Keep it Simple for Small Water Cats

With all the technology marketed to catfishermen today, you’d think catfish were as difficult to locate and catch as walleye or musky. Several major boat manufacturers are selling specialized catfishing boats with fully networked precision trolling systems and side-imaging sonar. These technical innovations and cutting edge presentations are driving explosive growth in the catfishing industry, and it can be difficult to keep up with the latest gear. To this I say, “To heck with keeping up with the Joneses! Just keep it simple!” The tried and true small water tactics I’m about to describe have filled buckets and stringers for generations and will continue to catch fish long after I’m gone.

In West Central Iowa, catfish season starts after spring rains, high water, and rising water temperatures trigger the annual pre-spawn migration upriver. In this part of the state, the major branches of the Raccoon River and their tributaries experience this migration, and savvy anglers have nearly unlimited fishing opportunities at this time. That being said, the migration of flathead and especially channel catfish from Lake Panorama into the Middle Raccoon River system is especially dramatic. These fish migrate 20 river miles and more, passing first through the “Ghost Town” of Fansler and then on to Coon Rapids. During years with sustained high water, catfish can make it as far north as the Middle ‘Coon headwaters near Carroll when rock dams and other obstructions are submerged. Depending on the weather and water conditions, fishing for these travelers typically starts in mid-April to early May.

Catching these small water cats doesn’t require fancy electronics and gear. Start by picking up a medium power rod like the Whisker Seeker Catfish and Carp series. Pair this with a medium spinning or casting reel spooled with Whisker Seeker 35 lb braid. These streams are rarely more than 10 feet deep, and you’re not covering a lot of water, so line capacity isn’t a huge concern. The extra horsepower provided by the braid will help mitigate snags and break offs as well. Most importantly, this combo will allow you to horse the biggest fish in the creek while still providing a satisfying bend in the rod and formidable battle.   Make sure to pack a quality long handled net like the Whisker Seeker Xtn to improve odds of landing fish from steep cut banks and bridges.

Terminal tackle should include hooks to match the preferred bait and fish size, and the Whisker Seeker Triple Threat Catpack Combo has enough hooks in various sizes for a whole season. In addition to hooks, make sure to stock up on a variety of split shots and slip sinkers to adapt to current speed and water depth.   Later in the season when waters recede and clear up, you’ll want to pick up slip floats and bobber stops. Throw all this and your favorite pliers, scissors, and filet knife into a sturdy 5 gallon bucket, jump into your favorite rubber boots and you’re off to the races.

During the early season, presenting your bait just off the bottom increases bites. Channel cats have an overbite, and keeping baits out of the mud improves scent dispersion and makes it easier for the fish to slurp them up. There are many different ways to achieve this, but I like to keep it as simple as possible by using a slip sinker rig.. Start by sliding a slip sinker on your line, using just enough weight to hold your sinker on the bottom. This may take a little trial and error to perfect depending on current speed and depth. This time of year high water can also include a lot of sticks, grass, and corn stalks, and a heavier than normal weight may be required. Next, tie a barrel swivel on the line below the sinker, and attach around 18” of braided line or monofilament leader if you want a little extra shock absorption. As a rule of thumb, a shorter leader is best when there’s more current and longer leaders work better in slower water. Following this guidance will help prevent excessive line twist and should also help reduce snagging. If you’re not using a swivel, set your leader length by simply pinching a split shot on the line at the desired length. Finally, tie on a hook that matches the intended bait and potential size of catfish. This time of year night crawlers and cut creek chubs are the baits of choice, so my go-to hooks are either the 4/0 Whisker Seeker Triple Threat or Offset Super-J depending on how I’m fishing. All line connections should be secured with Palomar knots.

One of the best places to target migrating pre-spawn fish is from bridges on lazy back country roads. Bridge pilings, and the debris that collects above and below them, create current breaks, holes, and cover that provide ideal ambush spots for cats to dart out, grab a quick meal, and retreat safely out of the main flow. Very often, steep cut banks, jumbled rip rap, deep holes, and grassy points can be found immediately downstream from bridges and these features concentrate fish. To target the most active and aggressive cats, cast your bait so that it settles just upstream from these features, preferably just out of the main flow. Next, simply lean your rod on the bridge railing, take a seat on a bucket or lawn chair, and wait for that signature bump followed by a steady pull on the rod tip.  

When a fish picks up the bait, you have two choices depending on your hook choice. If you’re using a Triple Threat or circle hook, pick up the rod and turn the handle a couple times to tighten the line. Keep the pressure on with the rod and let the hook do the work to hook the fish. When using a Super-J or similar straight shank hook, pick up the rod, point it at the fish, turn the handle a couple turns to tighten the line, and initiate a sweeping “jerk” upwards to set the hook. Keep the pressure on the fish at the top of the rod arc to reduce the odds of the hook pulling out and losing the fish. To improve your odds of landing a chunky spring cat, have someone with a long handled net along the bank to scoop them out of the flow when they’re played out, rather than trying to swing them over the bridge railing. A five pound catfish can stress the heck out of rods, reels, and line as it flips and flops in midair, and they can also easily toss the hook if you try to reel them up like an elevator to the bridge platform.

