Blue Catfish Setups andRigs You Won’t Believe

Ormseth makes his own breakaway weights and attaches one to the loop on the braid above the leader, using a cross-lock snap. Ormseth: “I cut a 3- to 4-inch section of shoestring, insert #4 buckshot, and seal the ends. Fifteen shot make about an ounce. I use up to 25 shot for deeper fishing. If the weight snags, I pull until the snap opens, losing the weight, but I usually save the rig. If the hook snags, the rig often breaks nearer the hook, so I can salvage the rest of the rig. I use a section of broom handle, wrap the line around it 8 or 10 times, and pull hard until it breaks. When the rig’s trolled, the weight should drag over bottom with the float keeping the bait up about a foot or so.” He baits hooks with 1- to 2-inch skin-on chunks of mullet, shad, or shiners, with mullet his favorite.

Mechanics and Location

Ormseth uses a 70-pound-thrust Minn Kota AutoPilot trolling motor for pulling rigs. “This motor is the heart of my system,” he says. “I set it and forget it. I also use drift bags to help control my speed. If the wind’s calm, I don’t use any; but if it’s windy, I use up to four drift bags to get the speed right. I like 0.6 to 0.8 mph in warmer water and 0.3 to 0.5 mph during the colder seasons. Once you get the speed right, just sit back and have a cup of coffee.

“I always pull with the AutoPilot against the bags to get the propelling motion that the planer boards need to move them outward. In heavy wind, the boards don’t go out quite as far. I often troll with the wind, unless it’s light, then I troll into the wind. No wind is perfect for this system for following breaklines and structure. The key is getting the boards out at the right speed,” he says.

Although Ormseth fishes during the day on occasion, he mostly fishes at night, especially in summer because it gets uncomfortably hot during the day. “To see the boards and Herbies at night, I attach an inexpensive chemical glowstick. I drill holes at the top of the boards and Herbies and insert the glowsticks, then attach a 1-ounce weight to the bottom side of the Herbies so the glowstick stands upright. I can see every move the lights make with snags or bites. When a big blue pulls it down, it only takes a second for the light to disappear. Grab that rod and hold on, and you’re in heaven at Santee-Cooper.”

Working his board spread primarily on Lake Moultrie, the depths and locations he fishes differ by season. He focuses on edges of structural elements, particularly creek channel edges and where creek channels end on flats, and dropoffs associated with the Cooper River channel. He also works over interiors of flats.

Ormseth keeps a log of each trip, recording the numbers and sizes of fish caught, plus water temperature and depths. During spring and fall, he often finds blues on shallow flats. “I’ve seen a few nice, warmer days in mid- to late February when blues moved into about 10 feet of water,” he says. “Then as the water continues to warm, they tend to move even shallower, and I’m typically fishing in 3 to 4 feet of water at that time. The shallow pattern tends to start once the water temperature reaches about 52ºF.