Distance Blues Now
Across the South, fishing for blue cats is in prime season in reservoirs, such as famed Lake Texoma on the Texas-Oklahoma Border. Action picks up in fall and lasts through spring, with winter being as good as it gets for big fish. Texoma has given up untold numbers of trophy blues, none so recognized as the former 121.5-pound world record, caught by Cody Mullennix of Howe, Texas, in January 2004.
In winter, boat anglers regularly catch blues in deeper areas in the lower sections of reservoirs. Yet, while they’re catching fish, other anglers like Mullennix make good catches fishing from shore. He was bank-fishing in the Big Mineral Arm of Texoma when he caught his record blue. A lesser-known story unfolded across the lake in November 2004, when B.J. Nabors of Madill, Oklahoma, caught the Oklahoma state record 98-pound blue from the upper Wa****a Arm. He was shorefishing, too.
In-Fisherman Editor In Chief Doug Stange fished with Mullennix and wrote about his shore tactics. When water cools into the 60°F range, even down to the 50s and 40s, shad move into the headwaters of river arms and shallower portions of creek arms. Some blue cats stay deep, but lots of fish also follow some shad shallow. The area where Mullennix caught the record is mostly less than about 10 feet deep.
Mullennix says that where he fishes in the Big Mineral Arm, most fish follow a gradual drop-off line somewhere off the shoreline. Long casts aren’t always necessary, but it still pays to be able to make them. Sometimes he’s catching fish 50 yards from shore; other times 100-plus-yard casts are necessary to reach good spots.
The wind doesn’t have to be blowing in when you fish, but it’s best if it has been blowing in for several days before, Mullennix says. His fishing partner Jason Holbrook, former holder of the Texas state record blue cat, says that other good spots are deeper, shorter creek arms directly connected to the main reservoir, and points where creek arms enter the main lake or those within the creek arms.
The team uses surf tackle: 12-foot Shakespeare Ugly Stik Custom Graphite Surf Rods matched with Shakespeare Prius Bigwater Spinning Reels spooled with 20-pound Berkley Big Game. They find that the graphite Ugly Stiks help to cast 8 ounces of lead farther than can be done with longer fiberglass rods.
Their rig consists of a dropline of about 24 inches tied to the eye of a two-way swivel. The weight is added to the end of the dropline. The mainline is tied to the other end of the swivel, as is a hook dropper about 18 inches long. They use 8/0 Lazer Sharp L7228 circle hooks. Shad is the favored bait.
After casting, they set rods in rod holders at about a 45-degree angle to the water. The drag’s set just enough to keep the line tight, but loose enough to let a big fish surge off without the rod pulling from the holder. Using circle hooks, there’s no hard hook-setting. Just let the rod load, point it at the fish, and reel as you lift the rod.
Long-distance casting also can pay off during the Prespawn Period, when catfish consolidate in tailwaters below dams. If you add some yardage to your casts, more of the productive current seams and eddies are within reach. Edwards says this was particularly useful below Bagnell, where anglers were prohibited from getting within 100 yards of the dam.
You don’t need to become a master-class caster, hurling baits 725 feet to catch more catfish. To put a typical competition cast into perspective, 680 feet is the diameter of the dome on the Louisiana Superdome. Few anglers can ever achieve those distances, and for fishing, it just isn’t practical. But if you can reach the Green Monster or beyond, more catfish are within your reach.
