One of the aspects of cat fishing that makes it such an appealing sport are the endless ways to fish them successfully, year round. Catfish can be taken on multiple types of fishing outfits, baits and presentations throughout the year. Some choose to big baitcasting outfits spooled up with 30 to 40 pound test, while others choose to snag catfish using spinning outfits that better resemble a bass fishing outfit.

So lets take a look at some of the various gear, tactics and types of productive mid summer cat fishing.

Cat Fishing With Light To Medium Gear

Light tackle on summer catfish is a good choice for the angler who is cat fishing a small to medium sized river, which has dropped considerably during the summers heat. There are few reasons why fishing light gear in these situations is a viable option. Firstly when water levels begin to drop to much fish can become weary and very spookable. The light tackle and line will give you an advantage here. Also the lighter fishing gear will make fishing low water conditions much easier.

Summer time also means wade fishing to many anglers, cat fishing is no exception! Wading for catfish in low water, mid summer conditions can be very rewarding and pleasurable. Just a note always use cation when wading a river, don’t let the low water conditions give you a false sense of security!

Using light tackle while wading for catfish is a must! I mean you could try wading a river with a 8 foot baitcasting rod, loaded with 30lb test, though it wouldn’t be very feasible.

Techniques For Light To Medium Gear Cat Fishing

A light to medium action 6 to 7 foot fishing rod and reel spooled with 8 to 12 pound test is a common set up for light gear cat fishing. If wading youll really need nothi9ng more than a small box packed with assorted sinkers, hooks, floats and some other extras like swivels. Floats work well in medium to slow, low water conditions. A float will allow you to cover more water, while presenting your bait a different depths. A float will also prevent allot of snags and hang ups.

A common slip rig also works well for sticking your bait to the bottom, or even drifting, though hang ups will become more common depending on the type of structure your fishing.

The bait you use will very, though small live baits and small chicken livers are the norm for light tackle cat fishing. Large cut baits are hard to fish on a light fishing outfit. I am a true believer of using natural bait for catfish, bait that is native to the waters you are fishing. You can read more on catfish bait selection here.

If your cat fishing from the shore with light to medium gear, make sure you keep a close eye on your fishing gear! I have on more than one occasion lost fishing outfits while not paying attention. One decent sized catfish can take a light to medium sized rod into the water in a blink of an eye!

riffles that run into holes, cuts, eddies, log jams and pockets around islands are all common places that catfish can be found in caught during the mid summer months. Anywhere theres a break or change in the current is a potential spot for catfish to be laying and waiting for its next meal.

Don’t waist to much time on one whole or area of water, if your not catching catfish, move on to the next and so on.

Another really great aspect of cat fishing with light to medium gear is that chances are your going to catch more than just catfish. You never know when your next fish might be a mountable bass, or a trophy walleye.

Cat Fishing With Heavy Gear

If your fishing big water, then stepping things up a notch is a viable option. Though light to medium fishing gear will work on big water as well, if your after the big boys a light to medium fishing outfit just will not cut it. Although landing a 40lb catfish on a medium sized rod, spooled with 12lb test is not impossible, you have allot working against you and I personally would rather not loose the catfish of a lifetime because I wasnt using gear that was made for fighting such a beast.

If your going after big water, mid summer catfish then there should be no compromise when it comes to the strength of your fishing gear! Big rods, reels and tough line is a must, a 7 to 8 foot, medium heavy to heavy fishing rod, with a matched reel should do the trick. Spool it up with some high quality 20 to 40 pound test and you’ve got your hands on the perfect big water catfish rig!

Baits for big water catfish will vary, but generally if your after bigger catfish then bigger baits are the answer. Big catfish can also be caught on smaller baits, so you’ll have to do some research, find out what these big cats are feeding on. Don’t be fooled into thinking you need big bait to catch big catfish. Many times medium sized dead shiners will catch more and bigger catfish than large cut bait.

Fishing submerged brush, stumps and logs can be very productive on big cats during the summer months. Also any current breaks were big cats can lay and wait for food to be brought to them. Cat fish are very opportunistic feeders, more so during the hot summer months.

Once you’ve found a potential stomping ground for catfish, fish it well from all angles, but don’t waist to much time in one spot. Personally if I don’t get hit in a half hour to 45 minuets in one spot I move on to the next.

During the spring catfish are generally easy to catch, though as the season change into summer and things start heating up things can change drastically. Covering water is key to catching catfish during the hot mid summer months. Move, Move Move, until your on the catfish!

Also consider fishing at night for catfish during the hot summer months. Night time hours usually produce better results during the summer. Dusk and the early morning hours are also idea times to catch mid summer catfish. If your fishing from dusk into dark you night notice a hot bite during dusk, but then once the sun has totally vanished the bite shuts off. This is normal, fish like humans and other animals have eyes that need to adjust to the dark. Give it an hour or so and chances are you’ll start picking up on some catfish again.

Hopefully this cat fishing article will help you catch more more catfish during the up coming mid summer cat fishing season. Remember to check back to our cat fishing site often, I will be writing a few more in depth, advanced summer time cat fishing articles.