The Perfect Depth for Catfish
John E. Phillips 05.31.12
Successful catfish catchers know where the cats are, what they want to eat, and which method of angling will put the catfish on their tables.
My fishing buddy Allen O’Dell was less than successful when he tried to capture cats. He fished all summer and took only a few catfish. “But I noticed one old river rat always had a mess of catfish,” O’Dell explains. “I couldn’t figure out how he was doing it. Finally, I asked him how he loaded-up on no-scales. ‘It’s real simple,’ he told me. ‘All you have to do is find the depth in which the cats are traveling, and you can catch them.’”
Well, that was all the advice O’Dell could weasel out of the old man, and it wasn’t much. At that time, O’Dell primarily fished for bass, so luck and knowledge about catfish were absent from his fishing plan. However, this particular summer, he made up his mind to stock his freezer with savory-tasting catfish. He studied about what he already knew about fishing for catfish.
A New Game Plan
O’Dell knew the right depth was critical to catching bass in the summer and was familiar with angling different depths to find bass. He began to redevelop his game plan to locate catfish.
Using the depth sounder on his boat, O’Dell searched out different depths in the river. He set out one trotline running from the bank to 10 feet deep to learn if the catfish were shallow. A second line that ran from 10 to 20 feet deep gave him a middle-depth report, and a third line set-out in 20 to 30 feet of water told him if the cats were deep. As he ran the lines the next day, O’Dell decided to try to pinpoint the magic depth even closer. When the lines came up, O’Dell watched his depth sounder. Each time a cat was captured, O’Dell made a mental note of the exact depths where each cat was holding. When the three-line test was finished, O’Dell had discovered that 15 to 20 feet was the cat-catching zone on that day. “I took up all three lines and began to ride the river hunting 15 to 20 foot-deep water,” O’Dell reports. “When I discovered it, I set out lines. The number of catfish I caught was amazing. Today each time I go to the river, I spend the time to check the depths first to catch more cats.”
Check out the second part of this series, on catching cats in fast-moving water, here.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
