Like many on this board, I get a special kick from hooking and battling a big catfish. The big take down, the hook set, the adrenaline rush of the beast pulling drag, and those nerve racking last moments as it's scooped into the safety of the net.

It's addictive for sure.

I find myself yearning for another big bite, another monster from the deep, and the slight disappointment when you realize that fish is a 'fun sizer' teener, and not the thirty pound plus fish you were hoping for.

So how does one target the bigger fish and the elusive lake records??

Is it preferable in the winter bite? Deep water? Big baits? Is it purely a numbers game?

I'm thinking fish gotta eat, so my guess is you should be able to catch them all year round, right? Deep water? I don't know! Big baits? Now that would seem to make sense to me. A numbers game? Well, the more times you fish, you have to increase your chances, right?

I spent some time today checking out the record Blue's on the main lakes around north Texas, and this is what I found:

Lake: Record Blue:
Cooper 66.5 pounds
Fork 89
Grapevine 60
Lavon. 68
Lewisville. 63
Possum Kingdon. 60
Ray Hubbard. 64
Ray Roberts. 59
Sam Rayburn. 83
Texoma 121.5
Tawakoni 87

All of them between 60 & 80 pounds, with one notable exception. Lake Texoma. Most of those records have been broken in the past 20 years, Texoma being broken in 2004. I know Chris, El Gato, recently came within a whisker or the Lewisville record. Skeetmaster's buddy Henry a 20 year Tawakoni veteran recently landed a 70 pounder up there.

Someone recently posted up this picture of a guy holding a 95 pound Blue Cat, I think from a river in Tennessee. That's the same weight as my lovely wife!! I can't even imagine trying to lift a fish that size in the boat.



Anyone else aspiring to catch a monster???

Wotcha got??

Gonna be a lot of luck involved in landing a “record fish” but as far as consistently catching big fish, definitely a lot of variables the fisherman has control over.

1. Location - This is obvious, gotta fish waters that have big fish. In addition, you need some knowledge, earned or learned about the proper locations to spend your time on your chosen body of water.
2. Equipment - Let face it, catfishing has changed, high end electronics, proper boat for water conditions your trying to fish, quality rods, reels, terminal tackle, having this part of the equation in proper order gives you an increased chance at consistently catching the fish you are targeting.
3. Tactics - Well, we could almost lump everything except luck into this category. You have to develop some intuition about what the fish are or should be doing at a given time throughout the year. You can develop this through your own experiences or gather the information from the catfish community your a part of. Either way, your gonna have to start somewhere and keep building, this is the never ending process in fishing. Once you know your body of water has big fish, your looking at all the environmental conditions combined with all your experience and you have a good idea of where the fish should be and what type of presentation its likely gonna require to effectively fish those areas.
4. Bait - As seasons and environmental factors change, so do the food sources for a given fish. Probably gonna learn this from your friends or your own experience, but you gotta know what they are feeding on to guide you to the likely areas they are hiding. Have to have a good supply of fresh, preferred bait if you want to consistently catch big fish.
5. Time - No one is going to be very successful at consistently catching big fish if they run out for 1 hour once every 2 weeks and drag baits for big catfish. Gonna have to put in the time, on targeted waters, and do it quite often if you want to consistently tangle with big fish.
6. Records/Data - Maybe some people can remember every big fish they ever caught, I can’t. I keep records of environmental conditions (air temp, water temp, depth, wind speed/direction) as well as location on every fish I catch over 20lbs. I also include a list of every fish over 20 that we catch on a given day. Its pretty easy but often overlooked, when you hook up with a fish at/over your target weight, drop a waypoint…. Patterns emerge.
7. Planning - Easier said than done, but when possible, I’m looking at weather at least a week in advance of when I think I want or will have an opportunity to fish as well as the forecast for the day or so after. Weather has a LOT to do with whether or not catfish are concentrated in areas or scattered sparsely about, and timing your trip on the perfect conditions say the last day of steady weather with a significant front moving in, maybe the front hits mid day when your on the water. Targeting the best days helps if you can make it work with your schedule.
8. Fishing - This should go without saying but you just gotta fish! Be versatile, be observant, use ALL the tools you have at your disposal. A fisherman with the right equipment, the knowledge to use that equipment, the right bait, on the right water, with patience, confidence, experience and a little luck stands a pretty good chance of success when he/she sets out after a particular fish.

