North Texas Catfish Guide Service

Catfishing Gear For Sale

2009-06-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

Spring Catfishing Part 3 of 3

2008-09-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of 3 of the Spring Catfishing TV Show with the Divas In The Outdoors and North Texas Catfish Guide Service

North Texas Catfish Guide Video 2

2008-09-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

North Texas Catfish Guide Service Video

2008-09-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-24T21:57:00.000-07:00


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

2006-08-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

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.

Lake Lewisville and Lake Fairfield Guided Fishing Trips

2006-08-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2006-08-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

2006-07-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

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

2006-07-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-07-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-11-15T17:41:00.000-08:00

http://whiskerkitty.com/groupee

Fishing for Texas Blue Catfish

2005-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

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

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