Catfishing Gear For Sale

I am trying to clea out my barn, garage, boat etc and get some stuff out of my way as well as replace some equipment. This is just a starter list and will add more as I can get to it.

If your interested email me at texascatfishguide@sbcglobal.net items will be available for pickup in Saginaw I will probably schedule a date to be available or I can ship to you if you want to pay for shipping.

All items are in good condition unless otherwise noted. Reels could probably all use a cleaning but they are in good working condition. Some of these items have been used a couple of times, some of them have more use but they are all in good condition and priced fair.

I will discount if you buy multiple items.
fiAbu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6500C3 - Silver - $40
Abu Garcia 6600CB - Red - $40
Abu Garcia 6600CB - Red - $40
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur TGC6000 - red - $40
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur One 5000 - Like New - $30
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur One 5000 - Like New - $30
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur One 5000 - Like New - $30
8' Berkley Reflex Rods - (Appx 15) - Like New - $15
Guest 3 Bank Charger - Email me for details - $75
Ugly Stick CAL1100 7'6" ML - $12 (Excellent punch bait rod)
Ugly Stick CAL1100 7'6" ML - $12 (Excellent punch bait rod)
Ugly Stick CAL1100 7'6" ML - $12 (Excellent punch bait rod)
Ugly Stick CAL1100 7'6" ML - $12 (Excellent punch bait rod)
Ugly Stick Catfish Rod 7' - UCCA110170 - $10
Ugly Stick Catfish Rod 7' - UCCA110170 - $10
Berkley AIR IM7 A92-8-6-M 8'6 Steelhead Rod - $40 - used once
Berkley AIR IM7 A92-8-6-M 8'6 Steelhead Rod - $40 - used once
* These air IM7 rods run around $100 each
Berkley LRS661M Lightning Rod - 6'6" medium spinning $25 - used once
Eagle Claw Granger GRX 8'6" Steelhead Rod IM7 - $25 Each
Eagle Claw Granger GRX 8'6" Steelhead Rod IM7 - $25 Each
Eagle Claw Granger GRX 8'6" Steelhead Rod IM7 - $25 Each
Eagle Claw Granger GRX 8'6" Steelhead Rod IM7 - $25 Each
Berkley Reflex Rod - 9' (appx 5) $15 Each
Sure Shot Punch Bait 5 Gallons - Email Me
Sure Shot Punch Bait 4 Gallons - Email Me
Sure Shot Punch Bait 2 Gallons - Email Me
Sure Shot Punch Bait 1/2 Gallons - Email Me
Redneck's Catfish Bait Soap - 5 Gallon Scraps - Email Me
**This is EXCELLENT for chum but has dried out too much to use as bait
Eagle Claw #4 Treble Hooks - Box of 1000 - Probably 900-950 still in the box - $45

www.txcatfishguide.com
www.lewisvillefishingguide.com
www.catfishbaitsoap.com
www.whiskerkitty.com

North Texas Catfish Guide Video 2

North Texas Catfish Guide Service Video

This is part 1 of 3 from a Spring Catfishing TV Show North Texas Catfish Guide Service shot with my good friend Judy Rhoades from the Divas in the Outdoors a few years back. Part 2 and 3 will be posted soon.

I will also be adding some more shows that we shot with Judy and the Texas Divas.

This first clip is about 6 minutes long.

Catfish Bait Soap

We will resume shipping soon.

Watch the order page for updates at www.catfishbaitsoap.com

Chad Ferguson
www.catfishbaitsoap.com
www.txcatfishguide.com
www.whiskerkitty.com

Lake Lewisville White Bass Feeding Frenzy

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=2528185812236308496&hl=en">

North Texas Catfish Guide Service

This is a short video of Lake Lewisville White Bass in a Topwater Feeding Frenzy chasing around the shad on Lake Lewisville. This video was shot in the afternoon when all the boats cleared off the part of Lake Lewisville that we were on. These White Bass (Sandbass) came up in a school about 20 acres and stayed up for an extended period of time as we followed them across the lake. I shot a quick video of the schooling action

Catching Texas Trophy Blue Catfish with North Texas Catfish Guide Service

Client Larry Hamner from Waxahachie Texas fishing with North Texas Catfish Guide Service on a guided catfish fishing trip for Trophy Blue Catfish lands a big Texas Trophy Blue Catfish on Rod and Reel. We realease all catfish over 10 lbs after taking photographs. For more information on North Texas Catfish Guide Service visit www.txcatfishguide.com or call 817-946-1777

Cedar Creek Lake Fishing

Jack fished clients at Cedar Creek this past weekend and did pretty well. The catfish seem to be turning on. For more information go to www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Lewisville White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass

August 21st 2006
The white bass (sandbass) and hybrid striped bass fishing on Lewisville has been insane. The bite does not get any better than it is right now. Very exciting and 100+ fish trips are easy in the mornings with very little effort. I finally got the opportunity to do some catfishing also this weekend and we managed some nice Blue Catfish also. If your interested in getting in on a Lake Lewisville White Bass, Lake Lewisville Hybrid Striped Bass, Or Lake Lewisville Catfish fishing trip before the weather starts to cool off just give me a call at 817-946-1777.

More Free Catfishing Videos

August 16th 2006
Two new videos have been uploaded - Scooter Catches Winter Trophy Flathead Catfish - and Larry Hamner of Waxahachie Texas Catches 34.3 Lb Trophy Blue Catfish these are both good videos that show a good example of some winter Trophy Catfishing action.

http://www.txcatfishgguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_catfishvideo12.htm

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_catfishvideo11.htm

Lake Lewisville and Lake Fairfield Guided Fishing Trips

August 15th 2006
Lake Lewisville White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass fishing is still excellent. If you want to catch some good numbers of fish and some pole bender hybrids now is a great time to do so. Lake Lewisville Blue Catfish seem to be starting to produce some catches, but things are going to have to cool off some for things to really get fired up. I will post some photos of the new Lake Fairfield record Flathead Catfish we caught soon. I just need to get some time to get them added to the website. Lake Fairfield is producing nice redfish, flathead catfish and channel catfish on our Lake Fairfield guided fishing trips.

Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish Record

August 7th 2006
Jackie and Joe Moore caught a new Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish on August 5th that more than doubled the existing record on Lake Fairfield. The fish weighed in at 39.5 Lbs. I will post some pictures later on. I have not done any updated in a while because I spent a week at the coast in Port Bolivar (Crystal Beach) catching sharks and redfish and having some down time. I will post some pictures and information soon, I am gettingf some reports of some nice blue catfish being caught on Lewisville. I am going to try and do some catfishing later this week. The catfish bite should start picking up soon. We are already getting a lot of calls on Trophy Blue Catfish Trips for December, January and February so I suggest calling early if you want to get in on some of the Trophy Catfishing action this winter.

More Free Catfishing Videos

August 7th 2006
Some new videos have been added to the videos page. Lake Lewisville White Bass Feeding Frenzy and Catching Lake Lewisville White Bass (Sandbass)- and Claude Jones holding up 50 Lb Texas Flathead Catfish

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_catfishvideo10.htm
http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_catfishvideo9.htm
http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_catfishvideo8.htm

August Fishing in North Texas - Lewisville - Cedar Creek - Fairfield

July 30th 2006
Lake Lewisvile White Bass(Sandbass) are still biting good as well as the Lake Lewisville Hybrids. The weather seems to be effecting them some as we have had a few off days when the wind has died on us and fishing has not been as good on Lake Lewisville but all in all things have been excellent for white bass and hybrid striped bass. Jackie is still fishing Fairfield and producing good catches of Redfish and Flathead Catfish most evenings. Ran a catfish trip on Lake Lewisville this week and the catfish had lockjaw but should start picking up soon.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com
http://www.lewisvillefishingguide.com

Lake Lewisville Fishing

The White Bass (Sandbass) Fishing in Lake Lewisville and Hybrid Striped Bass fishing on Lake Lewisville has been excellent. If you want to take a trip and catch a LOT of fish in a short amount of time then right now is a great time to do so. We are also catching a lot of white bass on topwaters which is a lot if fun and very exciting way to fish. Hybrid Striped Bass to 23 have been pretty consistant. I had one trip early this week where I hooked a hybrid that was 18" or over on every cast for nine casts in a row. The White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass guided fishing trips on Lake Lewisville are lot's of fun, and we can fish in the early morning or late evening so it is not to hot and we can stay off the water during the heat of the day. I have also been setting out some juglines anc catching Blue Catfish to 25 Lbs on Juglines as well if anyone is interested in a Jug Fishing Trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. I also had another client catch a holstein catfish on Lake Lewisville this past weekend that went about 2 pounds. This is the second Holstein Catfish I have caught at Lake Lewisville this year. Jackie is running Redfish Trips at Lake Fairfield and the Redfish are biting excellent. He is also catchinng some Lake Fairfield Channel Catfish and Yellow Catfish in addition to the Lake Fairfield Freshwater Redfish. If anyone is interested in a trip for August just give me a call at 817-946-1777 and we can get something set up. We still have available dates open for August. We are also starting to get a lot of calls about Fall Cormorant Catfishing Trips and Winter Trophy Blue Catfish Trips as well and these dates are starting to book up. If your interested in a Winter Trophy Blue Catfish Fishing Trip just give me a call or email me.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com
http://www.lewisvillefishingguide.com