Theres obviously a pile of factors involved in consistently catching a targeted fish. Without going into great detail about my specific practices (which are different than other folks) i’ll just say, you have to cover the basics listed in sections 1-5 above. There’s gonna be variances in how each person addresses the basics, some guys have massively varying principle in how they target the same fish… funny thing is, theres usually more than 1 way to get the job done. As far as deep/shallow/warm/cold, thats an ages old debate. I’ll tell you I prefer chasing Bluecat in the winter after i’m done deer hunting, thats just my preference, PLENTY of big fish caught in the dog days of summer, thats just not my jam.

Great post, BFH!

I can relate to all of those points, some I am better at than others.

Point #6 is one major weak area for me. I plan to start keeping track of everything moving forward, a log if you will of:
Date:
Weather conditions:
Wind speed.
Water temp:
Where I spot fish:
Where I caught fish:
Depth of fish:
Air pressure (rising/falling)
Where I got bait:
Where I caught fish:
Method: (trolling, suspending, bumping etc).

I have been improving more on the record keeping myself. Used to forget to take a picture of half the big fish we caught! Started keeping the list of each fish 20+ about 10 years ago. Started dropping waypoints on big catches 5-6 years ago, and this year only makes year 4 of keeping other (weather, location, etc) information with the catch info. Grew up grabbing bait, rods, tackle, drinks and hauling butt for whatever water I could make it too. Now I spend a lot more time thinking before acting, prolly cuz i'm lazy and much prefer the reward over the work to get it. One would think I would have figured a lot of this out many years ago... especially since it costs so much money to play the game. Its a pretty good drag to get my boat on Tawakoni, there's nothing left of a 500 dollar bill if I come down and fish just 1 day in TX.... that's just fuel, lodging and food, i'd hate to see the cost if I added in wear and tear, consumable fishing gear and boat payment! It helps to put things in a list... I see the post here on TFF pretty regular..."I'm new to catfishing, can anyone help me with some good info to get started." If quite a few guys chime in on this thread, maybe even list their information out by number or bullet points, we could combine the info and make a 10-20 step quick reference sticky thread to put in the forum lobby? Just a thought.

Great post , I don’t do good keeping records I guess because I can only fish one day week and can’t pick and choose my days. I been trying to break into the 60 pound club for several year and came within 3 pounds but I was lucky enough to put my father in-law on a 63 pound Conroe blue . One month later on the same drift line my buddy and I was fishing a tournament when the planer board took off and the rod went down on his side of the boat and a few minutes later I was netting his lake record 67 pounder. I still will never forget those moments and can’t wait till the next battle with another trophy class Blue!
I often think of it like trophy deer hunting but you get to let them go to grow .

