Monster cats of Ozarks a rewarding challenge

Ozark rivers and lakes are full of trophy catfish just waiting for the correct presentation of a yummy snack. Most anglers ignore this remarkable fish, completely unaware that few lake, pond or stream dwellers have the power of a big catfish.
I witnessed this phenomenon several years ago on a hot, sultry day when smart people sat in air conditioning. The Osage River, a noted paddlefish snagging river located close to Osceola, Mo., had finally receded from heavy rains. Conditions were not ideal.
Catfish in the Osage are noted for biting hard when the river is rising and running fast. The rampage was over this day and gentle water returned as the river dropped. We decided to try for a giant cat anyway.
Shannon Harrison of Lee’s Summit opened the throttle of his 225 Evinrude engine early that morning. The Stratos boat cranking downstream gave off a welcomed breath of cool-morning air mixed with spray off the surface, soothing sunburns from the previous day’s fishing.
Harrison swerved to miss floating logs and other debris. He knew the water and slid his boat through deeper passages within a few feet of big logs and rocks.
Soon he shut the powerful motor down and drifted toward a rock wall, watching his depth finder screen for a cloud of bait. He suddenly stopped the boat and nodded to his buddies.
Mike Allison of Lee’s Summit and Dennis Dahlke of Shawnee, Kan., stepped up on the boat’s deck and tossed out throw nets that opened up into full circles while twisting through the air. Both nets landed flat on the surface and slowly sank down to unsuspecting schools of gizzard shad. Several more casts quickly filled Harrison’s live well with the day’s bait.
Thick 6-foot long surf rods with heavy Model 7500 Ambassador reels with 80- to 100-pound test line were soon rigged with shad heads on Gamakatsu Kayle style off-set hooks. Baits were cast at least 60 to 80 feet from large surf rods. Baits sunk into a deeply submerged rock chute in the current, a boulder-lined area catfish swim through like cars driving down a highway. Baits dropped and settled in the current, held down by large lead weights.
“We’ll soon know,” Harrison said. “Bigger cats bite quicker than smaller cats at times. Just be ready, the bites can be extremely savage.”
I watched tightened lines show betraying movement from the current, mixed with bouncing from a welcome morning breeze. Allison’s rod tip suddenly bounced a couple of times, like you might expect from a small fish and not the powerful hit Harrison had predicted. He set the hook hard twice to penetrate the hard bone and groaned as a powerful surge shot through the rod. A very large catfish took off deep in the river like a runaway train.
The big cat made several satisfying runs around submerged boulders looking for a place to lose what had grabbed its jaw. We marveled at the number of powerful surges the cat made, like tying a fishing line on the neck of a running 100-pound hog. His rod bent hard like a willow branch in heavy wind. Reeling was impossible unless the big cat stopped to rest or swam toward the boat.
Dahlke and Harrison quickly moved to untie the boat and drift farther away from shore. Soon the fight was taking place in river’s center and away from the more shallow obstacles that could break Allison’s line.
The big cat started weakening and moving closer to the boat. A couple more runs brought the fish to surface and we got our first look at the monster. The cat drifted closer, got a good look at the boat and dove down deep and hard like a submarine’s released torpedo. The rod completely doubled straight down over the side and Allison almost went overboard. I grabbed his shirt as he fought to release the reel’s drag, letting the big cat run.
His thick rod made high-pitched sounds of straining as the big fish made several more powerful runs that gradually became weaker. Soon Harrison gaffed the 47-pound blue catfish and everyone in the boat sat back and took a long drink of Gatorade. I only noticed at that moment that my shirt was soaked with sweat. We had all worked to move equipment and do everything possible to help Allison win the fight.
“Large catfish are intelligent,” Harrison said. “They seem to be scared when hooked and fight with every ounce of power available. Bigger cats dive straight down to brush or rocks and often escape so we use heavy equipment. We are always after 25-pound cats and larger. We catch many over 20 pounds. I have fought many 25 minutes or longer. Catfish are all muscle and never give up, even when hooked on a stringer.”
OZARK CONSERVATION AND BIG CATS: Shocking surveys by different conservation groups in Arkansas and Missouri over the past several years found smaller catfish around shallow riffraff or other cover and big cats around deeper structure, sometimes deep as 30 feet .
“The big blue catfish that may go over 100 pounds are mainly found in rivers and the upper reaches of reservoirs,” said Kevin Sullivan, Resource Scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “They are an open-water type of fish that feed throughout the day and night. Many are caught in shallow flats during the hot summer time. Blues are aggressive schooling fish that love cut shad, a fact utilized by Ozark guides.”
During hot weather spawning cycles, big catfish like blues look for cavities and caverns in rocks walls, rock ledges or mud banks out of the current. The bigger fish swim back to deeper water after the eggs are hatched and gone. Then they mix with junk on the bottom, anything to find relief from the ever pushing or pulling current.
Rivers with dikes and heavy current like the Missouri or the Mississippi provide bigger fish scour holes. The constant pounding of current on sandy or mud bottoms create these remarkable holes at the end of each dike.
Big catfish lay in these holes during hot weather for a natural source of oxygen. Smaller fish avoid these areas because of the heavy current overhead and more importantly, the very good possibility of being eaten by a bigger fish. New dikes tend to hold more fish because the rock structures are still clear of sediments. Older dikes are generally filled with mud and sand delivered by tremendous river currents.
MORE HOT-WEATHER POSSIBILITIES: “Flathead catfish are the latest catfish to spawn into the first week of July,” Sullivan said. “After the spawn, they often go on a feeding spree. Females leave after dropping their eggs and males guard their nests.”
During late summer, submerged channel bends, most types of underwater obstacles and deeper water are ideal places to fish for flatheads. They only feed on live bait, contrary to blues and channel cats that will eat almost anything.
FISHING FOR PAN-SIZED CATS IN THE OZARKS: “We stock pan-sized channel catfish in most small lakes in the Missouri Ozarks, 250 acres or less, because we don’t get natural recruitment,” said Paul Michaletz, fishery management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Most naturally produced catfish are eaten by predators in their fry stages. Stocked fish offers excellent fishing on southern lakes.”
Channel catfish will eat about anything that stinks and is alive or dead. Ozark streams will occasionally have a population of channel cats and some may be extremely large. I hooked one several years ago in a deep hole on the Piney River, close to Cabool, Mo., that easily broke my new 10-pound test line. The cat lay in its secluded spot and dined on crawfish, small fish and any number of things that happened by. 
Hot weather fishermen catch more channel cats in the evening or overnight in deeper sections of lakes or big ponds. Check your local regulations to determine how late you can legally fish in Conservation lakes.
CHOOSE YOUR BOAT CAREFULLY: Type of boats to use depends on where you fish. Those fishing the bigger Ozark lakes can use anything including the most expensive bass boats or pontoons.
Those fishing rivers may want to stay with aluminum Jon or V-bottomed versions and stainless steel props. Breaking a standard prop on floating logs, sand bars or rocks is a common occurrence. A stainless steel prop means less repair bills.
Fishing for giant catfish is a rewarding challenge. Don’t believe the old fable that that large catfish fight like a hooked log and smaller fish fight harder. Allison’s 47-pounder almost broke a very thick surf rod that few weightlifters could bend with both hands.