This time of year.....

[HossFisher]

What kind of structure are you looking towards for the cats early season? Your obvious cat areas are things like snags, holes, current seams etc, but this time of year is there a structure that tends to hold more fish than others? I'm hoping to get out tonight and one of my favorite spots is an outside bend with a deep hole and a smaller but deep creek right out in front of the bend. Just curious as to what type of structure everybody else fishes this time of year so I can decide if thats going to be a good spot for tonight. Thanks.

[Larry FlatCaster]

Normally this would be a good bet. This year seems to be different in some areas, due to the low flow of the river and or complete lack of water moving out of creeks. Holes and stucture can be good again in the higher water.

If you think it might hold fish... try it...

[phishnerd]

Current seams and mud in secondary channels have been producing on pool 2. Not much for mud up where you are at though. Your spot sounds like it's worth a shot. Cut some bait, chuck some lead, and give'er a go!!

[SteveD]

What kind of structure are you looking towards for the cats early season?

IMHO, this is a pre-spawn bite. Both flats and channels are feeding and then feeding some more. Low water and low current right now has probably moved most fish into main channel areas. I look for areas with the good current flow and some depth and with bait present. By bait present I'm not talking fathead minnows - flats eat big bait so if you are marking fish then the flats are probably eating them. Think about it - they are eating 7" bullheads like they are candy and you can bet they snack on 12" or better just about anything (walleyes, sheepshead, carp, suckers, white bass, etc.).

Now think about how they feed. Think like this: Smell, Sound, Sight. They are using that current to carry them scent which is how they primarily find their food (fish smell - hasn't your wife complained that you smell like a bullhead); then sound (struggling or swimming bait fish) to locate their prey, then sight (scent and sound leads them to within a few inches of their prey and then they can murkily make it out so they strike it). Most times they probably don't even know what it is but it smells good and sounds edible.

The location is not always about a big logjam. Some of my best spots don't have a logjam anywhere near them. I look for an area with good bait concentrations; I use a good sized, healthy bait; then place my bait into a good current situation to carry the scent and noise to a hungry cat.

[HossFisher]

Thanks for the replies guys. We headed out last night around seven and stuck it out until a little after one. We had creek chubs and suckers, but the creek chub cut bait proved to be the ticket. We ended up with a few 1-3 pounders before dark and then the big boys moved in to play. Three channels between 6-8 pounds were caught and then the monster struck. We landed a nice 25 pound flathead which is now my friends new personal best (bass fisherman first time cattin'). I think he's gonna have the cat bug now!!! Lost one more real nice flathead in a snag just before 1 o'clock as we were packing it in. Lots of baitfish were in the area and the catfish were feeding violently near the surface in the shallows. You couldn't go 10 seconds without hearing a splash! All in all a very good night, thanks for the help.