There is no secret to catching monsters Bob. You can either get lucky or you can get good. Anyone can get lucky but to get good you gotta put in years and years of time on the water and acquire the knowledge through fishing often and fishing hard. You get better with each victory and defeat and eventually you start to understand big fish and their habits. With more and more experience your chances and odds continue to go up. Quite a few records come off of guide boats so there is obviously much more to it than luck. Record keeping can help you understand the fish and bait habits when your first starting out but the longer you fish for them, the record keeping is burned into your brain through repetition. I used to pin my navionics and add water temp, wind direction, and the date but no longer need to do that. This gave me a broad idea of general fish habits but over time I realized that the weather leading up to that trip and what weather is approaching was just as important as any of the data I was recording and I never recorded that. Now that I understand bait and big fish habits much better I don’t keep records. Before I get on the water to fish I already have a pretty good idea of where the fish are going to be. I build a game plan leading up to my trip and I have a good idea of the areas I’m going to look for fish before I hit the lake. Weather and wind leading up to trip and that days wind direction are what tells me where I plan to look. When I get on the water the first thing I do is pattern the bait and find that days magic depth. This takes less than 5 minutes. Once I know the days Bait pattern and magic depth I go to the areas I had game planned for in that magic depth and start looking for fish on my graph. I don’t throw down until I see what I like. Most guys when starting out get to caught up on fishing the exact same areas they caught a fish in before. Over time you start to realize the fish patterns and you start looking in areas you have never fished. If you look at my last 20 trips you would see that I haven’t fished the same area more than 2 times in those 2O trips. We’ve caught big fish on just about every trip but 1 or 2. Understanding fish and bait patterns is what allows me to go to just about any of our lakes here in Texas and have success. Some lakes are much easier than others that is for sure. My lake is notoriously tough for big fish and that has sharpened my skills no doubt. When I travel fish it becomes much easier to locate fish after fishing Lewisville for so long. Another thing overlooked is fishing connections. Build those friendships and networks and don’t be afraid to ask guys what sections of the lake they caught a big fish in or what depth. Even if you don’t plan on fishing you can add that info into your brains data base. I still ask guys to help me with timber lakes and areas on the north ends quite often. I have friends that are guides and tournament anglers and when they go fish an unfamiliar lake they will call me looking for intel. Don’t be afraid to ask guys for help on a fishery but you also gotta take the knowledge and run with it. Relying on someone else to give you all the knowledge will not get you where you want to go. You gotta fish hard and fish often to be a good trophy bluecatr.

Okay, I'll bite...

