Precision Tactics For Blue Catfish

Relieving Bloated Blues lue catfish, among other species of fish, are physostomus, meaning their gas bladder is connected to the gullet by a duct. This differs from physoclistous species, like walleye and perch, which lack that connection. The duct in physostomus species allows air to pass directly between the gullet and air bladder, while in physoclistous species, gas volume is a longer-term process controlled through bloodstream mechanisms. Physoclistous species caught from deep water often have distended abdomens because the gas bladder swells from reduced pressure closer to the surface. Because the gas bladder can’t release air quickly, these fish struggle at the surface and in some cases perish. Some anglers have learned to properly “fizz” these fish to improve survival. In 2005, we reported in In-Fisherman that, when caught from deep water, blue catfish often have a swollen gas bladders, with the gut protruding into the mouth in some cases. Even for this physostome, the bladder can expand from pressure reduction faster than the fish can compensate naturally. A caught fish might “burp” to alleviate pressure on its own, but if its belly is stretched and it struggles at the surface after release, the duct or gullet is blocked, perhaps by tissues surrounding the expanded area. In our report we suggested a method to alleviate this problem. The remedy calls for inserting a section of soft plastic tubing (5/8-inch diameter, about two feet long) down the throat area and into the gullet. Continue to insert the tube until you hear a “whoosh” of air out the pipe as the belly deflates. If you feel resistance on the pipe from tissue, don’t force the tubing deeper, which can cause injury. If necessary, push gut tissue back down the gullet gently with your finger. Release the fish after it regains normal swimming ability. Jamison and Thompson used this technique to relieve bloated blues caught from deep water. They found that a 1/2-inch diameter section of PVC pipe about 24 inches long was suitable for burping the blue cats, adding that it’s important to sand down and smooth the end of the pipe that’s inserted into the gullet to prevent injury to the fish. They found that in some cases carefully moving the inserted pipe around the gullet a bit helped release air. All of the fish they caught were able to submerge and swim away without apparent injury.

Deep-Water Setup

Jamison and Thompson fished from a Lund Pro-V 2025 matched with a 225 hp Evinrude E-TEC outboard, a bow-mounted Minn Kota Maxxum trolling motor, and two Lowrance LCX 19 color units with Navionics Gold chips. Their tackle consisted of four John Jamison Bluecat Signature Series No. 2 E-glass rods (8-foot) with Shimano Tekota 600 line-counter reels, and two Fenwick 7’6” HMXT76MHC, IM7 graphite rods with Abu Garcia 6500 line-counter reels. Reels were spooled with 80-pound McCoy braided line.

The Jamison E-glass rods were placed in Driftmaster Duo-Pro rod holders and set at the zero-degree setting, positioning the rods parallel to the water. Jamison sets the E-glass rods in rod holders because he finds that they’re smoother than graphite, making blues less likely to detect resistance on the strike.

Two rods were set on the port side and two on the starboard, positioned near the bow and at the transom. Jamison and Thompson each held a Fenwick rod to bounce baits on bottom. The rod setup covered an area of about 30 feet by 18 feet, a rigging system similar to spider-rigging for crappies.

For bottom-bouncing with the Fenwick rods they used a three-way rig. It consisted of a 1/0 Crossline three-way swivel tied to the mainline. An 18-inch leader of 60-pound-test Berkley Big Game monofilament was affixed to the side eye of the swivel. To the end of the leader, Thompson used snell knots to attach a 7/0 and 5/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks spaced four inches apart. Jamison used the same rigging but opted for Daiichi wide-gap circle hooks. A 6-ounce bell sinker was tied to a 36-inch 20-pound-test monofilament dropper, which was tied to the bottom eye of the swivel.

On their E-glass rods, they placed a six-ounce egg sinker above a #1 barrel swivel that was attached to the braided mainline. An 18-inch leader made of 60-pound Big Game monofilament was tied to the swivel. The leader sported a 7/0 hook and a 5/0 stinger hook spaced four inches apart. Other than snell knots for tying on hooks, rigs were tied with Palomar knots.

The primary bait was 6- to 8-inch skipjack herring. They worked some bloodbait, but caught only 4 fish on the beef blood, so they ultimately used only skipjacks, noting that bloodbait normally is a better option when the water and weather are hot.

Presentation Approach

To present their baits, Jamison and Thompson used their trolling motor to slowly move around and across the midlake hump that sat in 92 to 114 feet of water. The hump is about 50 yards long and lies about a half mile from the shoreline and two miles from the dam.

During the tournament, water coursed through the dam until 11 a.m., creating a substantial current in the lower portions of Wilson Lake. When the current flowed, most blue cats at this hump were near bottom. So, they bounced two of their baits along the bottom, and placed the other four baits within two to four feet off bottom.

When the current flow subsided on the first day of the tournament, the blue cats remained along the bottom, and bottom approaches remained productive. But after the current flow ceased during the second day, the bottom bite slowed. They studied their sonar and found that some of the blue cats were suspending as much as 20 feet off the bottom, so they adjusted their rig depths to the depth of the suspended fish.