North Texas Catfish Guide Service Free Catfishing Videos

We are in the process of editing and uploading a bunch of videos that we have been wanting to get online for a couple of years. We finally found a host that we can use to host the videos where it does not cost us hundreds of dollars to have these videos online. It is a slow process trying to get all of these edited and added to the website but we are making some progress. Be sure to keep an eye on our Free Catfishing Videos Page for the videos we have up and like I said we will be working on adding more videos as well over the next few months and will try to add a couple of new videos each week. We have already added the Catfishing Video Claude Jones Lands a 50 Lb Texas Flathead Catfish which is a video of a Flathead Catfish that was caught on Cedar Creek Lake in the early spring that went just a little shy of 50 Lbs, Running The Lake with North Texas Catfish Guide Service is a short video of our Catfish Fishing Guide Boats running across the water in pursuit of Trophy Blue Catfish on a Winter Morning, we get a lot of questions from new clients about what kind of Catfishing Guide Boat we use on our North Texas guided fishing trips so we have added a Video Tour of one of our Fishing Guide Boats. Trophy Catfish Release is a short video clip releasing a Trophy Blue Catfish back into the Lake, Surfacing Gar is a video that shows hundreds of surfacing longnose gar on Lake Lewisville that were feeding on top and reallyu putting on a show, this is just an example of what we encounter on our guided fishing trips for Gar in North Texas, Catching Sandbass and Hybrid Striped Bass is a short Video of some clients catching white bass (sandbass, sandies) on one of our North Texas Guided Fishing Trips, Surfacing White Bass is a short video of Lake Lewisville Sandbass (Sandies, White Bass) schooling in a Topwater Feeding Frenzy on Lake Lewisville. There is a ton of free catfishing videos (catfish videos), sandbass videos, hybrid striped bass videos, gar videos and freshwater redfish videos to be added to the website so like I said check back often. We are also going to tro to add some short clips from some of our television shows with Fox Sports Southwest - Toyota Truck's Southwest Outdoors Report with Barry Stokes, The Diva's in The Outdoors Televison Show with the Texas Divas (Both the Catfish Contest Show and The Trophy Blue Catfish Show), The Trophy Catfishing Show with Bonita Staples, and some of the other great catfishing TV shows we have done over the past few years. We are also going to be shooting some more TV shows soon, so hopefully we can add them as well.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_videos.htm

Lake Lewisville Fishing Guide Service

North Texas Catfiish Guide Service has launched a new website for the lake Lewisville Portion of the North Texas Catfish Guide Service. While the main website www.txcatfishguide.com will still be the home and main page for North Texas Catfish Guide Service the Lake Lewisville Fishing Guide Service page was launched to continue to give details to clients and contain more Lake Lewisville specific information on North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

North Texas catfish Guide Service provides guided fishing trips on Lake Lewisville for Blue Catfish, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, SandBass (white bass) and Hybrid Striped Bass.

For more information on North Texas Catfish Guide Service guided fishing trips on Lake Lewisville visit the Lake Lewisville Fishing Guide Service Website at http://www.lewisvillefishingguide.com/ or call 817-946-1777

Catfish Videos Update from North Texas Catfish Guide Service

July 26th 2006 We are in the process of editing and uploading a bunch of videos that we have been wanting to get online for a couple of years. We finally found a host that we can use to host the videos where it does not cost us hundreds of dollars to have these videos online. It is a slow process trying to get all of these edited and added to the website but we are making some progress. Be sure to keep an eye on our Free Catfishing Videos Page for the videos we have up and like I said we will be working on adding more videos as well over the next few months and will try to add a couple of new videos each week. We have already added the Catfishing Video Claude Jones Lands a 50 Lb Texas Flathead Catfish which is a video of a Flathead Catfish that was caught on Cedar Creek Lake in the early spring that went just a little shy of 50 Lbs, Running The Lake with North Texas Catfish Guide Service is a short video of our Catfish Fishing Guide Boats running across the water in pursuit of Trophy Blue Catfish on a Winter Morning, we get a lot of questions from new clients about what kind of Catfishing Guide Boat we use on our North Texas guided fishing trips so we have added a Video Tour of one of our Fishing Guide Boats. Trophy Catfish Release is a short video clip releasing a Trophy Blue Catfish back into the Lake, Surfacing Gar is a video that shows hundreds of surfacing longnose gar on Lake Lewisville that were feeding on top and reallyu putting on a show, this is just an example of what we encounter on our guided fishing trips for Gar in North Texas, Catching Sandbass and Hybrid Striped Bass is a short Video of some clients catching white bass (sandbass, sandies) on one of our North Texas Guided Fishing Trips, Surfacing White Bass is a short video of Lake Lewisville Sandbass (Sandies, White Bass) schooling in a Topwater Feeding Frenzy on Lake Lewisville. There is a ton of free catfishing videos (catfish videos), sandbass videos, hybrid striped bass videos, gar videos and freshwater redfish videos to be added to the website so like I said check back often. We are also going to tro to add some short clips from some of our television shows with Fox Sports Southwest - Toyota Truck's Southwest Outdoors Report with Barry Stokes, The Diva's in The Outdoors Televison Show with the Texas Divas (Both the Catfish Contest Show and The Trophy Blue Catfish Show), The Trophy Catfishing Show with Bonita Staples, and some of the other great catfishing TV shows we have done over the past few years. We are also going to be shooting some more TV shows soon, so hopefully we can add them as well. http://www.txcatfishguide.com/texas_catfish_guide_1_videos.htm

July 27th 2006 North Texas Catfish Guide Service Fishing Report

July 27th 2006 The White Bass (Sandbass) Fishing in Lake Lewisville and Hybrid Striped Bass fishing on Lake Lewisville has been excellent. If you want to take a trip and catch a LOT of fish in a short amount of time then right now is a great time to do so. We are also catching a lot of white bass on topwaters which is a lot if fun and very exciting way to fish. Hybrid Striped Bass to 23 have been pretty consistant. I had one trip early this week where I hooked a hybrid that was 18" or over on every cast for nine casts in a row. The White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass guided fishing trips on Lake Lewisville are lot's of fun, and we can fish in the early morning or late evening so it is not to hot and we can stay off the water during the heat of the day. I have also been setting out some juglines anc catching Blue Catfish to 25 Lbs on Juglines as well if anyone is interested in a Jug Fishing Trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. I also had another client catch a holstein catfish on Lake Lewisville this past weekend that went about 2 pounds. This is the second Holstein Catfish I have caught at Lake Lewisville this year. Jackie is running Redfish Trips at Lake Fairfield and the Redfish are biting excellent. He is also catchinng some Lake Fairfield Channel Catfish and Yellow Catfish in addition to the Lake Fairfield Freshwater Redfish. If anyone is interested in a trip for August just give me a call at 817-946-1777 and we can get something set up. We still have available dates open for August. We are also starting to get a lot of calls about Fall Cormorant Catfishing Trips and Winter Trophy Blue Catfish Trips as well and these dates are starting to book up. If your interested in a Winter Trophy Blue Catfish Fishing Trip just give me a call or email me.

WWW.TXCATFISHGUIDE.COM/REDOINDEX2.htm

Lake Lewisville Fishing Guide Report - 6/30/2006 to 07/3/2006

Friday - 6/30/06

Clients had to cancel anmd boat was already in the water so I decied to go chase the fish for a while. Very few boats on the lake and fish were biting like crazy. Boated 200+ whites and 37 hybrids, stayed on the water until 1:00, much longer than I had planned. All fish released. Started throwing topwaters and traps, caught some slab hybrids and some on sassy shads and ended the day throwing super humdigers and even caught some doubles on each treble hook a few times. Caught about 10 nice bleu cat also.


