Anyone Doing Any Catfishing?

[Buck]

Hello All, 

I'm a regular poster in the migratory birds forum, but usually just a lurker in the fishing forums. However, I recently graduated from the university and bought a house here and have been fishing the river arm of beaver fairly regularly for bream, cats and gar. Has anyone been doing any catfishing with this high water? I've been running jugs up backwaters in the river arm of the lake, and doing okay, but the results are really sub par. If I catch a few good eater channels I call it a good day. I'm used to catching the snot out of them up at Table Rock, but I guess it's a completely different game here. I primarily use free floating jugs (labeled and checked every hour, I've never lost one) with cut bait, but have also experimented with hot dogs, liver, and prepared bait. Does anyone have any tips or pointers? I know Beaver isn't a great catfish lake, but I know I'm fishing great structure where there should be fish. The attached picture is from one of my better days on Table Rock. 

[Dan the fisherman]

 The only cats I catch are on accident when I'm striper fishing in the winter.  Sorry I couldn't be n e help. I honestly don't ever here of people catching good numbers. Not that people don't, I just here about it

[Buck]

Well, I'm just going to use this thread as a record of my Beaver Lake catfishing successes and failures. We went out tonight and had a decent night as far as Beaver goes, we set out 20 jugs at about 6:00, and packed up at 8:00. We didn't have time to get cut bait, so we just used hot dogs. We got 5 channels, 3 were just little guys, but the two we kept totaled about 10lbs. All in all it was a decent night, we'll be out again Friday night. 

[JohnF52]

Beaver is a very under rated catfish lake.  Very good from Monte Ne on south to the headwaters.  Very few people fish specifically for catfish.  It can be done.

[Stump bumper]

From what I have read in the past and people I have talked with live bait is the way to go. I have hooked a lot of 15-20 pound flat heads up near shore at night throwing jigs for bass so I know the big cats come up shallow at night. I would suggest throwing a cast net for small sunfish or as the the locals say do some "perch jerking" for bait. On the easier side live gold fish are popular but not sure if the are environmentally friendly. I have hooked some real monsters up around PC, but again was not looking for them but they hit live shad in the 6 to 8 inch range in the early spring, so don't give up there are monster cats in the lake for sure. Limb lines are better for the big ones than jugs, I have been told.

[Champ188]

Live grasshoppers are a local favorite for catfish in late summer. The bigger the better. 

[Buck]

As much fun as it is catching giant flatheads, my absolute favorite are 3-5lb channel cats. They're the perfect eating fish. I've been out about 3 evenings in the past week, catching lots of channels around a foot long, but only a handful of good eaters. Liver has been catching the numbers for me, but cut bait has been catching the bigger fish. 

[JohnF52]

I've had fun raising channel cats.  Started harvesting them in earnest this summer.  Have taken about 87 pounds of 2 to 5 pound channels out since early June.  It's a lot of fun with light /  ultralight tackle.   Is it worth the 400 pounds of feed?  Can't say yet.