So I read on here and it seems a lot of folks spend a lot of money chasing these guys.
I assume if your going after big blues or flatheads then spend bucks on quality gear may
sure enough be a necessity but if channels are your target then this is not a difficult or expensive thing from a boat.
Most every rod and reel I have I picked up at garage sales for less than $10. My favorite rod has the the last section
broke off. (Dang tail gate!)
I fish either Fork or Pines almost always. Pines I usually fish 15-20 ft and Fork usually 20-25 ft.
Here's what I do and seldom do I not have a limit before noon, many days before 9am. There are occasional days when fishing is tougher
but that that is rare. I find a spot in the lake close to a channel with some bottom structure at the depths I mentioned. I use my cheap $70 depth finder for this.
Obviously, once you find places you can just go there. I get the boat set up and throw TWO handfuls of range cubes over the side where I plan to fish.
Some times I will also throw in about one cup of soured hen scratch. My rods will be rigged with open face reels (usually garcias that I picked up at garage sales for little $)
and 20lb line. I Carolina rig with about 10-12inches of leader line and a treble hook ( Usually fairly small trebles). I use small egg sinkers, I find the less weight the easier to feel the bite.
For bait, I use a punch bait that I absolutely love. The fish love it and it doesn't come off easily. ( one time I caught 5 cats before I rebated! Thats just nuts!) Use whatever bait you are fond of.
There are plenty of good baits out there. Most folks in East Texas swear by Stubby's. Usually I find the fish about 1-2 cranks up from the bottom but I have found them at all different depths.
If I am by myself I usually take one of them fiberglass cane poles and just hang it across the boat with a bobber set about 6-7 foot deep. There have been times that this pole becomes the most active and if you get a 2-3 lb fish on that pole its a hoot getting him in.
All of this to say, catching channels can be a cheap way to fish and just a little practice and you can fill the boat up. I am a high school teacher and I have taken many students out fishing (some for their first time)
And most of them caught a ton of fish and loved it!! Hopefully they are hooked and will continue to fish throughout their lifetimes. My son and I always have a blast when we go and the fishing action is almost always hot and heavy ....and cheap.

Great Post Man. Hope Your Success Continues.

Great advice

Awesome advice.

Take a kid fishing!

Nice write up, nice work. Keep it simple - and cheap... and enjoy!

Ken

Yes sir, Channel Catn is cheap and easy. That’s exactly how most of us got started in the Catfishing game. When I was a kid we would sour up bags of Milo and Wheat from broken bags we’d buy from the Feed Mill for $1.50 and use whatever bait we could get that was free. Hot Dogs Weaner out of the fridge, Cotton Wood Beetles off the trees, potato bugs out the garden, crawfish out the ditch, grasshoppers out of the field, ghost minnows with the seining net, they ate any and all of it.

I find your complete post to be spot on. Channels are cheap and easy, I could load the boat with them on my home lake most any day. They would be small and too fat though. However, four or five fishing trips a year are plenty for me, and I don’t own a boat anymore. Can’t justify the expense for as little as I fish. So….I choose to go catfishing on Fork with Littlewheel once or twice a year (bigger and better tasting fish) and crappie fishing with Slewfoot on whatever lake he wants to fish. That pretty well satisfies my fishing desires, and if that’s not enough, I can go with Brickmaker and outfish him ! One reason, maybe the best reason, to go with Littlewheel is it is laid back fishing but nearly nonstop action. My wife is not a fisherwoman but she likes to fish out of the Catfish Cadillac. My sis-in-law was introduced to it a couple years ago and now she wants to go each time she visits from ND. It’s easier on the pocketbook than owning a boat and maintaining it IMO. Not arguing, just a different point of view.

This is a good reminder for those of us that get caught up in all the gear and fuss over chasing the big trophy blues and flatheads. Sometimes we might need to just go do things just as you have described to remind us what it's all about. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys for all the kind words. My point was just to let folks know you just don't
have to spend a lot of money to catch fish and a lot of them at that. Didn,t mention that
my boat is a large flat bottom over 35 years old that I wouldn't trade for the world!
Happy fishing and good luck to all of you.

One of my favorite things to do is go cane poling for catfish. I have heard it stated as hand to hand combat with catfish

That's how you go fishing. Some people that don't fish much think you have to have a $60,000 bass boat, $200 rods, a jacket with sponsor patches, etc. and that's "what fishing is." That's not what fishing is. Fishing is what you described.

Great post and great advice.

I can only speak for myself and not anyone else but I typically do fish with nicer equipment. Not top of the line, but not bargain basement either. The reason why is simple, because that's what I want to fish with. There's nothing wrong with using garage sale equipment. I did it for years. Now i'm fortunate that I can spend a little money on gear. As for my boat...bought it for $5k from a guy here on this forum. Works just like the expensive boats.

I would caution folks not to judge either way. If you're running a $60k rig and fishing with $200 rods don't judge the guy who isn't. Same for the guys using less expensive equipment...Just because someone is running a $60k boat and using $200 rods doesn't mean they think that's required. just means that's what they want and they can afford it. To each their own.

For my opinion is fish with what you want to but I consider the line first and foremost.
Forget the fancy reels it's the line, the connection between you and the fish that is the most important.
Spend your money on quality line and you'll not regret it!

Tightlines, I use the same method and nearly the same tackle. (older baitcast reels that I no longer use for anything else.) Still serviceable though. I fish Fork and find a half dozen spots that regularly produce cats and fish them in no particular order.
I am at Fork from November-May. The cat fishing is slower, but still productive and fun. If you want to go fishing sometime let me know and we will hook some up.