Saturday - 7/1/06

Fished new clients John and Anita on a 1/2 day. Boated countless white bass and 8 or 10 hybrids, all of the hybrids were running 17-17.5 inches but still fun to catch. Did keep one that went 21" and was deep hooked. Tried to stay out of teh boat shows but was a tough task today. Kept 50 white bass and 1 hybrid for them to eat. Threw topwaters, bounced slabs and caught fish on humdigers also, John was also enjoying catching white bass 2 and 3 at a time on popping corks. The woman in the dark blue boat shows up today running through the fish and busting them up every time, I took a minute to explain to here and she just did not get it and continues on.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/catfish_guide_photo_212.jpg

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/catfish_guide_photo_218.JPG


Sunday 7/2/06

Fished Merry Norwood and her Father Tom visiting from Florida. Tom was a die hard tournament bass fishermen and very experienced fisherman. Definately a pleasure and had some excellent tales of fishing in florida. I have no idea how many we caught but Merry's arm was worn out and Tom shortly bowed out also said he had never caught so many fish in one day. Caught fish today on topwaters, humdingers and lead babies slabs. Merry hooked me in the back of the head with two hooks and we had to take a brief intermission for hook removal. The woman in the dark blue boat strikes again today running through the fish and busting them up every time I move away from her she shows up again.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/catfish_guide_photo_213.jpg


Monday - 7/3/06

They closed BIg Sandy Ramp in the middle of the night. On 7/2 I watched a wakeboard boat rip most of the back end of his boat off when he backed too far down the ramp. He called the Park Ranger out and was chewing him out for the ramp being open where it would tear his boat up. Started the day with a mad scramble to move to a different ramp in the rain. Fished Lyol and Cole for Cole's first fishing trip. Started off with a drizzling rain but quickly burned off and the fish fired up. Cole and Lyol boated a 125+ with some nice Hybrids also and Cole was fired up and ready to go again that afternoon. Way too many boats on the water and people busting up the fish, the guy in the boat with the aqua top that casted into my boat three times in a row gets the Lake Lewsiville idiot award for the day.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com/catfish_guide_photo_215.jpg


Have dates available for Catfish, Sandbass and Hybrids at Lewisville and Cedar Creek and Lake Fairfield Redfish. Come get in on the action while it's hot.

For more information visit www.txcatfishguide.com or call 817-946-1777 or 817-306-0055

New redesigned website coming soon!

Texas Catfish Message Board

http://whiskerkitty.com/groupee

Fishing for Texas Blue Catfish

Big Blues

A new breed of trophy hunter focuses on the blue cat's favorite snack food.


CHAD FERGUSON NORTH TEXAS CATFISH GUIDE SERVICE. CALL 817-306-0055 WWW.TXCATFISHGUIDE.COM

By Paul A. Cañada

When TPWD biologist Bruce Hysmith used to fish off of Lake Texoma’s Roosevelt Bridge as a boy, he was usually in search of white bass. But he always heard stories of something larger looming just out of sight.

“Our parents told us about giant catfish lurking in the water below that bridge,” says Hysmith. “Of course, those stories were most likely contrived by the adults in hopes of scaring us from leaning over the guardrail. Still, they had us kids believing that if we fell in, we would be eaten by fish as big as cars.”

Throughout the years, the impressive size, raw power and long lifespan of blue catfish have fueled the imaginations of Texas anglers. In January of 2004, the folklore became reality when Cody Mullennix of Howe, Texas landed an enormous blue catfish from Lake Texoma. The large predator tipped the scales at 121.5 pounds. The fish was a new Texas state record. For a short while, until a 124-pound blue was caught from the Mississippi River in Illinois, Mullennix’s fish stood as the International Game Fish Association world record.

It often takes decades for a blue catfish to reach trophy size. In fact, some blue cats are older than the angler on the other end of the line. According to Hysmith, the estimated age of the 121.5-pound state record blue catfish is between 27 and 30 years old.

“Any cold-blooded animal has what we biologists term as indeterminate growth,” says Hysmith. “They will continue to grow on and on, unless one of three things — food source, senility or environmental conditions — limit or control that growth. Under the right conditions, these blue catfish will grow to tremendous sizes.”

While most catfish anglers still rely on traditional means — jug lines, trot lines and limb lines — when targeting the bigger cats, a new breed of catfish angler has arrived on the scene today. These anglers actively hunt the big blue cats found in Texas’ large, relatively deep reservoirs. Using electronics and special techniques, they chase after the largest predator found in their impoundments.

The new breed of trophy hunter focuses on the blue cat’s fondness for shad. Many members of this select group of anglers are former striped bass anglers whose first contact with blues 30 pounds and larger occurred while fishing for giant stripers, under schools of shad, in open water. The trophy blue’s tendency to move with schools of baitfish often makes the highly sought predator a tough cat to catch. Few understand the blue catfish and its habitat like guides Chad Ferguson and Randle Hall.

Trophy-sized Fish are Structure-oriented

Throughout Ferguson’s angling career he has studied and pursued many species, including striped bass, black bass and catfish. The longtime guide believes, as with stripers and black bass, the location and activity of blue catfish correspond with the seasonal movements of large schools of shad and baitfish

As soon as water temperatures drop into the 60s and the reservoir’s water level stabilizes, baitfish begin congregating in large schools and moving towards deep water. Depending on geography, this period can occur as early as October in North Texas and as late as December in South Texas. According to Ferguson, this phase of colder water temperatures and large schools of baitfish begins the ideal season for catching trophy-sized blue catfish.

“While I do catch big blues year round,” says Ferguson, “I don’t start concentrating my efforts on trophy-sized fish until that cold-water period. I simply don’t see the numbers of big fish, like I catch in late fall and early winter, during any other season. I’ll have days where I am likely to catch more than a dozen fish over 25 pounds.”

On many of Texas’ larger impoundments, these schools of bait relate chiefly to main-lake structural features, such as flats, roadbeds, berms, points and humps. The blue catfish use the same structure to intercept shad and other fish moving out of creeks and coves, and back out to the deep water of the main lake.

Ferguson targets main lake structure, adjacent to deep water or a channel, when looking for the biggest blues. The water depth over most of the structure he targets ranges between 25 and 45 feet. Using his electronics, the catfish guide first looks for the schools of shad, roaming the flats. Typically, the shad are spread throughout the water column.

The ideal location for finding the larger catfish is a hump or point created by the intersection of two channels. The change in water depth between the channel and structural feature may be as subtle as 5 feet. However, when a school of baitfish is holding over or near the structure, the biggest blues will normally be found nearby, along that channel edge.

“The blue catfish suspend or park themselves underneath the baitfish,” notes Ferguson. “In most cases the catfish will be near the bottom. However, there are times when the fish are suspended off the bottom, just below the baitfish.”

According to Ferguson, anglers trained at using onboard electronics normally have no problem locating the big predators below the school. The profile of a trophy-sized blue cat on a depth finder is unique from other predators. Unlike the classic inverted-V of a striped bass or largemouth, the profile of a larger blue is more round and resembles an umbrella.

“I rely on my depth finder nearly 100 percent of the time to locate these fish,” says Ferguson. “However, they don’t always show up as an umbrella-shaped arch on the depth finder screen when moving, or holding tight to the bottom. It takes some practice and experience to find them under those conditions.”

Like Ferguson, Randle Hall has devoted many years to the study and pursuit of Texas’ largest freshwater predators. Hall’s studies and fish-catching ability brought him national recognition as a top guide and trophy catfish hunter. In fact, Hall’s clients have set the last six Lake Lewisville water body records, including the current 63.12-pound catfish. Today, Hall is an offshore saltwater guide working out of Port Mansfield. However, he still returns to his old stomping grounds, Lake Texoma and Lake Lewisville, to chase the blue catfish.

According to Hall, it’s not unusual to find what seems to be the perfect structural edge, or break, and not find the big cats. However, find schools of shad near that edge and you almost always find big blues underneath them.

“The baitfish is the key,” explains Hall. “You have got to take a look at the entire ecosystem. The plankton determines where the shad will be, and the shad determine where the big blues are going to be found.”

Like Ferguson, Hall looks for secondary features intercepting a main channel. According to Hall, the biggest predators hold off of ditches, drains or tributary creek channels during the day. At night, the big fish use the structure to travel up on to the shallower flat.

Attention-getting Presentations

As noted before, active blue cats are typically found suspended under a school of baitfish. Hall prefers to drift cut-bait when targeting suspended fish. His first drift presentation utilizes a Carolina rig with a crappie float, 6 to 8 inches above the hook, which lifts the cut-bait and leader off the bottom. The length of the rig’s 50-pound test leader varies, depending on how far off the bottom the fish are suspended, between four and 10 feet.

Whether the fish are suspended or near the bottom, Hall believes it’s important to keep the bait off the bottom.

“I try to get the bait at least 18 to 24 inches off the bottom,” he says. “By keeping that bait off the bottom, I am making it easier for the catfish to take the bait.”

Hall uses cut pieces of shad or carp under a balloon — a traditional striped bass rig — when the catfish are suspended over deeper water. He prefers a slightly inflated balloon attached to a sliding snap-swivel, stopped by a glass bead and a float-stop. The float-stop is placed 10 to 12 feet above the bait. The balloon acts as slip float, casting fairly easily and then sliding up the line to the float-stop and resting on the surface.

Hall pays great attention to detail when setting up a drift. He specifically targets deep-water breaks, aligned with the prevailing wind. Hall then spreads four to six lines out behind the boat. He’s able to regulate the speed of his drift by matching the size of his sea anchor, ranging between 54 and 106 inches, to the wind speed.

“Presentation is everything when using a drift technique,” warned Hall. “The speed of your drift is critically important. In summer, the biggest fish are spread out but are very aggressive, and so you can drift faster. In fall, when the big catfish are congregated in small groups, it’s sometimes important to drift as slow as possible.”

Ferguson also uses drift presentations, but when given a choice, he prefers anchoring, casting and slowly dragging a presentation back to the boat. He relies primarily on two presentations when anchored. His bread-and-butter rig is the traditional Carolina rig, with a three- or four-foot leader and a three-ounce, egg-shaped sinker.

