Entry 318-5

Catch Hawg Fish During the Dog Parts of Summer with Roger Stegall of Strike King

Part 5: Hot-Weather Cats

Question: Roger, I know one of your favorite eating fish is catfish. I know also that quite a few people who come to Pickwick want to go catfishing with you. Where are you finding them, what are you using, and how are catching those Pickwick catfish during the Dog Parts of August?

Stegall: I catch catfish in a variety of ways. I have some customers who just want to catch catfish on drop lines, I have other customers who just want to fish with Strike King jugs, and I have some folks who want to use rods and reels to catch cats. Many times when I’m fishing with trotlines I’ll put those trotlines out on a shelf or flat in 20- to 25-foot-deep water. I bait with Strike King Catfish Dynamite or Strike King Catfish Dyna-Bites. I’ll also use these same baits when we’re fishing with rods and reels.

Many of my customers enjoy catfishing with Strike King jugs, and I use these same baits when jug fishing. I’ll usually run my lines coming off of the jugs about 10-feet deep. I’ll generally put the jugs out in the later afternoon and pick them up the next morning. If the power plant’s running current at night, the jugs will be a mile or two downriver the next morning. I paint my jugs orange so that I can find them really easily. I’ve caught cats weighing up to 38 pounds on these jugs.

Question: How many jugs do you usually put out?

Stegall: If I’m going to be fishing with three people, I’ll generally put out 50 jugs. I’ve caught as little as 10-12 pounds from the jugs in one night, and as much as 300 pounds. Successful catfishing depends on how the cats are biting on the night you put the bait out.

Normally I’ll put out two trotlines and 50 jugs, and the next day we’ll usually have more cats than two or three people want to clean. I had a couple fishing with me the first part of August. We fished for cats for 3 days, putting out two trotlines and 50 jugs every afternoon and running them every morning. They went home with about 250 pounds of catfish.

Question: When you’re fishing for cats with rods and reels, what kinds of places are you fishing?

Stegall: I fish shell beds with mussel shells on the bottom, maybe next to an underwater island or a ridge where I will fish for smallmouths or largemouths. Many times, you’ll hook those shells when you’re fishing for cats. The ideal condition is if current’s running, or if the wind’s blowing. Then the wind or the current will move your boat downriver, and you can drift over those shell beds and bump along the bottom with either Strike King Catfish Dynamite or Strike King Catfish Dyna-Bites.

We’ll usually be fishing with 14- to 15-pound-test Vicious All Purpose line and a good stout rod. It’s really strong line, and when you’re fishing for cats the diameter doesn’t matter. In a day of fishing with a rod and reel, you can usually easily catch 100 pounds of cats.

To fish with Roger Stegall for bass and other species, visit www.fishpickwick.com, call 662-423-3869, or email rogstegall@fishpickwick.com.

Contents:

• Part 1: How to Find and Catch Smallmouths Now
• Part 2: How to Find and Catch Largemouths Now
• Part 3: Catch Them with a Current
• Part 4: Smallmouths at Night
• Part 5: Hot-Weather Cats