Has anyone caught any bigger cats on braunig. say anything over 10lbs? i've seen pics of some big ones, and have fished there for a number of years, but have so far never caught one bigger than around 7lbs. I've been usin the same tactics i use to catch big cats on calaveras, but haven't connected yet. anyone know areas or methods better than the rest?

Erich

several years ago, i saw a guy bring a nice cat up to the weigh station. it went 25lbs. with all the shad and tilapia in there, there ought to be some huge ones in there.

There are, or at least were. I grew up fishing the two lakes. We caught several monsters on Braunig. Our favorite spot for night cat-fishing was along the rock bank that comes out from the plant. There is a hole about 20 feet out from the wall that always had fish in it.

Wow I know exactly which hole you are talking about. I have had some good luck there quite a few years ago, but not on cats it was stripers in the spring, I might have to try there again.

matt

there are a lot of areas i've been wanting to try still, just haven't had the time to do it. but we fish the very early mornings out there fairly regularly over the summer. so they're bound to turn up. it took us a couple yrs to figure out how to catch the big ones on calaveras too. but once you find them you don ever know what you'll pull out next.

Erich

Maybe too early yet for this tactic, but I have done good on bigger catfish in shallow water adjacent to the jetty just beyond that first cove. I freeline shad in super shallow water, near reeds and around stickups. Right now though, I would try drifting near the end of the jetty or around the dam in 25 feet or less. Like you, I have done well there on 5-10 lb channel cats but haven't done much on blues.

when you say the first cove, which one are you talkin about. there are those two low concrete walls that are cabled off now where people used to striper fish, then there is sort of a small stretch of jetty and a cover there i think i remember. then you travel down the length of the marina side of the jetty, and down the opposite side into that other pocket. we usually fish from the point of the jetty back to that pocket, and then all the way down that other stretch of bank to the intake. most fish have come right at the point. although there is some trees or somethin in the water about 50-60yds down teh intake side about 20yds off the jetty in the water. its abotu 25ft deep. i get stuck on it all the time drifting for reds. been wanting to fish it for catfish. also seems like the bigger cats i've caught have come on liver perch. lotta smaller ones on shad though.

Erich

Erich,

If you go straight out to the jetty from the launch ramp, and keep going until you see the bottom start to get shallower, there will be a small cove on the right. There, along that bank, are lots of fallen timber and reeds. I freeline shad up as shallow as I can there and catch stripers and cats. I have seen the stripers in there so shallow that their backs are out of the water. The cats I was catching would flop as they attacked the bait, and I would see that before detecting the strike, then the fish would head to deeper water. I lost about as many as I caught, and I know I lost some well over 10lbs. I ended up with about 60lbs of catfish in 9 fish, and 3 stripers and a tilapia I caught in a cast net. The shad are thick near the lights on the jetty at night, so much so that I have often gone to Braunig, netted shad and trailered and gone to Calaveras to fish.

I plan on being at Braunig Monday or Tuesday night (or both). You got me itching darn it heh