The North Texas guide’s second-most-utilized rig is what locals call a “Santee-Cooper rig.” The rig utilizes an in-line cork, located halfway down the leader. Similar to Hall’s cork rig, the Santee-Cooper rig keeps the bait off the bottom.

“I start with a presentation that best matches the conditions at hand, and then pay close attention to how the fish react to it,” says Ferguson. “I will change rigs or modify the rig to adjust to the fish. The big fish bite changes from day to day. They may be aggressive one day and more selective the next.”

No matter how the large blue cat approaches and takes the bait, the ensuing battle is bound to be memorable. Still, each fish is an individual. While some fight hard immediately after the hook set, others come right to the boat, convincing the angler that a smaller fish is on the line. However, the angler is quickly enlightened when the big cat’s fierceness is unleashed at boat-side.

“The majority of the trophy-sized fish, 25 pounds or larger, surface a great distance from the boat,” says Hall. “They roll and slap the surface, spraying water 15 to 20 feet in the air. It’s a thrill to see a big fish do that because, until the fish surfaces, you don’t really know how big it is.
“I remember a time out on Lake Texoma when a big blue pulled my 25-foot Boston Whaler backwards. That’s the kind of strength these fish have. All you can do is hold on to your rod and hope for the best.”

Trophy Blue Cat Fisheries

Texas is blessed with dozens of fisheries supporting trophy-sized blue catfish. Nearly 50 fisheries have water body records of more than 40 pounds, and 20 fisheries have records of more than 60 pounds. In fact, five reservoirs — Conroe, Sam Rayburn, Lake Fork, Gibbons Creek and Lake Texoma — have water body records exceeding 80 pounds.

The majority of the reservoirs with record fish over 60 pounds have a few things in common. First, they all have healthy populations of prey fish, such as threadfin and gizzard shad. Second, nearly all of these reservoirs have plenty of habitats, adjacent to deep water. Finally, many of these impoundments have impressive striped and white bass populations.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department district biologist Bruce Hysmith quickly dismisses the notion that blue catfish only grow large in large impoundments.

“Typically, you think of blue catfish as big-water fish,” says Hysmith. “You think of Lake Livingston or Lake Texoma when considering the best place to find trophy-sized blues. However, Lake Bonham is about 1,020 acres and it has a great blue catfish population. Similarly, Lake Nacoma is another relatively small reservoir with an outstanding blue catfish population.
“Many of our fisheries in Texas support good blue catfish populations. It’s not impractical to think that there are 60- to 75-pound fish swimming in most of our reservoirs.”

North Texans have a good number of trophy fisheries to choose from, including Cooper, Fork, Lavon, Lewisville, Tawakoni and Texoma. Likewise, anglers living in East Texas also have a variety of fisheries to try, including Conroe, Gibbons Creek, Livingston, Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. Fishing for blue catfish is good on many central Texas impoundments, including Belton, Buchanan, Fayette County, Travis and Whitney.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.TXCATFISHGUIDE.COM OR CALL CHAD FERGUSON OF NORTH TEXAS CATFISH GUIDE SERVICE AT 817-306-0055

Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish

Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish - Texas Flathead Catfish

Lake Fairfield Redfish

Lake Fairfield Redfish

Guided Fishing Trips for Redfish and Catfish at Lake Fairfield

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Fairfield Redfish

Guided Fishing Trips on Lake Fairfield for Redfish and Catfish

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Fairfield Redfish

Lake Fairfield Texas Redfish

Guided Fishing Trips on Lake Fairfield for Redfish and Catfish

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Fairfield Redfish

HTTP://WWW.TXCATFISHGUIDE.COM

Cedar Creek Lake Catfish, Sandbass and Hybrid Striped Bass

July 27th 2005
We fished 2 clients at Cedar Creek Lake Yesterday on a guided catfish fishing trip and limited out on Blue Catfish and caught several nice Sandbass and Hybrid Bass as well. Catfishing is good despite the hot weather. If your interested in a guided catfish fishing trip on Cedar Creek Lake, Lake Lewisville, Eagle Mountain, Ray Roberts or Grapevine give us a call at 817-946-1777 or 817-306-0055.
We are also now offering guided catfish fishing trips on Richland Chambers and Lake Fairfield. Many of you have asked about Texoma trips. We will likely running guided fishing trips for catfish on Lake Texoma in the near future but we are not at a point yet where we can offer these trips. We also offer fishing trips for Freshwater Redfish (Red Drum) on Lake Fairfield.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Cedar Creek Lake Buffalo

Caught this Buffalo while fishing for catfish. Not what we were looking for but still a nice fish.

Cedar Creek Lake Catfish and Lake Fairfield Redfish

July 27th 2005
Cedar Creek Reservoir Blue Catfish have been biting good. We have been catching a lot of catfish on Cedar Creek for the past week, most of the Blue Catfish have been 1-3 pound box fish. The Catfishing at Cedar Creek has been slowing down some in the afternoons so we have been fishing for Sandbass (White Bass) and Hybrids trolling the Hellpet combo and in the late afternoons and catching a lot of nice sandbass and hybrids while trolling, the bigger Hybrids have been pretty easy to come by. Lake Fairfield is still producing some nice Freshwater Redfish (Red Drum) with several of our clients on our guided fishing trips for redfish catching Redfish in the 40" range and lot's of good sized channel catfish in the 3-5 Lb range. I fished three clients on Lake Lewisville Sunday on a guided catfish fishing trip and we caught three limits of blue catfish in 3.5 hours and released several blue catfish in the 5-10 Lb range and also several over 10 lbs. I have been fishing a new pattern and so far it has been producing some bigger fish. Summer fishing in Texas is usually pretty tough but this new technique seems to be producing some bigger catfish.
Below are a couple of photos of some recent fish including a Lake Fairfield Redfish (Red Drum) and a monster Buffalo caught at Cedar Creek Lake (by accident).

Cedar Creek Lake Catfish

July 18th 2005
Blue Catfish have been biting good at Cedar Creek Lake, mostly box fish 1-5 lbs. Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish and Redfish are biting good at Fairfield.
North Texas Catfish Guide Service fished a client on a guided fishing trip at Lake Fairfield for Redfish and Catfish. The Redfish bite is still excellent at Lake Fairfield and at one point there were three redfish on the lines at one time. We also caught a huge Redfish that measured 41 inches and weighed 29.8 lb.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Texoma Catfish and Lake Texoma Catfish Guide

July 13th, 2005
The blue catfish are still biting. It is typically summer fishing and most of the catfish we are catching are 1-5 Lb box fish and we are catching good numbers both day and night.
We have some new techniques we are trying out that seem to be producing some bigger fish for the summer, but it is still too new for me to be able to tell if it will be consistant.
We have had some of our clients inquire about fishing Lake Texoma. We are not offering guided catfish fishing trips on Lake Texoma at this time but we may do so in the future. I am going to make a few trips to Texoma in the next few weeks and do some fishing for blue catfish and spend some time checking things out and if all goes well we may start doing soms Lake Texoma Guided Fishing Trips for Catfish.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Cedar Creek Lake Blue Catfish

Lake Fairfield Redfish Guide Service

Lake Fairfield Redfish (Red Drum)

July 7th, 2005
Here are some recent photos from some of our recent guided catfish fishing trips for Flathead Catfish, Blue Catfish, Channel Catfish and Redfish (Red Drum). These fish were caught at Lake Fairfield and Cedar Creek Lake. We still have dates available for Trophy Flathead Trips, Combination Redfish and Yellow Catfish (Flathead) trips on Rod and Reel. Channel Catfish Trips and Blue Catfish Trips. We are fishing at night or early mornings right now.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Catfish and Sandbass

June 26th 2005
Wore the sandbass out again today on Eagle Mountain Lake. Just like yesterday the smaller fish were on slabs and the bigger sandbass were all caught on the Hellpet rig. Once the sandbass bite slowed down some we went rod and reel fishing for Blue Catfish. I had some shad, perch and gaspergoo from last night and we anchored on one of my favorite mudflats to catch some blue catfish. The catfish bite on Eagle Mountain Lake was slow but we did catch some nice blue catfish. It was a little early in the night for fishing shallow water but we did not want to fish late. I will be back out catfishing on Eagle Mountain Lake in the morning. I spotted some huge Longnose Gar this evening but all my home made gar lures were damaged so we did not get to go rod and reel fishing for gar. Hopefully my gar lures I ordered will be in soon and we can do some more rod and reel fishing for Longnose Gar. We caught some nice Eagle Mountain Lake sandbass (Sand Bass, Sandies, White Bass) and they were all really good sized fish for sand bass. The action on Eagle Mountain Lake in the Daytime has been red hot for sand bass and the catfishing on Eagle Mountain Lake is typical of this time of year. June July and August are always the worst months of the year for fishing for catfish. The catfish are really scattered and there is a lot of hunting and pecking going on to stay in to the fish. We will still be fishing for blue catfish and I have been baiting some holes for channel catfish on Eagle Mountain Lake that will produce some good numbers of channel catfish. I will be fishing the sand bass on Eagle Mountain Lake as a backup when needed. The Gar are still producing. I want to put in another week or two of rod and reel fishing for the longnose gar and if they continue biting well and we keep staying into the good size gar I will start doing some guided fishing trips for Gar on Eagle Mountain Lake and Possibly on Lewisville and Cedar Creek. If I do indeed do the Gar trips they will be daytime trips because these are sight casting trips for the gar. Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish and Redfish (Red Drum)m have still been slow but the Lake Fairfield Channel Catfish Bite has been red hot and producing some nice catches of 3-4 Lb Channel Catfish on Lake Fairfield.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Catfish Summer June 2005

