Channels

Anyone fish for them this time of year? Any tips?

Yes. I’m guessing they going about a month ago. Found ours soaking cut bait on current seams yesterday. Find a seam, fish it for maybe a half hour and move on. Violent strikes on that cut bait. Wasn’t sure if the rod holder was going to survive. Got 6 nice channels midday yesterday moving around trying different spots.

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Sounds like fun-cool. I fish a couple of lakes for them, guy told me he does well with live suckers on the bottom. In a river system they probably really use their sense of smell-maybe in a lake other senses are used more.
Thanks

Yes, love the cat bite!!

Same as what Mike said above, cutbait on seams. If you don’t get bit in 20 minutes, make adjustments. Those fish hit like a ton of bricks. Most of my action has been taking place at dark or after. Water flow and clarity played a big part of that a few weeks ago. Excited to get out after this rain, hopefully they’ll be eating a little earlier in the day.

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Right now through the end of May is a prespawn bonanza for Channel Cats. They are big and they are hungry!
Some of the biggest channel cats I see every year is in this window. The problem is that as soon as that water temp hits 60 my attention is stolen by the Flatheads. But for sure in lakes or rivers which only have Channels, it’s go time! Also, don’t be afraid to try 5 feet and less, they are actively feeding in the shallows, and especially in warmer backwater bays.

and I tell ya what if you want some crazy channel cats right now, sneak down to the Madison chain of lakes or Okoboji. Incredible systems for giant channel cats. (we’re talking 25-30lbers).

Sounds like a blast!

Mike W wrote:

Yes. I’m guessing they going about a month ago. Found ours soaking cut bait on current seams yesterday. Find a seam, fish it for maybe a half hour and move on. Violent strikes on that cut bait. Wasn’t sure if the rod holder was going to survive. Got 6 nice channels midday yesterday moving around trying different spots.

What rod/reel/line set up do you like fishing for Channels?

Bob Bowman wrote:

Those fish hit like a ton of bricks.

Had my first chase down of a rod shorefishing last night from a hit and run, what a blast, nothing big but as mentioned they hit hard

Mike W wrote:

Wasn’t sure if the rod holder was going to survive.

Where I fish for channel cats, fish of around 15 pounds are virtually an everyday thing, if they are biting, and fish approaching 20 pounds are not rare. I’ve had those same concerns with rod holders. For a couple of years now I’ve been setting the drag “a bit looser than it should be” while the rods are in the holders. First of all, that’s how I make sure my rod holders will not break off (they are pretty decent quality but they are not as robust as the holders that a lot of dedicated cat guys use). Second, during that time when it’s awkward to get a solid grip for “prying” on the rod handle so it’s free to slip out of the holder, I’m not struggling as much because there’s less tension on the line in the first place.

It only takes about one second to re-tighten the drag as soon as you have the rod in your hands, and the fish really doesn’t take out as much line as you might expect in the meantime. This is mainly a way to be ready for those larger fish – it won’t make any difference for most of them. I think you’ll find this a useful trick when using rod holders.