I wanted to start a thread about bank fishing for blues this season. I won't ask where your honey holes are at, but I would like to discuss strategies such as: bait, how many rods you'll be using, time of day, shallow, deep, etc. I'm still fairly newbish to Blue Catfish from the banks, so any comments are appreciated. Thx!

Bait: This year I'm going to be primarily using gizzard shad, bluegill/sunfish, and some other experimental cut baits from fish purchased at the vietnamese store in Haltom City. I've done a ton of research on bait size, and it's surprising how many big blues were caught using relatively small pieces of cut bait. I've used big chunks in the past, but will use a variety of sizes this year.

I don't know if it will help or not, but to provide a "scent trail" I'm going to be using a packbait (chum) made out of ground up fish pellets, fish parts, oils, etc. I will pack this around the weight and when casted, it will disperse causing a nice scent cloud around my bait. A side effect of this is it will probably bring in channel cats and other species. Will have to see how it works.

Time Of Day: Last year I did a see a pattern, at least for me personally from the bank. Caught fish just about anytime of the day, but seemed to always slow down around 2:00-5:00 in both am or pm time slots.

Line: I use 65lb braid with 50lb mono leaders.

Rig: I know they are effective but I just don't like working with 3-way rigs so this year I'm moving to using santee cooper rigs. Basically you rig a standard slip rig, but you place a peg float near the bait so it comes off the bottom. You can adjust your leader line, float position to modify how far off the bottom the bait will be. You'll also need to do some pre-testing to make sure the float can lift the bait. I'm using 3in peg floats and so far they can handle a pretty good bait size. I'm also modifying the rig so it's a "bolt rig" instead of a running slip rig. I use circle hooks large enough to handle the bait but also allow plenty of hook tip exposed. I've done a few tests with this rig and the results were good. I haven't caught anything big yet, but the float doesn't seem to bother the fish at all.

Rod Holder: I use 3-6 rods and typically place them almost vertical, just slightly leaning forward, in a rod holder. I wait for a rod take down, we're talking an obvious rod bending forward, then I grab the rod and battle the fish. I have to admit I'm not sure if this is the best solution because I have had quite a few non-hooks ups after a rod bending strike. I use bait runner reels, maybe I should engage the bait runner so there is less resistance when the fish strikes the bait? But this year I'm using the "bolt rig" so perhaps that will help with the initial hook up.

Distance: Definitely going to mix it up more this year. I think the more wind (coming at you), the closer in the fish will be.

Wind: Definitely going to keep an eye on the wind, you 100% want the wind in your face, which blows in the bait fish. The guys that have caught trophy blues say the colder & windy it is, the better. lol.. I tried a couple of sessions last year where the wind was over 20mph, the waves were crashing, etc. Didn't catch anything at all. I prefer winds of around 8-15mph. It also pays to have the wind blowing in the same direction for as long as possible before you show up to fish. If you see a forecast for 3 days of the wind in the same direction, probably makes more sense to fish that 3rd day.

I plan to fish water that has a hard bottom and easy access to deep water. I will use cut bait in different varieties. I will fish with 3-4 rods. When fishing for blues, I do not chum. I have learned that attracts more channel cats and turtles. Also, for my baits, I prefer to use strips of filets or bluegill heads.

This is a great discussion thread. Might be a good idea to post a link in the catfish section to see if anyone there wants to chime in.

Here are a couple of thoughts from my experience:

Line: I use 50-65lbs braid.

Rig: I only ever use the santee cooper rig.

Bait: Varying the size of the baits can definitely help you land more fish. But if you want to focus on the bigger blues than stick with the bigger bait. I've caught 30lbs+ blues on little 1" piece of cutbait and I've also caught little dinks that are barely on whole bluegill. Don't even know how they got the bait in their mouth. If I'm specifically targeting big fish, I'll only use big bait.

Rod holders: I normally do the same, set them up mostly vertical but pointed slightly forward. But when there is a strong wind, it can be harder to keep the line tight unless you up your weight size. So what I sometimes do is angle the rod holder down a lot more but turn it so the rod is parallel with the shore. My rod tip may only be a few feet above the ground. This limits how much line is out of the water, which helps me keep the line tight in the strong wind. With it turned parallel with the shore, my rod is still at a 90 degree angle with the line so I can still get good hookups. ***This may not work depending on the rod holder being used***

Non-hook ups: You mentioned missing quite a few hook ups. That could easily be gar. If you're using the santee cooper rig ***WITH CIRCLE HOOKS*** and have a decent rod, you can't do much else to increase hook-ups. At least nothing that I'm aware of.