June 25th 2005
I went and took some kids on a guided catfish fishing trip on Eagle Mountain Lake today. We started out locating the Eagle Mountain Lake Blue Catfish on the sonar in deep water on the ledges of the channel and fished fresh cut shad and live perch for the Blue Catfish. We caught some really nice blue catfish on rod and reel and the bite was great but we could not stay on anchor with all the pleasure boaters and Jet Ski’s running around the area we were fishing so we option to get off the main lake and move around some. The blue catfish bite was not very good in other areas of the lake so my customers opted to go fish for white bass (sandbass). We did some slabbing with the boat shows around the South end of the island but most of the Sandbass we slabbed were small fish so we left the boat shows and went off to do our own thing. I took my clients out on some of the deeper water on Eagle Mountain Lake and we trolled the Hellpet rig. The two children in the boat with me caught 161 Sandbass on the Hellpet rig and almost every one of the Sandbass (white bass) were “keepers” but they opted to throw them all back. I have no doubt we would have caught more fish than that had I not hung my Hellpet rig on some timber and broke off and lost both of the rigs within a minute or so of each other. After I dropped my clients off at the boat ramp I went and caught some shad and perch in my cast net and went rod and reel fishing for Flathead Catfish by myself. I got one good run but missed the hookset because I was not paying attention (hey you have to sleep sometime).

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Gar Fishing and Sandbass (White Bass)

June 22nd, 2005
We made a quick trip to Eagle Mountain Lake this evening for some more gar fishing. We caught several longnose gar on rod and reel and one of them was pushing close to 30 lbs or better. It was the biggest gar we have seen this week. We have not spotted anymore Alligator Gar on the mudflats but also have not been looking real hard. The longnose gar we caught were both really nice and the bigger one fought like crazy. Catching the longnose gar on rod and reel is a blast. These gar can really strip some line of the fishing reel and will often come up out of the water like tarpon trying to throw the hook. We have been using some homemade gar lures that work ok but we have been having such a good time catching gar that we I ordered some gar lures this week that are supposed to stay together a lot better. I am going to spend some more time rod and reel fishing for longnose gar over the next week and if the bite stays consistant I will start booking some guided fishing trips for gar at Eagle Mountain.
Once the gar bite slowed we went and chased the Eagle Mountain Lake Sandbass (Sandies or White Bass). I left my cast net in the truck so there was no Shad to be had so we just decided to slab up some sandies. Most of the sand bass we were catching on slabs were small so we switched to the Hellpet Rig and did some trolling on the mudflats. The Eagle Mountain Lake Sandbass Bite has been excellent.
The flathead catfish bite and redfish (red drum) bite at Lake Fairfield has been really off. The channel catfish bite has been excellent though and we have been catching tons of huge channel catfish on Lake Fairfield.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Blue Catfish and Alligator Gar

June 21st 2005
I fished Eagle Mountain Lake again today for Blue Catfish. The catfish bite is still good during the day and late evening. I did not get to do any Flathead Catfish fishing or Alligator Gar fishing today. The Blue Catfish on Eagle Mountain Lake are moving around a lot and we are really having to work to stay on top of them each day.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Catfish

June 20, 2005
I fished for Flathead Catfish again tonight at Eagle Mountain Lake. It was a short trip so I did not have a lot of time but I got several good runs but missed the hookset because I was not paying attention and was messing with other things.
I have been talking with the guys at www.catfishcaller.com this week about the product they have begun manufacturing here in the United States, “The Clonk”. Their product The Clonk Catfish Caller has been very popular with Wels Catfish Anglers in Europe for a number of years. The Clonk is a tool that is used to emit sound waves through the water which is believed mimics the sound of bait fish being attacked by feeding catfish. I have heard some good information from some die hard flathead catfish anglers over the last couple of years but the evidence at this point seems to be inconclusive.
After speaking with the manufacturer of The Clonk Catfish Caller (www.catfishcaller.com) this week they are sending us some of their product to test out on our Guided Catfish Fishing Trips for Flathead Catfish. We are going to test The Clonk on our trips and see if we can determine it’s effectiveness. More information to follow as soon as we do some field testing. It’s a tough job but somebody has got to do it.
We were busy today making our Catfish Bait and did not get to do any fishing. Our catfish bait, Redneck’s Catfish Bait Soap has really taken off this year and we are having a hard time keeping up with orders. You can find more information on our catfish bait soap for jug fishing and trotlines at www.catfishbaitsoap.com We got a bunch of our juglines built as well today, you can check out our juglines at www.jugfishing.net

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Summer Catfishing

June 19 th 2005
Fished Eagle Mountain Lake this evening for Blue Catfish with clients. The bite was a little slow but we caught about 25 nice blue catfish on rod and reel fishing fresh cut shad on main lake points and humps and on shallow flats.
Once I finished fishing my clients I went and did some fishing on my own for Alligator Gar. I have been seeing some massive alligator gar on some of the shallow water flats at night, some of them as big as 6 feet long. I have caught a lot of gar on rod and reel over the years by accident but never have fished for them on purpose.
July and August are supposed to me the best months of the year for Alligator Gar so I am going to keep fishing for the Alligator Gar and see if I can catch a few of these big brutes. I did get one good run tonight from a gar but he snapped my line when I tried to set the hook (I was fishing with monofilament line). I am going to get some steel leaders this week and go out and give it a whirl again later in the week.
If I could consistently pattern these huge alligator gar in the summer I would start doing some guided gar fishing trips for them that were catch and release only. Catching these huge alligator gar are a great fight and they can really strip some line off of a fishing reel.
I met Josh and Terra Richards from Lakeview Marina on Eagle Mountain Lake tonight while I was at the boat ramp. They have really done a great job at the marina and this is one of the best places to launch on Eagle Mountain Lake. There is a nice boat ramp that is good and deep unlike many of the other ramps on Eagle Mountain and there is ample parking (not like the free Peden Road Boat Ramp on Eagle Mountain Lake where you have to worry about your car or boat trailer being hit). They also now have a restaurant available on site that serves Hamburgers and snacks. If your planning on fishing Eagle Mountain Lake I highly recommend the boat launch at Lakeview Marina. There is a $10 launch fee at the marina but it is still one of the cheapest boat ramps on the lake on the Fort Worth side of the lake.
I also downloaded the free Eagle Mountain Lake Enhanced Lake Map this morning from Lowrance Electronics. The enhanced lake map was easy to install and has a decent detail on the lake structure. The map is a bit off and there is some structure that is not shown on the map but all in all things are pretty decent, and the price is right.
I have been fishing for Flathead Catfish at Eagle Mountain Lake as well and I have located some good flathead catfish holes that have been producing well.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Cabela's Fort Worth Texas

