The catfish bite this month should be very good. We had a wet, cool, summer and that should lead to a continued good fall bite. By November the threadfin shad will have reached the 3 to 4 inch range which is excellent bait size for cats. The young shad minnows will be there primary forage at this time of the year. Start your search for catfish in the middle portion of the lake from Gargis Hollow downstream to Shoals Creek. Fish will be on ledges and humps in 20 to 50 feet of water in this area. Watch your electronics closely because fish will suspend underneath the shad schools throughout the lake. It’s not uncommon for fish to suspend 15 to 20 feet deep in 50 feet of water if that’s the depth the bait is found. Check out long points that extend into the main lake. If you can locate one with a steep drop on the downstream side, and has pea gravel on top that’s all the better. The North and East sides of Hog Island should be loaded with fryer size fish as well as the flats from Hog Island to Wheeler Dam. For trophy cats work the deep bluff lines and old river channel ledges from Six Mile Creek to Wilson Dam. Concentrate on the 45 to 60 foot range. As always with trophy fish, use large chunks of cut bait or whole shad. I like a 6 to 8 inch Gizzard shad best.

One tactic that works well this month is to cast live shad against bluff walls. Search for a bluff with wind and wave action pushing against the bluff if possible. I use a 7 foot BnM rod, spooled with 17 pound test Vicious line for this tactic. Collect live shad minnows with a throw net which are found in the back of most any creek this time of year. Lip hook the minnow on a 3/0 or 4/0 Mister Twister Weed less Worm hook and cast up against the bluff wall. I use a 1/16 or 1/32 ounce split shot to slowly sink the minnow. Allow the minnow to fall to the bottom then slowly lift it of the bottom and allow to fall back again. This method is deadly on fish feeding along the shore. It’s not uncommon to catch some nice flatheads with the live bait, especially if wood cover is present.