Drifting, by definition, is aimless wandering.
But in the context of fishing for catfish in rivers, tailwaters below dams, or large reservoirs, drifting is a deliberate searching of a given depth or cover type.
The idea is to slow the presentation down, and probe every hump, ditch, channel, rock pile or hole in the bottom cover. Put the bait right in front of the catfish’s nose so he gets two or three good looks at the bait, not just a fleeting glance.
Drifting is an especially effective technique during the summer when catfish are scattered and actively feeding.
In Reservoirs
In reservoirs, catfish anglers often drift with the wind, dragging their baits across wide, flat basins, prospecting for widely-scattered fish that are suspended four to eight feet off the bottom.
In main stem reservoirs, such as Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley, where there is consistent current in the channel during peak hours of electricity generation, use a trolling motor to slow your drift, keeping the bait on the edge of a deep ledge.
Early in the morning, catfish will be up on top of the ledge, in 25 feet of water, but midday they move down into the old river channel, in water as deep as 65 feet.
In the late afternoon, catfish will move back up on top of the break, where the old river bank once was and tree stumps and other cover is still in place.
The strategy is to find and mark as many stretches of water as possible where depth and cover hold catfish, then use electronics to re-trace the high percentage spots.
Drift at a speed where the line is at about a 45-degree angle behind the boat, to aid in feeling the bottom contour, and avoiding snags. Raise and lower the bait very slowly. That’s when most strikes occur.
In Rivers and Tailwaters Below Dams
In rivers, and tailwaters, catfish are closer to the bottom, and facing into the current.
Rock piles, deep rip-rap lined banks, channels and eddies behind bridge abutments and fishing piers, often hold catfish in the swift water below dams.
In large rivers, where the channel may be less defined due to silting, the prime catfish-holding cover is often holes, logs or root wads sticking up from the bottom, deep outside bends, or runs below holes, where the bottom is uneven and there are V-shaped current seams on the surface.
The two- to eight-pound catfish will be shallow, but the bigger fish will always be deep. Holes are often found where the river is constricted into a narrow chute, or the current gouges out big bends. River anglers should also fish around the deep side of sandbars. At night, catfish like to cruise the tops of sandbars, especially where they come up shallow to the banks.
Drifting Rig
At the heart of the basic catfish drifting rig is a three-way swivel. Use a bell sinker for the weight on the bottom of the rig, tied to the three-way swivel on a 30- to 36-inch leader.
Typically, the hook leader is shorter, about 20 to 24 inches long. Foam floats are sometime added to the hook leader to keep the bait up in the water column.
Most anglers use lighter line on the sinker leader, to prevent loosing the whole rig when snags occur. Obviously the weight of the sinker depends on the depth being fished, and the pound test of the line, the size of catfish usually encountered. When fishing with a casting reel and rod, some anglers use braided line for the main line and monofilament line for the hook and weight leaders.
The hook of choice for catfishing is the circle hook, which ensures more consistent hookups. When the angler feels the catfish on the line, simply raise the rod tip and start reeling.
Some anglers snell two hooks in line on the leader when fishing nightcrawlers for channel catfish.
To catch blue or flathead catfish, live fish — shad, skipjack herring, or shiners — must be used. Some anglers add a crane swivel to the hook leader because it gives the bait more action and eliminates line twist. When the bait is twisting and turning in the current it looks like the bait is dying.
A 7 1/2-foot medium-action rod is preferred for all but the largest catfish. When river levels across Kentucky get back to normal, catfish will be hungry and drift fishing conditions will be ideal.
Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for KyForward.com. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.