Distance: This all depends on the spot.

I bank fished 4-6 Rods vertical in pvc/rebar holders. 7/0-10/0 circle hooks. I run Santee cooper And 3 way rigs with varied leader lengths ( I use peg floats on both) Some out far, some close. Vary my bait sizes till I find something they like. Some chunks, some fillets, some Heads. I�ve caught my biggest Blues with Wind to my back, any Wind is Good. I�ve had Good Luck with Wind blowing across a point sideways........
Take downs and non hookups can be Gar or Turtles or a fish swimming into your line.......with circle hooks you shouldn�t need to run baitfeed - the rod loading up Usually sets the hook but reel down on reel before taking out of the rod holder.

Be careful on what fish from the Asian store you use - if it even resembles a Game Fish you could get a ticket. Some of those markets have farm raised white bass etc...- still illegal. I was using some fish from Asian mkt. that looked like Sandbass and was checked by Game Warden while bankfishing Grape Vine a few years ago. I showed my receipt and so got a Warning but my bait was taken. She said even tho I had a receipt the bait looked like sand bass and she couldn�t be Sure this was the same fish as the receipt.

Put Navionics on your phone to see Lakes contour map.
Wind Blown points, flats next to a channel, Humps or Bowls, underwater railroad or road beds, sharp depth drops,

Glad you started this thread. I like to do some wintertime blue catfish fishing when I can. Do ya'll find the bite starts now? I don't normally try for them this early.

Bait: If I can get shad, I use that. Normally I can't find shad in the winter so I go the Asian grocery store and get buffalo or carp. I'll also bring chicken breast with me. I've surprisingly caught some nice blues on chicken breast.

Time of Day: I always go as the sun is coming up, but not sure if that makes a difference. I don't normally catch until it's been a while. Anyone else have thoughts?

Rod/Reel: I use a couple of different rods that are 10-11ft with spinning reels. I set them in rod holders angled slightly forward.

Line: I use 15lb mono with a 65lb braid shock leader.

Rig: I almost always use a Santee Cooper rig with a circle hook these days.

Spot: I always try to fish a point with the wind in my face. Makes for some cooooold times in the winter though. I saw someone say crosswind could be good but I've never experimented with that. I'll try and fish one rig close, one as far as I can cast and one in-between.

Thank you for the comments, good stuff, let's keep it going. With this cooler weather, things should start heating up.

"Non-hook ups: You mentioned missing quite a few hook ups. That could easily be gar. If you're using the santee cooper rig ***WITH CIRCLE HOOKS*** and have a decent rod, you can't do much else to increase hook-ups. At least nothing that I'm aware of."

"Take downs and non hookups can be Gar or Turtles or a fish swimming into your line.......with circle hooks you shouldn�t need to run baitfeed - the rod loading up Usually sets the hook but reel down on reel before taking out of the rod holder."

ok...awesome info, thank you for those comments. I always thought I should not use the bait runner, but this 100% clears it up. Thx!

City park at west tawakoni has a few spots facing north
Also on the weat end of 2 mile bridge

If you research "demon dragon santee cooper" it's a fairly big craze going around for cat fishing. Instead of a regular float it's an inline float that resembles a bait fish plus it has rattles. There's a variety of them available at Amazon, pricing will be anywhere from 4.00-8.00 each. The clear (non painted) ones are much cheaper and you can get those anywhere (and paint them yourself) from 1.00 (3-4 weeks delivery) to 3.00 (1-2 days delivery) each.

I've been testing out the santee cooper rig and I have to say it's so much easier to work with compared to using a 3 way rig. You don't have to use those "demon dragon" floats, I also use cheap peg floats you can buy at walmart. I know some peeps keep the baitrunner off and just let the rod load, but I'm using "bite alarms" which allow me to fish multiple rods and also wake me up when a fish runs. lol.. So I'm also using a fixed weight which helps drive the hook home when they pick up the bait and run. Still no monsters, have managed some eating sizes channels and smaller blues.

Now if we can get some of the flooding down, I can get back to fishing some of the parks I fish at. lol..

I would have been tempted to tell her if she did not know sand bass from shad, she needs to go back to school. *sheesh* I would have bitten my tongue because that smart remark would have guaranteed a ticket, lol.

I'm finding them in <5 foot now