As the season progresses and high waters begin to recede, catfish spawning begins (typically during the month of June). At this point, it’s time to leave the bridges behind and start walking, wading, or floating creeks and tributaries to find the best holes. The presentation doesn’t change too much during this time; continuing to fish slip sinkers or a couple heavy split shots to keep baits in place and suspended just off the bottom. However, to reduce carp and bullhead strikes, leave the worms at home and switch to live or dead creek chubs and minnows. My Dad’s all-time favorite bait for small water cats was 3 creek shiners or fathead minnows threaded on a number 2 long shank Aberdeen hook. There isn’t a self-respecting catfish alive that can pass on this offering.

For my circle of Whisker Seekers, the peak of catfishing season occurs when spawning is over, typically just before or after the 4th of July. By this time water levels have usually stabilized and muddy torrents have cleared up. Most importantly, by early to mid July juvenile leopard frogs have shed their tails and left the water for damp grassy areas. Once the leopard frog run starts, it’s time to leave the sinkers at home and bust out the slip bobbers. If you’ve never walked, floated, or waded a stretch of river with a frog under a float, you’re in for a treat! When the cats are snapping, it’s common to catch 2 or 3 man bag limits within hours on the right stretch of river. If summer rains temporarily turn the water to chocolate milk, simply switch back to the slip sinker rig with a frog on the bottom to keep catching fish.

There are a few keys to properly presenting a leopard frog under a slip bobber. First, make sure the float you use is buoyant enough for the weight of the frog and a couple medium split shots. The Whisker Seeker non-weighted floats are a fantastic choice. After you slip on a bobber stop, bead, and float, add just enough weight to guarantee your bobber stays vertical in the current. Along those lines, don’t set the float too deep. On most stretches of the river this time of year, 2 feet is the maximum you want to set the stop. Again, this will keep the float upright and help you differentiate between strikes and hang ups. When you do get hung up on the bottom or in the weeds, a few twitches of the rod should free your bait long enough to find deeper water.  

When fishing frogs, my favorite hook is a number 2 long shank Aberdeen. These fine wire hooks allow you to thread the frog onto your hook through the mouth and body with the point exiting its rear end. This presentation gives the frog an extremely natural look, allows the legs to kick when you jig it, and enables the bait to slide up your hook and line during a hookup so it can be used again. The gold hooks will also straighten easily when you snag up, saving you the time and frustration of re-tying your set. The ideal cast when using a frog and slip bobber lands your bait on the edge of a cut bank or grassy point, allowing you to plop the bait in the water with a slight twitch of your rod followed by a small splash. When executed properly, this technique mimics the escape reflex of a live frog jumping in the water and will immediately trigger any nearby catfish. When that float vanishes, simply turn the handle to tighten the line and set the hook!        

The best way to gather a supply of leopard frogs is to look for them on dewy mornings in low-lying areas with short to medium length grass. Bogs, swamps, and small creeks flowing through grazed pastures are ideal areas to search. While it’s possible to catch them by hand, the most efficient way is to build a frog swatter, which is indeed very similar to a fly swatter. The basic design is a flexible 3-4 foot switch handle (doubled pieces of lathe, golf club shaft, etc…) with a 6-8 inch rectangular piece of rubber (think small mud flap) or wire mesh attached to the business end. When a frog is spotted, simply reach out and slap them with the swatter set to “stun”. There is no need to use a tomahawk chop or piledriver stroke for this work. Ideally, you only daze the frogs to make them easy to pick up and feed into the mouth of a plastic soda bottle. When done correctly, the frogs become extremely lively and active again in a few moments. If you’re too rough with them, my recommendation is to freeze the dead and dying for use later. The plastic soda bottle works great for storing your frogs and try to find one with the standard size mouth. This will allow you to shake one frog out at a time and head first. Once you have one secured, give it a quick thwack on the head to stun it, and you won’t have any trouble baiting your hook.

I don’t hate technology, and I often employ all the fancy tools mentioned at the start of this article when probing area lakes for summertime panfish and walleyes. However, when it comes to catfishing, my favorite tactics are still those passed on by my Dad and Father-in-Law on the small creeks and rivers in West Central Iowa. While the average size is going to be smaller (1-5 pounds) on these waters, the numbers can be astonishing, and cats over 5 pounds are still relatively common on the ‘Coon and its tributaries. During the month of May, I can’t think of anything better than sitting on a bridge in Greene County with my wife and daughters watching a couple of rod tips and a dazzling spring sunset.