# Learning to catfish the Escambia River



## rynscull79 (Feb 2, 2009)

I'm trying to learn to catch catfish on the Escambia and am having a difficult time. I've studied all sorts of websites and used a number of their techniques without much success. I'm not used to fishing in an area in which the water moves so swiftly. I try the lakes off the river without much success. How do you guys fish the main river with something like punch baits and keep it on the hook? Should I even be trying to suspend a bait or should I always weight it to the bottom when in swift moving water? Does anyone throw a baitnet on Escambia and catch any shad? Any tips are greatly appreciated.


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## -WiRtH- (Feb 24, 2009)

If I fish in the river I fish on the bottom unless it's a bush hook. With bush hooks I vary the depths on all of them. Rod and reel for me though I fish on the bottom, usually near where a creek comes in or at the entrance to a slough if it's fairly deep. For bait I use chicken livers, minnows, or bream. I've tried some other baits on rivers, lakes etc., without much luck personally. I have caught a few on worms but not near as many as the rest. There are literally a dozen types of parts of the river to fish and you'll probably have to experiment and see what works for you. A lot of them will be very shallow at night coming to find food so if you find a shallow creek coming into a flat area, well that could be a pretty good spot. I've got one spot in particular like that that always produces fish.


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

bottom fishing works most of the time but really it boils down to the right bait river shiners or live bream are your best bet. Also I have had pretty good sucess on a cork rig, I use a big cork and run a leader about 18"-24" from the cork and right above the hook I'll add about a 1/2 oz. sinker to keep the fish from swimming to the top. Add a bream or shiner and it simulates a bush hook and the cats seem to respond to it. It can be trickey to fish in current but it works if you can control the rig. Make short cast to tight cover around deep holes. I've caught alot of flatheads and channel cats on yellow river with this rig so I'm sure it will work on Escambia.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Lot of good advise here that should work over here on the Choctawhatchee as well.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

It does not matter what tackle or bait you bring with you if the conditions are not right, Catfish are very sensitive to changing water conditions more so than any other fish.

If the river is Flooded save your time for another day.


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## river_roach (Sep 8, 2009)

I personally love it when the river is flooded. It being flooded pushes the blues and channels to the new ground that is flooded. If you want to tear up big blues and channels on bush hooks, let it flood and get where there normally isn't water and put you out some hooks. Then get ready to use your Dexter Russell.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

This is true,but if he is like me hunting them with rod n reels you need every thing to be right, its hard to keep baits in the right place with a flushing river.

I prefer to fish when the river is damn near dried up, it forces all the cats into deep puddles eliminating alot of water to search.


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## rynscull79 (Feb 2, 2009)

Thanks for all the info, it's greatly appreciated. I'd like to start out catching some channel cats for eating. What's ya'lls preferred bait for channels on Escambia?


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## -WiRtH- (Feb 24, 2009)

I personally use chicken liver when I target channels specifically, but you can always try an assortment and see what works best for the particular area you're fishing


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

For channels I have the best luck with fresh shrimp from joe pattys, chicken livers work good to, I also like to use cut menhaden, the oils in it drives the cats crazy and the longer you fish in one spot the more cats will be drawn to you.


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## DTFuqua (Jan 30, 2012)

Does anyone use beef liver? A long, long, long time ago, I bought chicken livers and they were hard to keep on the hooks. The guy I was fishing with said I should have gotten beef liver instead of chicken livers


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

Mullet guts are killer for channel cats if you can round some up


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## skiff89_jr (Apr 1, 2011)

Fresh mullet is a killer bait on channel's and blue's. I've even heard of a guy that caught the tournament winning blue cat on squirrel guts.


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