Cat Fishing at night on any lake, what do you look for ?

[dryhorn2]

Thinking about doing a little catfishing tonight, need some pointers on where to start, what areas to look for ( rocky banks or points, how deep of water, and so on... What baits to use ?

 

[NRG]

At night cats generally move shallower to feed, I favor flats very near deep water, say flats of 6-10 feet of water near 20 -60 feet nearby. Outside and Inside bends in river channel, these bends have stronger current , and concentrate bait fish, and the game fish that are after them. Baits basically if it stinks in works lol, chicken liver, cut shad, bluegill, chicken boneless in general, Live bluegill, or suckers, or shad, also good, and you may even nail monster bass or striper on the live baits as well as monster cats.

 

[foodsaver]

cut skipjack is the bait of choice for me although I use CB some too. I focus on the same kind of spots that I use during the day and seem to have pretty good luck.

 

[dtw2]

Well if I couldn't catch a LM bass I would fish for catfish too.emoPoke emoTongue emoUpsmile emoEek emoDance emoDance

 

[polo-dog]

Like NRG said, flats with quick drops to deep water are the best places to fish for cats day or night. Deep water humps are also great places to fish. Anything that will break the current will hold cats in my experience. A topographic map is the key to success in fishing for cats in the summer. It's next to impossible to predict what is under the water without one. There is just so much water out there and if you have to fish it to find out what the bottom is like you are spending too much time figuring it out. Find bottom contours that look good on the maps and then fish them for specific areas where the fish stack up.