Channel catfish are the most popular catfish species but flathead catfish have gained in popularity because their large size. Flathead catfish are doing very well in size and abundance. Anglers seeking flathead catfish should concentrate their efforts in the upper reaches of the Roanoke and Blackwater arms, especially in coves.

Bait

Natural or prepared bait size depends on the size of the fish you want to catch. For small, eating-size channel cats, earthworms or small minnows are good. For huge flatheads, a 6-inch or bigger bream or shad is best. Fish all baits on the bottom. In lakes, it often helps to pre-bait a hole (this is actually a form of chumming) to draw cats into a smaller area to catch them. This concentrates them and improves your odds. Channel cats will readily eat whole kernel corn. Toss a little corn out for chum and wait.

Tackle To Use

You should match your rod, reel and line choices to the size of the cats you expect to catch. Smaller cats are more fun to catch on lighter spinning or baitcasting rods, and they provide good sport with this equipment. But you need heavy-action rods, reels with a good drag and strong line to land really big catfish. When going after 50-pound or larger catfish, many anglers choose light saltwater gear.

For landing smaller fish, a 6- to 7-foot medium-action spinning rod, and a medium-duty reel that has a good drag, will cover most situations. Spool the reel with 10-pound nylon monofilament line, or a heavier braided line with a small diameter, and you can land cats from 1 to 10 pounds. You can land even bigger catfish with this tackle, too, if the reel drag is reliable and you play the fish right.