June 18 th 2005
I took the weekend off this weekend from guiding so I could get caught up on some other things, get several hundred pounds of Catfish Bait Soap and a bunch of Fish On Flagging Catfish Juglines made, and have some personal fishing time.
I decided to beat the heat during the day today and spend some time with the family so we headed out to the new Cabela’s Fort Worth so I could pick out a Fathers Day Present. I have made several trips to the Fort Worth Cabela’s now and have not really had time to include any information on our website.
Cabela’s has moved in on the heels of the Bass Pro Shop that opened in Grapevine Texas several years ago. Cabela’s is located at the intersection of Hwy 170 and I35W in Fort Worth, just a few miles South of Texas Motor Speedway. The store is easy to get to and luckily traffic is rarely an issue on this stretch of I35 unless there is a Nascar Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
As stated before this is my third trip to Cabela’s Fort Worth, the first being to the private grand opening, and then shortly after the opening of the store. Both of the previous trips were on Weekday nights, and today’s trip on Saturday during the middle of the day. I was a little shocked at how many cars were in the parking lot when we pulled in, there is no doubt they are drawing in some huge crowds.
The Cabela’s Fort Worth store is a great place to pass some time especially during the Texas Summer when you need to stay cool. There are tons of exhibits and things for the whole family to look at. Immediately upon entrance there is a huge walk through aquarium with many species of fish native to Texas in the fish tank. They have a Flathead Catfish that is probably 50 lbs that came out of Eagle Mountain Lake, and numerous smaller Blue Catfish, Crappie, Bass, Carp, Perch and other fish in their tank. It was a little crowded trying to get through the tank area but not too bad. In the middle of the store there is a huge mountain with all kinds of stuffed (taxidermy) animals on the mountain and you can walk all the way around and look at everything and there are several ponds around the base of the mountain with fish in them. On the right hand side of the Cabela’s Fort Worth store is a huge display of Exotic Animals with Lions, Elephants, Hyena and other exotic game. The display is remarkable and really meticulously designed, On the left side of the store is a huge Trophy Room with numerous displays of Trophy Deer, and is another site to behold, all in all just the displays alone are worth the trip to Cabela’s Fort Worth Store. There is also a restaurant upstairs and a candy shop with fresh fudge and candy.
As far as merchandise goes, you could definitely drop some serious money in here, it’s a toy store for the outdoorsman. The store has a different feel than most of the other outdoor stores in North Texas as it is not all geared towards Bass Anglers, it is more of a multi-species stores. I think that this being Cabela’s first venture into Texas they are going to have a learning curve to make sure they have everything they need in stock but all in all the selection is great. That being said, they stock a number of items that you cannot get anywhere else in North Texas.
There selection of catfish fishing rods is great, there are very few stores that stock 8’ and 9’ catfish rods and Cabela’s has them all covered and then some. I have been buying my catfish rods by mail order for several years now because nobody in the area has these bigger rods. Cabela’s stocks the Eagle Claw Cat Claw, The Cabela’s King Kat Catfish Rod and the King Kat Pro Catfish Rod, The Eagle Claw Water Eagle, Shakespeare Ugly Stik, and the Whuppin Stick which is Cabela’s version of the Ugly Stik Rods, and the Berkley Glow Stick. The Whuppin Stick is very moderately priced and seems to be a great rod for the money. I bought two 9’ Medium Light action spinning rods for fishing Rip Rap Catfish a few weeks ago and have been very pleased with them to this point. I believe that all of the above mentioned catfish fishing rods are available in 8’ and 9’ models and they have good selections of all of them, not just one of each catfish fishing rod but good stock of all of them.
They stock Ande Monofilament but there is a limited selection. They do not have the Ande Monofilament in Hi Vis Green or Tournament Yellow 20 Lb test that we use but we asked and they said they should have some shortly. I have been wanting to try the Sufix Siege Fishing Line in Neon Tangerine Color for a while now and although they do carry the Sufix Siege they did not have the Neon Tangerine color.
The Cabela’s Fort Worth has a great selection of catfish hooks. Hooks for catfishing are difficult to find at times and they seem to have a good selection of a lot of different hooks, including the Eagle Claw Kahle Hook, the Daiichi Circle Chunk Light, the Cabela’s King Kat hook, Eagle Claw Circle Hooks and Mustad Circle Hooks as well as a good selection of Treble Hooks.
Their selection of commercial prepared catfish baits (stink baits and dip baits) were all catfish baits I have never used. The do stock the Junnies Cat Tracker line of Catfish Baits including Junnies Cat Tracker Wicked Sticky dip bait. I have never used this bait but know it has a pretty good following.
All in all I think the store is great, I am thoroughly impressed. I think once they get up to speed and have some time to get figured out what they need here in Fort Worth Texas the store will be a huge success. They have a 5 Acre lake with boat ramp and boat dock outside the store so I am sure there will be some seminars and demonstrations at the store in the near future.
I ended up with a Navionics Hot Maps Classic Edition Mapping Chip for my Lowrance LCX15MT Sonar/GPS and a pair of Keen Newport H2 Sandals for Fathers Day. I have been holding out on getting the Navionics Hot Maps chip for a while now waiting for Lake Lewisville, Eagle Mountain Lake and Grapevine Lake to be added but recently saw the Navionics chip in action on Cedar Creek Lake and decided to go ahead and get the chip for Cedar Creek. Hopefully they will add the other lakes that we offer our guided catfish fishing trips in the future and we can get a new chip.
he trip to Cabela’s Ft Worth is worthwhile and a great place to stock up on fishing gear. We will likely be doing some seminars at Cabela’s in the near future.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Hardcore Outdoor Talk with Luke Clayton

June 17 th 2005
Listen to North Texas Catfish Guide Service and a catfish fishing report on Cedar Creek Lake on Hardcore Outdoor Talk with Luke Clayton tomorrow morning from 8-9 and we will also have some information on the show about our catfish juglines. You can also listen for our catfish fishing reports Saturday and Sunday morning on the Texas Fishing and Outdoors Show with Brian Hughes.

http://www.txcatfishguide.com

Eagle Mountain Lake Catfish June 2005

June 16 th 2005
Went fishing at Eagle Mountain Lake this evening for Flathead Catfish and Blue Catfish. This was a short pleasure trip and the Flatheads were not biting but we did catch some nice Blue Catfish at Eagle Mountain Lake. If your looking for a quick fishing trip that is close to the Fort Worth area then give us a call about our Guided Catfish Fishing Trips on Eagle Mountain Lake, your Eagle Mountain Lake Fishing Guide Service.
We have been getting a lot of calls recently about lodging and cabins on the lakes we fish in North Texas as well as camping at the Lakes we fish in North Texas. Many of you have been wondering where you can stay when fishing with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. I will try and get a web page added in the near future with information on lodging at the North Texas Lakes we fish.
Here is a quick rundown : Cedar Creek Lake has cabins for rent on the water, hotels and motels in nearby Gun Barrel City, and Camping and RV Parks on and around the Lake. Eagle Mountain Lake has cabins available on the water, camping and RV Parks and hotels and motels in nearby Lake Worth. Lake Lewisville has camping and RV Parks available on the water and hotels and motels in Nearby Lewisville. Lake Grapevine has camping and RV parks available on the water, lodging in Grapevine and hotels at nearby Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World Grapevine and the Gaylord Texas Hotel in Grapevine. The Gaylord Texan is a short walk from Grapevine Lake. We fish a number of corporate and large group trips at Lake Grapevine for clients staying at the Gaylord Texan. Lake Fairfield has camping available on the water. Richland Chambers Reservoir has cabins and camping available on the water and hotels and motels in Corsicana Texas. Lake Ray Roberts has camping available on the water, and a hotel on the water, and hotels and motels are available in Aubrey, Pilot Point Denton and Sanger.

www.txcatfishguide.com

Lake Fairfield Redfish Fishing Guide and Catfish Fishing Guide

June 15 th 2005
We are still doing great on our guided catfish fishing trips on Lake Fairfield. The yellow catfish bite and redfish (red drum) bite has been excellent for the last several weeks. We have been doing a lot of Red and Yellow trips on Lake Fairfield fishing for Redfish and Flathead Catfish. We have caught a lot of huge redfish (red drum) and flathead catfish (yellow catfish) on our guided fishing trips at Lake Fairfield.
We have been getting a lot of questions about our guided fishing trips for Redfish. Most people associate redfish (red drum) with coastal fishing but there is some great opportunities for redfish (red drum) in freshwater in Texas. The Texas Freshwater Redfish are stocked in Lake Fairfield and Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir along with a number of other lakes in Texas. The Freshwater Redfish (Red Drum) are stocked annually in these lakes but do not reproduce. The Redfish (Red Drum) grow to huge sizes in Lake Fairfield and Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir.
The other question we get about fishing for Freshwater Redfish (Red Drum) is “I thought you guys were catfish guides”. Yes, North Texas Catfish Guide Service does fish for catfish primarily but we are a sucker for a good fight. The Redfish (Red Drum) is well known for its fight, once one of these Redfish (Red Drum) comes along and grabs a hold of the end of your line there is no doubt about it. You take the fishing rod from the fishing rod holder with the bait clicker screaming, set the hook on a giant Redfish (Red Drum) and just hold on, while the fish strips drag off the fishing reel.
The fishing opportunities at Lake Fairfield are excellent for Redfish (Red Drum) Flathead Catfish (Yellow Catfish) and Channel Catfish are Excellent. If your looking for a guided fishing trip for flathead catfish on Lake Fairfield, a guided fishing trip for channel catfish on Lake Fairfield, or a guided fishing trips for Redfish (Red Drum) on Lake Fairfield, then contact North Texas Catfish Guide Service, your Lake Fairfield Fishing Guides.
North Texas Catfish Guide Service also offers guided fishing trips for Redfish (Red Drum) on Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, located a short drive East of Waco Texas. Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir provides excellent opportunities for fishing for Redfish (Red Drum) on Central Texas, so if your looking for a Central Texas Guided Catfish Fishing Trip for Redfish (Red Drum) on Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir contact North Texas Catfish Guide Service.
Flathead Catfish provide the best opportunity in the summer for fishing for a Trophy Catfish on Rod and Reel. If your wanting to catch a big Texas Catfish in the Summer then one of our Flathead Catfish trips are for you. Trophy Catfish on Rod and Reel with North Texas Catfish Guide Service will put a good stretch in the fishing line and a good bend in the fishing rod. We practice catch and release on all Flathead Catfish over 10 Lbs just as we practice catch and release on all blue catfish over 10 lbs. Big Texas Catfish on Rod and Reel with North Texas Catfish Guide Service, the premier fishing guides in Texas for Trophy Catfishing.
Lake Fairfield Fishing Guide Service for Redfish (Red Drum) Flathead Catfish and Channel Catfish
Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir Fishing Guide Service for Redfish (Red Drum)

For more information on guided fishing trips for Redfish and Flathead Catfish and Channel Catfish on Lake Fairfield visit www.txcatfishguide.com or call 817-946-1177

Huge Lake Fairfield Redfish Caught by Ricky Baker while on a guided Redfish Fishing Trip and Catfish Fishing Trip on Lake Fairfield. Too book one of our "Red and Yellow" trips fishing for Redfish and Yellow Catfish call 817-306-0055 

Lake Fairfield Yellow Catfish (Flathead Catfish) caught on rod and reel by John Biggers while catfishing with North Texas Catfish Guide Service on a Lake Fairfield Guided Catfish Fishing Trip. North Texas Catfish Guide Service also offers trips for Lake Fairfield Channel Catfish and Lake Fairfield Redfish (Red Drum).  

