John K. Flores: It's time to chase winter catfish

Several years ago, prior to COVID, I got together with my friend, Joey Ratcliff, to do some winter catfishing. Joey is a local fella who spends most of his spare time at the camp fishing and hunting.

Joey happens to have a knack for catching big catfish, particularly blue catfish, which is why I nagged him to take me. I say nag, but the truth is you don’t need to twist his arm. Joey is an affable guy who typically is more than willing to accommodate anyone who asks.

We headed south out of Jesse Fontenot Memorial Boat Landing in Berwick and after making a few zigs and zags off the Atchafalaya River we caught Greens Bayou near Lake Salve and started fishing.

The weather was cold and there was a frost on the marsh. The cutgrass, flag grass and bull tongue were flat, where you could see clean across the marsh. It’s amazing how vast the marsh is south of the Intracoastal Canal.

I must admit, I wasn’t too impressed with the spot my friend selected. The water was dirty and moving fast, where I had to use a one-ounce pyramid sinker on my drop rig in order to keep it from bouncing along the bottom or ultimately rising in the current.

I made a cast to one side of the bayou, while Joey threw his bait closer to the boat, where a backwater eddy made a spiral in the current. His bait no sooner touched bottom, when he gave his pole a jerk and the fight was on.

At first it looked like the fish was winning. Joey’s pole was bent over like a horseshoe, and he had sort of a grimace on his face. I figure it was the pole stuck in his belly, while he held onto the pole with one hand and worked the reel with the other.

The whole affair didn’t last long. The water was cold, and the blue cat seemed to quickly succumb to the strength of my buddy’s forearms. What’s more, it didn’t hurt that his reel was stuffed with 20-pound test line.

We didn’t have a scale in the boat, but the blue cat easily weighed 10 pounds, in my estimation. After a photo session, Joey told me to push us off the bank while he started the motor. Just like that we were off to another backwater eddy he regularly fished during the winter months.

Winter catfishing lesson number one, look for backwater eddies. The eddies usually form a deep hole along the bottom where catfish can lay in ambush for prey passing through the eddy.

Winter catfishing lesson number two, bring a variety of pyramid sinkers ranging from ¾ ounce to 2 ounces and match it to the current speed. You want to be able to tight line.

Therefore, use a weight heavy enough to get you down to the bottom, where it stays in place and does not bounce or rise in the current.

My friend Joey likes to use a 2/0 Kahle hook, but 1/0 Kahle will also work. I’ve also used 1/0 and 2/0 O’Shaughnessy bait hooks.

And, because I sometimes forget my cheater eyeglasses at home, I prefer tying my lines to O’Shaughnessy hooks with the bigger eyelets.

Blue catfish, unlike their close cousins, channel catfish, tolerate waters with slightly higher salinities.

Along the coast bayous like Big Beach, Little Beach, Greens, Big Hog and Little Hog that all empty into the Gulf are tidal and will have increased salinity during the fall and winter months.

When it comes to baits, blue catfish will eat just about anything that stinks, bleeds or crawls. I’ve even caught them on artificial baits accidentally while fishing bass in the fall. Some of the best baits to use for winter catfishing for blue cats are nutria liver, shrimp, and cut baits like mullet, pogy or shad.

Most anglers prefer smaller pan-size catfish to eat. However, large catfish can be cut up into cubes and fried or served in a court bouillon.

So, if you have a hankering for a good catfish court bouillon this winter, it’s time to get out during the holidays and chase a few cold-water cats along our St. Mary Parish central coastline.

John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflow@cox.net.