| Drift fishing is the name of a popular technique | | | | time. You'll need a boat, obviously, and possibly a |
| used for catching all types of fish, and catfish are | | | | drift fishing "drag", like a parachute, or a small and |
| no exception. In fact, as cats mostly live in | | | | very quiet electric trolling motor, to slow your |
| moderate to high current situations, drift fishing | | | | surface drift speed to match the more languid |
| can be a very effective means of catfishing. | | | | pace down below, where ideally, we want to allow |
| Especially, if you are fishing in a long stretch of | | | | the bait to float and tumble in a deceptively lifelike |
| water, and are unsure of the location of the fish, | | | | fashion, to get the most attention from the cats. |
| or in cases of questionably heavy bottom cover, | | | | Drifting too fast, and pulling your bait, becomes |
| where bottom rigs are continuously fouled and | | | | more like trolling, and greatly reduces your |
| snagged, drift fishing is a top solution to enjoying | | | | likelihood of bagging a cat. |
| a peaceful float along the waterway, and covering | | | | Line weighting for drift fishing is a touchier |
| a lot of ground while fishing, with little chance of | | | | subject, as the size and type of bait you are |
| snagging, once the correct fishing depth is | | | | using, the tendency of your line to float or sink, |
| attained. | | | | and your drift speed will all influence the depth at |
| Most cats require acclimatization to an "odd" bait, | | | | which your bait will "want" to drift at. Bigger baits |
| and so, are cautious around many fabricated baits, | | | | tend to sink fairly well all by themselves, but |
| making drift fishing with these baits sometimes | | | | smaller or more buoyant baits will need some |
| less effective, but big cats will often strike a | | | | weighting to get then down where they can be |
| naturally-occurring bait as a matter of opportunity, | | | | found by the catfish. |
| as it drifts along past them. | | | | Cats, however, are extremely sensitive to the |
| Once they are bigger, Channel Catfish and Blue | | | | feel of a weight associated with the bait, and will |
| Catfish, especially, are both almost exclusively | | | | spit the bait out within a couple of seconds, or |
| fish-eating species, and will seek out a | | | | faster, if they can sense the unusual nature of |
| nicely-presented dead fish (four or five inches | | | | what they are taking - remember, that cats |
| long, and somewhat stinky) as it is drift-fished | | | | "see"up close, almost entirely with their sense of |
| past their hideaway, as this is just how their | | | | touch. For this reason, use as small of a sinker as |
| favorite food shows up in nature.... drifting into | | | | you can get away with, to weight your line, and |
| their space with the current. | | | | ideally, simply increase your bait size, or its |
| Drift fishing for cats, like all catfish pursuit, is best | | | | buoyancy, to make it dive, rather than using |
| done in late evening and overnight, though it is not | | | | sinkers for drift fishing. It's all about the lifelike |
| impossible to get a bite during the day, if your | | | | presentation of the bait, here. |
| bait happens to be in the right place, at the right | | | | |