Fishing the Missouri for cats

[Cat Hunter]

I do a lot of river bank fishing in Nebraska, mainly the Missouri and the Platte river for catfish. My problem is finding heavy structure and deep holes, where the bigger cats hold. How would one find these hot spots without the advantages of having a boat and electronics?

I have noticed vortex pools that apear from time to time in some areas. Are these the areas I need to target or am I reading the river wrong.

In the Missouri we do have rock peirs that look like fingers off the bank that create reverse flow within the coves. I have targeted these areas on the back side out of the current of the main river with no luck.

I have lugged tons of tackle, poles and bait for miles through forests and steep banks stopping every so often and throwin, in search for mr. wiskers. I do fair for anything in the 1-15 pound range but nothing worth getting excited about.
Any advice would be greatly admired.

BTW -I love the show. I have got all my fishing buddies watching!

[Henry Schmidt]

Man you fish some beautiful river. I used to watch in fascination, old In-Fishermen shows with Doug Stange and Otis Smith catching flatheads there. Ive dreamed of fishing there ever since. I once had all the articles that Stange wrote about the 2 of them fishing, but lost them all in Hurricane Charley.

[catfishpat10]

In my experience, Flatheads will indeed hold in deep pools but often feed at night on relatively shallow flats that are in close proximity to those pools. Active fish will also feed on the face of those rock "fingers" you describe. The current may seem strong but that rock forms a cushion just in front of it that lessens the current dramatically and forms a nice feeding lane.

Find a shallow flat that is near a big wood and rock laden pool and set up camp there. I have caught very large Flatheads in as little as 3 feet of water on spots like this.

I hope this helps!

-pat

[Cat Hunter]

We have blues, channels, and flatties.
I love them all!


Henry Schmidt---
Do you remember around what year the episodes were taped or showed by chance?
Also i'm sorry to hear about your loss!

Catfishpat10---
Maybe it's the rigging method that im using. This is my gear and how I rig it.

--9' med-heavy Berkley GlowStick, it lights up bright blue and glows green when off. Pretty slick for night fishing.
--King Cat 2 spinning reel
--40# Big Game line

-On the bottom is a 6* circle hook
-above that anywhere between 6" to 18" leader depending on how swift the current that i'm fishing at.
-above that is a swivel
-above that is anywhere between a 2oz to 8oz lead egg or pancake weight.

I like to have a large selection of bait when i'm fishing.
I use jared shad sides (good lord that stuff stinks!), Small to large live creek chubs, Cut creek chubs, Chicken liver, Night crawlers, field mice, hotdogs, shrim if I have the extra money, and various stink baits.
Thats about it.

Thanks everyone for the friendly advice!
What do you think Larry?

[Henry Schmidt]

That was many years ago, late 80's and early 90's I'd say. Long before the Lindners sold In-Fisherman.

[catfishpat10]

Stick with fresh cut baitfish for blues and channels and large live baitfish for flatheads. Leave everything else at home and your chances at hooking into a giant will increase greatly!


-pat

[Cat Hunter]

I plan on catching some bluegill and using them for flatheads. What kind of rig and size/kind of hooks should I use. Also where would I hook the bluegill so its presentable and easy to hook the flatheads.
Will they work if the bluegill is dead?
Is there a particular way to keep them alive in a bucket.

It's tough keeping the bait where I want it cause the current is so swift. It gets expensive using a ton of lead weight and getting snagged.

Thanks guys for the advice!

[catfishpat10]

You can hook bluegill behind the dorsal fin. To keep them alive, buy a battery operated aerator and keep them cool by throwing a plastic pop bottle with ice in it into the bait bucket.

If the current is so swift that it is difficult to hold your rig in place, you are not in an ideal place for flatheads. They prefer deep, lazy pools in the day time and move onto shallow flats to feed at night. Swift runs are better suited to fishing for blues.

As far as rigging goes, use 8/0 to 10/0 Owner SSW circle hooks. A 3 way rig can be used effectively where hang ups are not an issue or anytime you are using bullheads as bait (the 3-way prevents them from digging into the bottom). In heavy cover, just put on a sliding sinker followed by a bead and finally your hook, no leader.

-pat

-pat

[dahlberg]

I like live and fresh bait. In current try sewing floss through nostrils of bait and around hook shank. More streamlined in the water so it stays down better. Can't beat circle hook for cats IMO. size depends on cat and bait! surprising how small a hook will do the job, and too big can poke out eyeballs.
3-way is hard to beat for control.
fish the best deepest thickest cover next to current.
best,
L