The Passion

My passion is fishing. More specifically, fishing for the mighty Mississippi channel catfish.

I have a cabin overlooking the river near Keithsburg, Illinois. Beginning sometime in March, when we open the cabin up for the season, and lasting until the last weekend in October, when we close it up for the winter, we spend every weekend and our summer vacations here.

There is nothing more peaceful than to anchor out in the channel or in a quiet slough and fish. As the day slides over the western horizon and the sky erupts in pinks, yellows and oranges, you are slowly enveloped in the night. The stars glow with an awesome power and their reflections shimmer off the tranquil river. The night silence is punctuated with the howls and screams of the nocturnal animals and birds. The slapping of the water against the bow of the boat, along with the complete darkness of the night, puts me back in the womb.

Then, this suspended animation is broken by the jerk of the fishing rod. With great excitement and anticipation, you begin reeling in the "monster". As the rod bends and the tautness increases, you envision that the world record is on the other end of the line, swimming below you in the murky darkness of the river.

When the great fish is finally landed, it turns out to be only a five pound channel catfish. But to me, it is a most beautiful site. The sleek lines, the smooth feel of the fish's skin, the warm feel emitted as the fish wiggles to escape from my clutches. Then, the most marvelous thing occurs as you try to remove the hook from the fish. The wonderful channel catfish speaks to you. There is a croaking sound that the fish will make. A step into the surreal as one species tries to communicate to another through a completely different language. Then there is the moment of enlightenment when I actually believe I understand what the fish is saying.

If it appears that this experience sounds almost spiritual, I guess it isn't by accident that's the way I describe it. As you can tell, the experience is more than just catching a fish to eat.

  The Methodology

There are numerous methods and baits for catching catfish. Everyone has their favorite "secret" bait and that special fishing hole. The ole timers often take them to the grave. In rare situations, these secrets will passed on, to be shared with the next generation of fishermen.

The wonderful thing I find with fishing for catfish is the pure simplicity of the experience. You can use a bamboo pole with a hook and bobber and for bait, a ball of bread dough. You could have just as much luck as the guy who has a $200 rod and reel and is using chicken livers. Shucks, you don't even need a rod and reel to fish for catfish. You can run trot lines or bank poles or use jugs. But for me, this is not fishing. I want to experience the strike and feel the battle on the end of my rod.

Personally, I use a Zebco 733 "Hawg" reel and a Shakespeare Firebird rod, a Zebco Classic 44 with a Shakespeare Firebird rod also, and my wife uses a Zebco Classic Lite with a $10 rod. I use 20 pound test on all the reels with a No. 2 hook. I rig the rods with approximately a foot and half piece of line with a 3/4 ounce slip sinker (the current can be pretty fast on the Mississippi, especially around wing dams) and finish off with about one foot of line with the hook on it.

For my secret bait I use dew worms. I use worms for several reasons. One, I don't like stink baits. I suppose, this counts me out as a "true catfisher". Two, on the river, fishing with worms often will result in many surprise catches. You just don't know for sure what is going to be at the other end of the line. Usually, in the areas where we are fishing for catfish, we catch sheepheads (white perch). The dog gets these.

The Mississippi River is an enormous river to fish. So where do we fish for the elusive channel catfish? For the first two years, I fished from the bank in front of our cabin. We did not have a boat. The previous owner told us they never had much luck fishing there. To my joy, I did and was soon hooked on fishing as a relaxing hobby.

You can't have a cabin overlooking the river and enjoy fishing and not have a boat. The first boat we purchased was a used 15 foot runabout with a 1970 Mercury 50 hp motor. Boy, did we have fun in that boat, exploring the waterways of the river and fishing. I learned many of my boating skills with that boat and found some fishing holes.

In the spring of 1997, we purchased our "dream" boat. We now have a Starcraft Starfish Elite 200 with a 40 hp Force motor. The Starfish is a 20 foot pontoon with two fishing chairs on the bow and two on the stern. It has a porta poddy/changing room, a sink, a live well, and AM/FM stereo with cassette player. What a way to fish, in true comfort and enjoyment!

We do all our fishing for catfish at night. Another reason why I enjoy fishing for catfish. I like to be on the river around 7:00 pm and start fishing the various spots. For the most part, we fish off the wing dams. In the main channel, there are numerous wing dams jutting off the shore out into the river, some of them running all the way to the channel. In the slough where our cabin is located, there are three wing dams alone. I have also found that the fishing isn't too bad where the main river runs up shoots into the backwaters and around islands. If nothing is happening in these spots, we can always go across and fish on the Iowa side, where there are more wing dams and special holes. Depending on how good the fishing is, how the weather is and how tired we are, we usually fish well past midnight. Over the years, it seems that our largest fish have been caught between nine and eleven o'clock.

During the summer, if you are cruising the Mississippi in pool 18 at sunset and you see a pontoon anchored with a man and woman and two dogs fishing, give a wave, it is more than likely channelcat and his wife and dogs trying to catch that BIG ONE.

  Resources

I have found many sites on the Web devoted to catfishing. Although it isn't as glamorous as bass fishing, there are those that do love the hobby and are passionate. Instead of placing the links on this page, you will find them HERE.