Roosevelt catfish tactics

[Coach]

I'm taking the family down to Roosevelt next week for some R&R, and hoping to get in some good fishing. Generally I'm a decent catfisher, coming from a long line of Oklahoman's that trot-line, jug-line, limb-line, and when that fails, just dive in and pull them out of their holes under the banks of muddy rivers.

 

But catfishing AZ lakes is a bit different - all rod and reel, and my results have been spotty. My tactics out here have basically boiled down to this:

 

Fresh cut bait (usually carp) is better than smelly bait

Deeper isn't better - rocky points with 15-20' water close to shallow coves seem better than deeper drop-offs (with some exceptions)

At night, I usually do as well with bait under a lighted bobber, maybe 4-6' deep produces more, but smaller cats than bottom fishing

Most of the biggest cats I've caught, or at least hooked into and lost, have been crappie fishing in the brush with light line and small jigs or minnows.

 

 

But like I said, the results are only OK given the number of cats I know are in these lakes. Anyone have any tactics that work that you're willing to share?

[bowfishAZ]

We always see a lot of cats, channels and flat heads, when were shooting fish at night. They are usually in 4-8 foot of water. As for bait, we always fished flat heads with live bait, either 1-2 pound carp or bluegil, and channels either cut bait, minnows or a big glob of nightcrawlers did the trick. Those flat heads gotta be startin to feed heavily for the pre spawn. Hope this helps!

[bonecollector]

Growing up in Globe we used to fish Rosevelt almost every weekend in the summer when I was in high school. We would go out in afternoon and catch a bunch of bluegill and we would use tht as our bait when it got dark. We would fish the bottom with the bluegill near a cove around school house. We used to do pretty well doing that. Good luck and have fun.

[Coach]

Any tips on loading up on bluegill during the day? I'm taking a minnow seine in hopes we can pull out some small carp around Tonto Creek, but we can toss worms at bluegill in the brush and rock piles too.

 

Thanks bowfishAZ, I've always found flat heads feed exclusively on live bait, the bigger the better.

 

As always, thanks for the replies.

[bonecollector]

We just used a worm for the bluegill near the rocks and brush.

[COOSEFAN]

Hey Coach, I've always had the best luck with the flatheads using live bluegills suspended just up off the bottom about 2 ft. I would use a pretty heavy weight about 2 ft up from the hook to keep the bluegill from swimming around too far and getting snagged on something. I would always have the best luck doing this out of a boat tho and not sure how you would accomplish this from the bank. The times I've tried doing it from the bank I would constantly have snags because of the bluegill swimming under or through stuff on the bottom. Lastly, we'd use throw nets to catch our bluegills but a small hook and worm should do fine. Best of luck and post pics!

[COOSEFAN]

Also, might just be me, but I've always thought, the deeper the water, the bigger the fish. Especially mid day I would fish deeper and then at night go shallower. This always held true south of Horseshoe dam at least.

[standman]

Hey Jason. Just to let you know Roosy is muddy chocolate debris mess. Fishing been pretty tough there. I don't know if it'll have an effect on catfish ing or not. Just thought I would let u know.

 

Brian

[Snapshot]

I fish mostly for channel cats. The best are the 2-3 pounders for eating. I like to fish at night with big nightcrawlers and a glow in the dark bobber. Keeps the bait off the bottom and away from the pesky crawdads. With a 2 pole stamp, I set one up for crappies with minnows, and the other for cats. Kick back in a lawn chair with a lantern (from shore), a few cold ones.....lots of fun!

[tjhunt2]

Glad you started this post Coach because I too need some good pointers. I know live bluegills are the norm for flatheads but a friend of mine catches most of his flatheads on nightcrawlers. He uses some of the catfish spray on them as well.

I just can't seem to get out after dark after an all day fishing. Dark is usually my down time with a cold one sitting around a nice camp fire. I've been fishing Saguaro the last couple weeks and there isn't a bluegill to be seen right now. Not sure how Rosy's bluegills are doing but it might be a good idea taking extra worms just in case. Good luck and take lots of pictures.

 

TJ

[savagman]

Just got back from Rosy and the wind has made things tough. No bluegills spotted in three days of fishing with the kids. Bass bite late morning to early afternoon if the wind doesn't blow you off the lake. No catfish or carp bites either - carp are jumping but don't seem to be biting.