I've been out of catfishing for so long. I just got a Helix 10 and I want to go find some eater blue cats this sunday on Texoma. Boat is on a lift on the south end of the lake but can travel anywhere. What's a good pattern for cats this time a year.

Last three weekends they have been 5' up in 15 FOW
Had a double limit before the front pushed thru here about 10:30am this morning.
All 5-8lb just like yesterday,we slammed 30 by 11am.
Cut perch and fresh carp working the magic on the 8/0.
They didnt touch the live baits?

Let me know if I'm out of place, but why spend $1,000+ on sonar just for eater cats? 20 jugs and a canoe will catch all the eaters you'd want.

In order to find bluecats consistently year round on my lake Willy, sonar is a must! I'm sure there are guys who do good without electronics but I don't know any. I often scan 3-4 areas before I find fish and learning to read electronics has upped my cat game more than anything. Blues are rarely in the same place when you go back! Looking at my pins on a topo, I haven't fished the same location twice the entire year.

Okay, I see. My waters are much different. The sonar helps you save a loads of time.

Figured they would be fine for my 6 and 8 year olds to reel in.

Yeah, train them early. My waters, although dammed, I can still read the water much like reading the riffles, holes and runs of a trout stream. None of the catmen in my area use sonar, yet catch 40 fish at a time.

I gather that the difference is your waters are far more vast than ours, akin to fishing the Gulf and opposed to fishing the bay. From what I hear you fellas saying: the smaller the waters the less you need sonar.