Lake Lewisville Catfish and Lake Lewisville Catfish Fishing Guide Service

June 13 th 2005
We fished today on Lake Lewisville for Blue Catfish with a television camera man and host filming a fishing TV show about catfishing in North Texas with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. The wind was howling on Lake Lewisville. The weatherman had forecasted winds 10-12 miles per hour and I am pretty sure it was blowing at least 25 MPH. We caught bait easily at the beginning of the trip in 20-25 feet of water and caught some NICE shad. A whole net full of shad that were all 6+ inches long, perfect for cut bait. We started fishing shallow water on a windblown bank at first light and caught 4 sandbass in a row and then one dink channel catfish so I pulled anchor and we moved. We fished the rip rap using kahle hooks and a split shot tipped with shad for spawning channel catfish but for some reason the bite was just not on. We did not dedicate a whole bunch of time to fishing the rip rap for spawning channel catfish because we were on a race against time since the camera crew only had until 10:00. We went out on two of the main lake humps and marked active blue catfish on the edge of the hump, tossed out a marker and not so much as a bite. We decided to do some drift fishing on one of my favorite mudflats on Lake Lewisville with some good humps on it fishing with cut shad and live perch and did not get so much as a bite. I was marking active fish all on the edges of the humps but we had no takers. Then we were headed back into the old lake I noticed blue catfish pushing up a school of shad on my Lowrance LCX15 and quickly tossed out a marker buoy. We threw some fresh cut shad out around the marker buoy and started catching blue catfish immediately. We only had about twenty minutes left but we reeled in about 10 or 12 box fish over the course of the twenty minutes before we had to go. We are going to film again in 3 weeks and try to get into some Trophy Blue Catfish and also probably do some filming on Jug Fishing for Catfish. Today was the first time I have been on the water during the day in about 6 weeks since we have been night fishing for Blue Catfish, Channel Catfish and Flathead Catfish. We will be back on Cedar Creek this week and this weekend night fishing for blue catfish on our guided catfish fishing trips. We also will be fishing Lake Fairfield on our “Red and Yellow” trips fishing for Redfish (Red Drum) and Flathead Catfish (Yellow Catfish).

For more information on our guided catfish fishing trips on Lake Lewisville with North Texas Catfish Guide Service visit http://www.txcatfishguide.com/lake_lewisville_catfish_guide_1.html

Catfish Tournament Trail

Too bad these guys won't be having any Texas Catfish Tournaments but still looks like a great catfish tournament circuit for that part of the country. Maybe they will spread out and cover more cities next year.


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Catfishing Tournament TrailTradition Joins Hands With New This year will be the paradox in time marking the uniting of an age-old tradition with a tradition-in-the-making. Ken Freeman Outdoor Promotions and Bass Pro Shops proudly announce the all-new “Big Cat Quest” - an open catfish tournament trail crawling throughout the Southeastern and Central regions of the United States. One tournament stop along the trail of the all-new Bass Pro Shops’ “Big Cat Quest” explains the remarkable union as it joins hands with Hardin County, Tennessee’s famous event - The National Catfish Derby’s World Championship of Catfishing. This powerhouse tournament with many successful years to its credit, will continue its format in honor of its great tradition, breaking the molds for the other stops along the exciting new “catfish” trail. Bass Pro Shops’ “Big Cat Quest” is a five-tournament trail “kicking off” in Eufaula, AL on June 25; going to Pickwick, TN July 16 (The National Catfish Derby WCC); Fort Madison, IA, August 6; Gilbertsville, KY (KY Dam) August 27; then the season finale’ is a two-day event Championship in Camden, TN, September 24 and 25. Each event along the trail will be guaranteeing a new SeaArk Boat, Suzuki motor and trailer for the first position prize winner; second place comes in with a new MotorGuide trolling motor plus $1,500 cash; cash pay outs through the remaining five places will respectively be $1,000, $750, and $500. (NOTE: The National Catfish derby, WCC will be a different pay structure with a SeaArk Boat, Suzuki motor and trailer.) Above and beyond the normal day of fishing, the trail stops promise to be loaded with excitement. Prize-packed opportunities (except for Hardin County’s National Catfish Derby) include hourly drawings, exact-weight fish and wildcards to be announced by sponsoring local radio stations throughout the day! Participating fishermen and spectators alike can also register to win a variety of prizes in the open drawings. The unique, holding-to-traditional-format stop is The “Granddaddy” of all catfishing events - The National Catfish Derby’s World Championship of Catfishing. Hosted by the “Catfish Capitol of the World,” Pickwick/Savannah, TN, the annual event brings magnitudes of visitors into Hardin County, Tennessee each year. The National Catfish Derby has been named by the Southeast Tourism Society as a 2004 Top-Twenty Event. The Director of Hardin County Tourism stated, “It’s a great honor to have been selected by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top Twenty Event in all the Southeastern United States. We are, after all, the ‘Catfish Capitol of the World.’ Through The National Catfish Derby’s events, Hardin County’s national recognition grows exceedingly each year. We look forward to the excitement of this year’s Derby with Ken Freeman Outdoor Promotions, and to making sure all tourists enjoy our beautiful state and county.” Beginning with a four-week fishing rodeo, the Sportsman Division is the most popular of the Derby’s rodeo - a simple, no-entry-fee contest where anglers catch catfish on a rod and reel. If the fish they weigh in is the largest of the week, they win the weekly prize and $100.00. Fishermen may enter as many fish as they like each week at official weigh-in sites. The fisherman sporting the biggest fish at the end of the four-week fishing rodeo on July 15 at 5:00 p.m. will be awarded $500.00 at the World Championship of Catfishing Tournament July 16, 2005. Ken Freeman Outdoor Promotions is proud to announce his acquisition of The National Catfish Derby, World Championship of Catfishing event. The time-tested tournament is -unlike the other Quest events - a team event and included as one of the outdoor promotions company’s Bass Pro Shops’ “Big Cat Quest” open catfish tournament trail. “Participation in any or all tournaments along the ‘Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest’ trail; winning ‘big fish’; taking first through fourth position in any other catfishing tournament this season; or meeting any other national catfishing tournament championship qualifications, will qualify anglers for the Championship event September 24 and 25 in Camden, TN,” says Freeman. “Many good things are still in the works for the Championship which will be announced soon. My plans are to make this an all-inclusive event that’s just too much for fishermen and spectators alike... keep listening, or watching the website for late-breaking news as it all comes to play,” explained Freeman. The name-sake promoter expounded upon his experiences as he organized the trail, “It has been a unique, rewarding experience networking with all the sponsors, chambers and tourism entities. Being endorsed by my home state - the great state of Tennessee, the Tourism Association of Southwest Tennessee, and such highly-respected organizations as the Professional Catfishing Association, the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, and the United Special Sportsman Alliance, just seems to have brought it ‘all together.’ Sponsors appear to have been ‘craving’ an outlet for the catfishing ‘target market,’ and obviously from their response are as excited as I am, to help bring this tournament trail to life. I would like to emphasize that our slogan is more of a mission statement for me: ‘Competitive fun in the great outdoors’ while stopping to take time for kids!” For more information on the Bass Pro Shop’s “Big Cat Quest” Tournament Trail, and/or the National Catfish Derby’s World Championship of Catfishing... visit www.KenFreemanOutdoorPromotions.com


WWW.TXCATFISHGUIDE.COM

Fish Bag Limits

Fish bag limits: Too much of a good thing?
09:39 PM CDT on Saturday, May 14, 2005
By RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News

Texas fishing has experienced many changes in the last 20 years. What has not changed are the excessive daily bag limits for crappie, white bass and channel and blue catfish.

The daily bag limits for those popular game fish species remain 25 fish per day. That's too many fish for one fisherman to kill in a day.

The golden rules in Texas fishing regulations are made to protect largemouth bass. The statewide daily bag limit on bass is five per day, 14-inch minimum size. There are 15 exceptions to the statewide bass limit, however, most more restrictive than 5-14.

There are three exceptions to the statewide crappie limit, all more lenient. Two of the four catfish exceptions are more lenient. The lone exception to the white bass limit also allows a more lenient harvest.