1. Location - Lavon is my home lake and as most of you know I spend a lot of time on the water. I am blessed with the ability to work my schedule around days I want to fish. If you are trying to catch trophy fish on a lake that doesn't have them, or many of them anyway, the odds are against you. That doesn't mean you won't catch them. Ask Chris after telling us there were not many big fish in Lewisville, he boated a 63! I think Lavon is a great big fish lake (30 pounds and up), one because it gets fished harder for crappie and sandies than it does for blues and two, there is enough pleasure boat traffic in the warm weather months that the fishing wains so there is less pressure than there would otherwise be.
2. Equipment - I am a self professed gear queer. I am always looking for somebody to take my money in exchange for the next big thing. But... I have caught plenty of big cats on a $20 rod and a $40 reel. I do think the line and terminal gear are important, more on that in a minute, but the thing about reels is how long they'll last, not so much can they haul in big fish. I started out using a $17 Shakespeare Wildcat 6'6" MH rod and they worked great. I had a number of KastKing Rovers in 40 and 60 size and they were solid reels. The issue with them is, when you use them as hard as I did, they would last about 2 years and then start failing. I curse mono. I cannot get that stuff to work for me. I am a braid guy 100%. I like the way it spools, I like the no-memory aspect of it and I like the no stretch when I'm using circle hooks so the hook up ratio is high. Speaking of hooks, a good 5/0 8/0 or 10/0 hook depending on the time of year (the colder the bigger) is a must. And you need to remember to change them out or sharpen them as thy get used so you don't miss fish because of a dull hook. I exclusively use a Santee rig. I have gone from no rolls to slinky weights made of paracord. I use 2/0 and 4/0 crane swivels. I use a no-knot snell on the hook and a palomar knot on the top of the swivel and a large leader knot on the mono end of the swivel. I don't think there is any one thing as far as tackle that makes or breaks a rig. Bottom line is you have to have confidence in it. Electronics are a whole game on their own. I do think a good 2D sonar is a must and the Down scan and side scan are game changers. Side scan especially for fishing shallow. But I like the down scan too because it can show you big fish under a cloud of bait that the 2D sonar can't see through.
3. Tactics - Drift, drift, drift. I like covering water, especially when it's cold. The way I see it when the water is cold and the fish don't move much, it makes sense for me to do the moving. When the water is warm and the fish metabolism is high, they move around a lot more so you can set your baits and wait for them to come to you. There are times when you should do both. Use your head and especially use your eyes. Don't rely solely on what your graph says. Look up and see what the birds are doing, is the bait busting on the surface? What else is going on that might give you a clue about what the fish are doing? Just because something worked yesterday, doesn't mean it will today. I struggle with the next one but use a variety of baits until you figure out what they want. Cut shad in chunks and in fillets, give them shad and something else, do they want bream instead, carp, drum? Find out what works and then use it. Don't over think things. Don't focus on the temperature or the barometric pressure or the moon or the clouds. Soak baits. That is the only way to tell if they are going to bite or not. Everything else is a head game we play to talk ourselves into or out of going fishing on a given day.
4. Bait - I talked about this in number 3 but let me expand on it here. I think generally, Shad is the bait of choice about 9 months out of the year for blues. I think in the 3 cold weather months, "other" baits are better, other baits being bream, drum, carp and when allowed sandies (texoma). I think sandies are huge in winter because they are much more available to the blues and they get a bigger bang for the effort in terms of food value than shad. When the metabolism is low, that's a big deal.
5. Time - Time on the water. If you are out there enough, eventually you are going to hit it when the fish are turned on and feeding. When that happens, you will look like a hero no matter what you do. When they are feeding, they will hit what ever bait you throw at them. I have had days like that in warm weather and in cold weather. I have had big fish days in the summer time so don't fall into the traps. "big fish only bite when it's cold" not true. I have caught big fish every month of the year. Time on the water is experience. I have started keeping a log but I have been dropping waypoints where I've caught fish for years. I think being able to look back at similar weather conditions and similar times of the year can help you decide where to fish and how to fish. But the bottom line is just fish! When you are out there, you will see things that guide your decision making for the day. Don't rely on what you did last time. Use that information to make your choices but don't just repeat what you did before unless it makes sense based on what you are seeing with your eyes. Don't get trapped into doing the same thing over and over. You will be successful when the reality of the day matches your approach but the likelihood of that happening often is small.
6. Records/Data - Keeping a log is interesting but don't get bogged down in data. I said above you can easily overthink this. Fishing is supposed to be fun! Don't make it work. Getting out on the water is a chance for me to do what I love. Last thing I want to do is turn it into work. My log tracks the area of the lake where I caught the fish, time of day, weather conditions weight of the fish and type of bait. I have just this year started keeping track so I won't be able to refer to it until next year. But, I have a log in my head of recent years and when I had good days and what the conditions were. I am logging every fish this year, not just those over a benchmark weight. Perhaps next year I will do things differently but for now, I'm logging it all.
7. Planning - I plan on fishing, a lot. I do look at the forecast and decide when will be the best time to try and get out. I mainly look at the weather in terms of when will the weather be such that I don't want to be on the water. I don't look at it in terms of whether the fishing will be good or bad, just will it be safe? Will it be too cold for things to work? Reels freezing, etc. I am planning on doing some night fishing this year, I want to be on the water at night to avoid the heat and to avoid the daytime traffic. I plan around the things that make fishing hard not the bite. I would fish everyday if I could. I plan around work, weather and lake traffic, that's about it...
8. Fishing - Yes! Get on the water! put in the time as much as you can. I know a lot of guys don't have the time to devote to fishing that I am blessed to have. It is easy for me to say, you gotta put in the time. Well when you can only fish one day a week or one day every few weeks that's hard to do. Do what you can and don't expect to catch a trophy every time you go out. Enjoy being on the water, enjoy time with friends and family, enjoy fishing, then let catching be a bonus!

I know I have let this run on but as I type this I hear the tic tic tap of ice and rain hitting the window reminding me that today is not going to be a day to go fishing. I hope we can get out this weekend. BCB and I are gonna try Saturday. We will let y'all know how it goes.

God Bless & Tight Lines...

Oh man, there is a wealth of knowledge and tips in this thread.

Thanks for contributing, guys.

