Catfishing at Night

Catfishing at Night

Tips For catfish success at night

Some look forward to starry summer nights for love and gazing at the stars with that someone special. Stealing a kiss by the river's edge with the water glistening under the stars. The last time I had such an opportunity I found myself thinking... "Man this would be a great night for catfishing!"

O.K. So romantic I ain't. But I do love catfish. And a hot starry night is perfect for catching a few good channel cats or even some blue catfish. Catfishing at night during the summer not only provides a break from angling during the hot summer days, but there are also less competing anglers. It's not likely the recreational boaters will aggravate you while catfishing at night either.

Here Are some things that will help you do better when catfishing at night. First, a very powerful disadvantage to night fishing is the lack of light. You won't be able to tell where you are as well as you can in daylight. So it is important you get to know the areas you will be catfishing at night as well as you can during daytime. Scouting the fishing areas in the day helps tremendously, however, remember your depth perception will low at night. If maps are available, study them. Try to find deep drop-offs close to the banks, aswell as submerged structure such as fallen trees, logs and rocks. These structures can produce a lot of catfish in rivers and reservoirs alike.

Before nightfall, use the last few daylight hours to scout around some more. If you have it available, use sonar to find and mark promising drop-offs and underwater structure. Find at least five places to catfish that night. Your sonar will often allow you to mark individual fish, sometimes three or four big catfish. They won't travel far during the day, but at night the catfish will move out to feed. Try to find nearby flats where the fish will possibly feed. This is a good time to mark areas that might cause problems for navigation while catfishing at night. Areas of shallow water on the flats and along approach and departure routes.