Bobber fishing for channels

In the course of making a different post I realized I actually do have a technique I’ve found successful for catching post-spawn channels.

I found last year that in areas with a large, circular current or even below a dam where you have a back-current along the sides, tossing my regular catfish rig (3-4 oz weight, 3/0 to 6/0 circle hooks) out under a cigar bobber set to keep the bait at about half the depth of the water or just below REALLY kills the cats, especially if you toss it in just up river and let it drift into choke points or holding points downstream.

It makes it possible to fish structure that you just can’t fish otherwise, and it can really help in snaggy, boulder-strewn areas. Just be sure to keep an eye on your bobber and your line, because you will have to feed some and retrieve some as the bobber follows the current.

It’s kind of a take on the drift fishing technique we were talking about the other day, but I find it works really well in areas that you can’t get to by boat, or in areas that are big enough to need more coverage than one hook in one spot but not too big to be fished from shore. I’ve also found that a lot of places (like Coon Rapids Dam, for instance) make you fish from an elevated platform of some sort and this works really well for those circumstances as well.

I also found this to work best around dawn…

& prespawn & flats along the rocks

I love to bobber fish and have not tried that exact pattern but thanks to you, I’m going to and soon.

I’ve heard this can be a fun tactic to do in certain circumstances, but the one time I tried it I got sick of casting and tending to my line constantly. It seemed like a lot of work to this lazy catfisherman.

Check the article Brad wrote — he mentions slip bobbers toward the bottom. He fishes the Red River primarily, but the same tactics would work in any similar situation, I would think.

Fast Water Cats

I tried a few times but the current often does funny things to bobbers. And you have to rig a pole up, etc.

I’ve talked to a guy who used them while drifting in the shallows. I may try that later in the year. No snags there. Light line and clip on bobbers are things I can handle.

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….and it can really help in snaggy, boulder-strewn areas.

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Catfish love riprap and slip bobbers are a perfect approach to handle rocks with minimal snags.

I can’t believe anyone would ever use bobbers for catfishing. I never leave home without them. If you wanted to fish a lake and you had say some emerging weeds in say 8-15 feet of water nothing works better to drift your baits over those weeds and Pow you’ll get hammered. Even Netman can handle this easy tactic. this chunk sure liked it from last year.