Now the weather will be heading warmer, I intend to spend at least two days a week fishing, probably more. It's makes it so much easier being retired, that's for sure.

I'm definitely keeping a log moving forward, and will also track weather up to the day as well. Like Tim I also like my 'gizmo's' and have now invested a fair bit of $$$$ on gear, and am fairly well equipped now.

One thing I intend to do is try different things - baits, speeds, areas. I must admit I already fall into the trap of fishing places that worked previously, sometimes with success and sometimes not. I need to try other lakes as well.

I'm off to spend 12 days up at Ray Roberts next week, and plan to fish most days if not every day depending on the weather. I have not had much success there up to now, so will be a great opportunity to hone my skills and put some of this into action as a n00b.

Man, I couldn't agree more with both Tim and Chris. It's interesting how both have different outlooks but both are also very similar in a number of ways. I'll say from the time I first got interested in Blue Cat'n until now, I've already sharpened my skills drastically.

Chris, getting good and getting lucky are definitely worlds apart. When I first started, I would occasionally get lucky but I got skunked alot.
With what I've learned from you guys, I know that I can cut out at least 70 percent of dead water using my electronics, my knowledge, and my gut. There's still that part of my experience that keeps me from getting quality fish consistently. That will come in time. I only wish I could be on the water when the conditions are right every time. Bob should be leading the pack in that area because we all know he can go at will. He'll probably make me eat my words over the next year. He's learned quick and will probably be posting a bunch of pics in the near future!

Tim, one thing I've learned from you is that you gotta get the whole picture! If I get upset every time I go out and get skunked, then I'm missing out on the real reason I'm out there! We do this because we love it. The day you and I got our butt's handed to us by the finicky fatties on Lavon was a great day. With work that week being really hectic, I didn't realize how much I needed to sit back, put my feet up and enjoy some great conversation! I think what you said about planning is one of the great keys to success. you can't plan around the bite because you never really know when that will be! One thing I've learned about theory is.....it's just theory! My ideas about when the fish will bite get disproved all the time! You can't catch a catfish if you don't have a bait soaking!

With all this being said, I'm gonna take what you all have said and go to Texoma this weekend! Henry and I are gonna spend Friday afternoon scanning for fish and looking for bait. Saturday we'll have a game plan and a whole bunch of anticipation! Hopefully I'll be posting some pics on Sunday night! GB & TL everyone!!

^ it's funny Geno, last time on Lavon I got skunked and ended up tying up to a big tree and 'star fishing' 4 rigs in every direction.

Not a bite or a breath of wind, but it was truly blissful.

(short movie)
https://maddbrit.smugmug.com/Family/Retirement-in-Allen/i-PH2mSmm/A

Good luck on Texoma, and say hi to Henry for me.

Awesome thread!

#1 In my opinion is time on the water. Learning the patterns of fish in the water bodies you fish frequently. Since this can also lead to learning how the fish move around on most other water bodies as well. I have definitely learned one valuable lesson doing this. Just because you find the bait, DOES NOT mean you will find the fish.....which used to be the gold standard for catfishing. I can't tell you the number of times I have found massive schools of shad on Whitney, up in coves near ledges, very close to lots of structure, suspended in depths the fish were being caught at in other areas of the lake, and they were just hanging out there, not being threatened by a single predatory species.

Maybe shad aren't as dumb as we think they are. LOL

Z, you are spot on with that. I've learned that there are huge areas that will be covered, and I mean COVERED with shad and not a single fish chasing them. It goes to show that fish are way more complex than I thought when I first started getting into blue cat'n. I think that blue cats look for certain conditions to feed in. Obviously, they're opportunistic and find those areas that give them the biggest bang for their buck. Lazy and smart equals fat toads!

Time on the water. Well said. I've got to figure out how to get more time on the water. I've tried to talk my wife into us buying a houseboat and moving into a marina. She's literally not on board!

My lovely wife thinks she has probably lost me to this game - hah!

Intelligent, perceptive woman...