Bank Fishing For Cats

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm not much of a big river guy, but the fact is, the big muddy is the closest river to my house, and I have only fished it once. I don't have any kind of boat that will handle the Missouri, so I'll be bank bound. I have a nice access area in mind (Washington Riverfront Park), but frankly, I have no idea how to fish it. I won't be targeting huge blues or flatheads (although I wouldn't minding tangling with one), but rather just eating size channel cats.

So, what baits should I use? I'm just thinking nightcrawlers might do the job, but I could be wrong.

Thanks in advance.