November 6th: The past few weeks have been on fire for both quantity and quality. This is typical of the mid fall bite when water temps hit low 70's/upper 60s. Bait scatters throughout the depths, making the catfish very active. However, this has been a very short fall, at least on the water. Surface water temps have started to drop dramatically, 10 degrees in the past 8 days, now in the upper 50s. Within 2 weeks, the deeper water temps will also get into the 50s, which then becomes a "winter pattern" of anchored up fish. As with every year, on November 1, TVA started dropping Watts Bar to winter pool levels (targeted for December 1st), which will further slow down the bite. Tough weather has recently caused 3 clients to cancel 3 charter trips and missed opportunities to take advantage of what has been a great fall bite.

Water Temperatures have dropped to winter levels (mid to high 40's), and the water flow-current is erratic, which means the catfishing is slow. However, they can still be caught. Setting up on structure for an hour, move, repeat, is the most successful winter technique. Mid - Morning to Mid afternoon trips are the best time to be on the water to catch big cats at their most active.

There are certain times of the year to consider if planning ahead to go catfishing. I have ranked them from Best to Worst based upon experience of LOCAL waters and focused on large blue catfish. The Best #1: Mid June to Late August: Blue Cats spawn locally from May to June. They do not all spawn at the same time, but a percentage will be in spawn mode from May to mid June. When they come out of spawn (almost all by Mid June), they are hungry and active. Catfish do not eat (much) during spawn, and are instead driven to spawn and fight in shallow water and soft banks. Males are the last to come off of the nest. We usually see/catch large, scared up and extra slimy males in the middle of June. Early on, they tend to be scattered but are actively eating and on the move. Later, in Mid July throughout August, the cats tend to anchor up in deeper water wait for bait rather than going after them. This presents a good opportunity to catch cats in concentrated areas. #2: Late March into April. Blue Catfish come up from the colder deep waters into shallow waters and secondary channels staging for spawn where bait is plentiful as they bulk up for the upcoming spawn. Although the number of Cats caught is not as high, the cats that you do catch can be true trophies. Knowing the contours, flats, banks, and structure is key to scoring a pre-spawn Cat. It is this time of year that many bass anglers catch Catfish on artificial lures as these anglers target shallower water, active presentation, near structure. #3: September to Mid November. As the surface temps start to cool, baitfish tend to come up to shallower water in schools to feed and bulk up, with the cats close behind. Shallower flats and creek channels, especially in the hours around sunrise and sunset, can be very effective areas. The Worst: #1. May-First week of June. May is a great time to be on the water for comfortable weather, but not good for catfishing for larger catfish. Catfish can be caught in numbers, but expect them to be less than 10 lbs. Those smaller cats are either too young or cannot compete for spawning areas. If fishing this time of year, your best bet is the anchor up, target flatheads (which spawn later) and be very patient, or be okay with catching smaller blue cats. #2: Mid November Through February: Catfish do eat in winter, but are much less active as they conserve energy. You can expect the overall fishing numbers caught of both larger and smaller cats to decrease. Anchoring up in and around deep structure is your best bet, as is targeting 2 hours after/before Sunrise/Sunset. Big Cats can be caught, but patience / time is required. #3: 2 days before and after a full moon (unless fishing at night). A full moon tends to make the bait very active in the middle of the night. A full or near full moon is a great time to night fish during the summer months for Catfish and other species, but it hurts daytime fishing. There are other conditions besides time of year that can improve or worsen your chances at catching big cats. >Times of drought, which causes a lack of water flow, causes all fishing to slow down. Conversely, times of good rain presents good opportunity. >Unusually warm weather during the winter can turn on the bait fish and consequently the catfish bite. >Increases in flow / current can turn on a bite. Decreases in flow / current tend to slow it down. There are tactics to both take advantage of the good times, and to mitigate the less than good times. Catfish CAN BE CAUGHT YEAR ROUND. Being both a Charter boat Captain locally, as well as a Charter boat client for offshore fishing, there is nothing more frustrating than scheduling a trip well in advance, only to have weather or conditions worsen just before or during the trip. I will work with you on rapid rescheduling as needed / if possible.

During Spawn, large catfish will not eat and are instead busy spawning and fighting in 2-10 ft of water. Although catfish do not all spawn at the same time, the 6 week window associated with spawn is a difficult time to catch large fish. On Watts Bar Lake, large females started being caught during the second week of June, with larger males 2 weeks thereafter. From now until mid August is a great time to target post spawn big catfish in the deeper sections of the river/lake as they are skinny and hungry! That being said, June has been one of the driest on record, which has caused no flow of water from the various creeks that feed Watts Bar. In addition, TVA is not releasing much water through the Tennessee River systems dams. Low/No Flow means the catfish are not on the move actively feeding and are instead "anchored" to the bottom of the deeper sections of the lake/river. As such, you have to put the bait on their nose rather than letting them run into you. Fortunately, I have found some good water to do just that. See attached pictures here and in customer reviews of large yet skinny catfish from some of the June fishing charter trips.

Water Temps starting to rise on the bar right on time. 53 around Caney yesterday (warmer in the shallows). Saw a lot of bait in 25 ft of water up out of the main channel and several successful bass anglers taking advantage. This Catfish angler was also successful, 4 caught in a short period of time, including this 30 pounder. Got the skunk off of the new MadKatz Bulldog rod. Skipjack and a rare (caught yesterday) Red Horse Sucker for bait. Cmon spring.

Took 2 excellent clients out for a morning trip, no moon, perfect conditions, and yet the bite was very slow. Water temps are dropping very fast (less than 60F at surface) which are pushing the bait fish hard. My observations and those of other catfish anglers seem to suggest that afternoon trips are best when the bait fish run up to the shallows. Even though slow my client caught a 59 1/2 inch Dinosaur Lake Sturgeon. Amazing catch, a unicorn in these waters.