Largemouth bass may be getting increasingly sophisticated and more difficult to catch, but that's hardly the case with catfish, crappie or white bass, which North Texas anglers commonly refer to as sand bass.

Most catfishing is done with natural bait. Crappie anglers probably buy more live minnows than all other Texas fishermen combined. A sand bass pro who knows how to use modern sonar is seldom shut out on sand bass, which will eagerly bite an elongated two-inch lead slab painted white or chartreuse.

According to Ken Kurzawski, the regulations director for Texas Parks and Wildlife's inland fisheries division, fishing limits are based on a combination of biological and social considerations.
"When we do creel surveys, we rarely talk to anglers who have caught limits of fish, so it's hard to factor what an appropriate limit would be," Kurzawski said. "Our field biologists monitor fish populations via creel surveys and routine gill net samples. We have no biological evidence that 25-fish limits hurt the fish population."

Some states, particularly in the Southeast, have no bag restrictions for prolific species such as catfish, crappie or white bass. Others are tightening the limits. In some Missouri lakes, for instance, the daily crappie limit is 15 fish. That's the limit Garland crappie fishing pro Wally Marshall would favor for Texas.

"Not only do I think we should cut the daily crappie limit from 25 to 15, I think we should increase the minimum size limit from 10 inches to 11 inches," Marshall said. "I think our crappie fishing would improve."

I hear the same kind of comments from serious catfish fans, many of whom already release all the big fish they catch. Most Arkansas waters have a 10-fish daily limit on catfish, and Arkansas author Keith Sutton said restrictive limits on catfish in other states invariably improve the fishing.

In researching two books on catfishing, Sutton has visited most of North America's catfish hot spots. The most restrictive limit, almost a catch-and-release fishery, is Canada's Red River.
"I was there in 1999, and every channel catfish that I caught was bigger than any channel catfish I've ever caught in Arkansas," Sutton said. "They ranged in size from 17 to 35 pounds."
TP&W officials say that experimental bag limits for crappie and white bass did not influence either population. Some fish species, Kurzawski said, appear to be more influenced by environmental conditions than by fishing limits. And some species, such as catfish and crappie, are considered more desirable food fish.

Catching and eating fish is great. I love fresh fish and often bring home enough for my family to eat. There's nothing wrong with catching and eating fish. This is 2005, however. Texas has a million licensed freshwater anglers and hundreds of thousands of youth anglers who are exempt from fishing license requirements.

In more ways than you can imagine, fishermen have evolved faster than fish. From a social perspective, a 25-fish limit is at least 10 fish too many.
E-mail rsasser@dallasnews.com


I thought this was interesting and wanted to keep track of it. I will post some comments later.

www.txcatfishguide.com

Grapevine Lake Catfish June 2005

June 11 th 2005
Fished a ½ day trip today on Lake Grapevine. This is the 1 st half day trip I have done all year but these folks were in town staying at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center and wanted to go on a Lake Grapevine guided fishing trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service and did not have a lot of time. The shad were stacked up really thick on the mudflats when I got on the water at Lake Grapevine to catch bait but right at dark they scattered. We caught some blue between one and four pounds that were all released. I did not get a final total but I think we probably caught about 30 catfish.

For more information on our guided catfish fishing trips visit www.txcatfishguide.com or call 817-946-1177

Eagle Mountain Lake Catfish June 2005

June 10 th, 2005
I Fished Eagle Mountain Lake today for Blue Catfish. I did not have clients booked and had been wanting to get back out on Eagle Mountain to see if I could get back into the Flathead Catfish on Eagle Mountain. I only fished for a couple of hours and the bite was slow but I did get one good flathead run but missed the hook set because I was not paying attention

For more information on our guided catfish fishing trips at Eagle Mountain Lake visit http://www.txcatfishguide.com/eagle_mountain_lake_catfish.html

June Catfishing In Texas - North Texas Catfish Guide Service

North Texas Catfish Guide service limited out on Cedar Creek Lake blue catfish today.
I did a fishing report and radio interview today with Luke Clayton. Luke is a well known and respected outdoor writer in Texas and also a popular radio host. Featured with North Texas Catfish Guide Service on this show will be fishing for Blue Catfish with North Texas Catfish Guide Service on Cedar Creek Lake. If you have never caught his radio show on The Ranch radio stations you should tune in to Hardcore Outdoor Talk with Luke Clayton. Luke Clayton presents a lot of great Texas Hunting and Fishing information on his Hardcore Outdoor Talk Radio Show. Luke Clayton’s Hardcore Outdoor Talk airs on Saturday mornings from 8-9 a.m.
We had a guided catfish fishing trip on Cedar Creek Lake on the night of 6/7. One client fished on this guide trip and caught his limit plus another 17 that were thrown back after he caught his limit.

I did an interview this morning with Matt Williams, Texas Outdoor Writer that writes for numerous newspapers and fishing magazines in Texas. Matt is doing an article on Trophy Catfishing in Texas for Trophy Blue Catfish and also including some information on the new world record blue catfish. I am not sure which fishing magazine this will appear in yet but will add the information to the website when I know.

North Texas Catfish Guide Service will be filming a television show on fishing for Blue Catfish and Channel Catfish on Lake Lewisville on Monday June 12 th 2005. I am not sure of the airing date on the show yet but will add the information to the website when I get all of the information. The show will air locally in the Dallas Fort Worth area. We have not been spending a lot of time on Lake Lewisville recently because we have been fishing Cedar Creek Lake so much so we will be fishing two guided catfish fishing trips on Lake Lewisville this weekend and pre-fishing for the television show on Monday. Featured in the show I believe will be rod and reel fishing for blue catfish, rod and reel fishing the rip-rap for spawning channel catfish and jug fishing for blue catfish with our Fish On Flagging Catfish Juglines.

We just got in a new package of catfish fishing equipment from Berkley / Abu Garcia / Pure Fishing through our sponsorship. We will be trying out the new Berkley Glowstick (Glowstik) Fishing Rods. These appear to be some great catfish fishing rods. We have been fishing the Berkley Reflex Fishing Rods for a long time now and have been really pleased with them. The Berkley Glowstick (Glowstik) Fishing Rods are built on the same blanks as the Berkley Reflex Fishing Rods so the have great potential. The Berkley Glowstick (Glowstik) Catfish Fishing Rods have built in LED Lights built into the rod, and the entire blank glows in the dark. The handle of the Berkley Glowstick (Glowstik) holds three AAA batteries and has a switch built into it. You turn on the LED lights in the Berkley Glowstick (Glowstik) Catfish Fishing Rod and the rod lights up, and then when you shut the lights off, the entire blank of the catfish fishing rod glows in the dark. This appears to be a great fishing rod. I have not had a chance to use the Glowstik E-Glass Catfish Fishing Rod yet but will post some reviews and information as soon as I have had an opportunity to put some big blue catfish in the boat with it. The only downside I see at this point with the Glowstick (Glowstik) E-Glass Catfish Fishing Rods are that the handle is quite a bit bigger in diameter compared to the Berkley Reflex Catfish Fishing Rod and there might be some issues getting it in and out of the Bee Ready Fishing Rod Holders. I did speak with Rick at Bee Ready Fishing Rod Holders and he said that he has designed a tool to spread the loops in the Bee Ready Fishing Rod Holders to accommodate the bigger catfish rods so we may have to spread out the loops on the Bee Ready Fishing Rod Holders for the Berkley Glowstick Rods. The only other drawback I see with the Glowstick E-Glass Catfish Rods is they have different eyes on them than the Berkley Reflex E-Glass Catfish Fishing Rods. The Berkley Reflex E-Glass Catfish Fishing Rods have the Hard Chromium guides on them so there is no worries about knocking the eyelets of the fishing rod out but the Berkley Glowstick does not have the hard chromium guides. We also received in a bunch of Berkley Lighting Rod IM7 ProLite Steelhead rods that we use for catfishing. We have been using several different Steelhead rods for catfishing for a while now, including the Berkley Lightning Rod and the Eagle Claw Granger X Series (Eagle Claw GRX) Steelhead Rods. We also received in a bunch of Abu Garcia 6500C3 Fishing Reels as well. I am looking forward to testing out the Berkley Glowstick Fishing Rods and the Berkley Lightning Rod IM7 Prolite Steelhead Fishing Rods. I will post reviews of these products in the near future once I have had them on the water for a day or two.

For more information on our guided catfish fishing trips visit www.txcatfishguide.com or call 817-946-1777

Lake Fairfield Flathead Catfish caught on Rod and Reel while on a guided catfish fishing trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service 

Lake Fairfield Redfish caught while on a guided catfish fishing trip at Lake Fairfield with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. June 2005 

Robert Varnell caught this redfish on Lake Fairfield while on a guided catfish fishing trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. June 2005 

Bubba Gump caught this Redfish on Fairfield while on a guided catfish fishing trip with North Texas Catfish Guide Service. 

Lake Fairfield Yellow Catfish caught on Rod and Reel June 2005 by North Texas Catfish Guide Service. Released after photographs.