Aaaahhh...now we get to the love of my life! Now, everyone has their own ways of catchin' cats, and these are just mine, and they have served me well. I both lake and river fish for cats, and I also target flatheads, but still catch a fair amount of blues and channels. So, without adieu, here's my two cents worth.

There is one word for where to find catfish...DEEP! During the day your cats are gonna be deep due to their aversion to light, to protect their sensitive eyes. At night, cats venture out to find dinner and leave the holes to move into the shallows and flats. During the day, concentrate your fishing on deep holes. The best places to find Cats at night for me have been on the shallower slopes coming up out of holes, around docks, on flats, and anywhere you should be afraid to throw your line for fear of snags. Blues and channels like the same holes, with blues preferring current, such as tailraces or powerhouses. Remember, DAY = DEEP, NIGHT = NOT SO DEEP!

As far as bait goes, I've heard it all, and instead of rehashing it all, I'm just gonna tell you what I use. Fresh bream, (live for flats, cut for blues and channels), cut herring, chicken livers, and worms (nightcrawlers).

For livers and worms, I use either treble hooks or hooks with multiple barbs. There is no quick and easy way to learn to hook livers, so git you a tub, and start practicing. After using them for several years I still toss off a few every trip.

Yes, catfishing is this simple. They are normally plentiful and you can almost go anywhere to catch them. Once again, to target the monsters, you and I both have to do some learning. You can read everything in the world, and it WILL help, but for every 6 hours you spend reading, if you spent half that time on the water looking for holes and fishing them, you'll learn more about where YOU fish.