught only 1 mullet on one trip.

Most recently there have been a few good catch days and some not so hot. I fished two days this week back to back out of Bull Landing (Berrian Lake #1. Got a decent mess of cats and bream with my partner doing most of the catching . One channel went 6.25 lb... All caught with shrimp. Next day three boats from our club went back and two boats got just a few to stink the grease and the other did very well with 19 cats and a bunch of bream. That one was not me.

I noticed CurDog gave a pretty good synopsis how to fish and that's pretty much how I do it.. I call it slash fishing with a cricket and brim-buster pole, my preferred method for bream. However worms on the bottom have paid off big time for shellcrackers over the past few months. I have been doing this method waiting for cricket season to pick up. Incidentally these banded crickets that bait shops have right now are only fit feed for home pet reptiles and the birds. Hope the quality changes soon.

Eat - Sleep - Go Fishing


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks to FishWalton and everyone else for the advice. Going tomorrow, so hoping to catch enough to post a decent fish report.


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