John Jamison of Spring Hill, Kansas, has racked up many catfishing honors, including as 2007 National Points Champion on the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail, also placing second in the 2006 Cabela’s King Kat Classic. In winter, he primarily fishes the Missouri River from the Nebraska line to Columbia, Missouri. “I cover such a large area because every year is different from the previous, depending on winter migration, which is directly influenced by the amount of water we receive each year,” he says. “In low-water years, I don’t see a lot of fish far upriver.”

Jamison fishes for winter cats in water down into the 30°F range but says winter patterns begin earlier, when temperatures fall to about 52°F and lower. “That’s when blues make a big shift, from swifter outside bends to deeper water with less current. The best spots are scour holes around wing dams. The Missouri has a lot of ****s and scour holes but few concentrate blue cats, so you have to search to find fish.

“Current in scour holes runs at about 2 mph compared to 3 to 5 mph in outside bend areas. Depth is important but not the only factor. I normally prefer scour holes that are 30 to 45 feet deep and seldom fish any that are shallower. A scour hole that’s immediately above a good summertime outside bend or channel swing holds more fish than one in a straight stretch of river.”

In winter on the Missouri, Jamison primarily fishes from an anchored position, because he hasn’t been able to slow a drift enough to be effective in cold water. “I start by placing two rods at the front of a scour hole and two a little farther into it,” he says. “I continue to move baits towards the back of the hole until I locate fish. When they’re aggressive they tend to be toward the front side of the hole, but I also catch a lot of fish in the back or tailout. Fish in the core of the hole tend to be the least active.”

Downsized presentations are key to Jamison’s approach. “I believe that smaller is better in winter,” he says. “I use a 7/0 to 10/0 Daiichi Circle Wide hook (DZ85) in warm water, but down through the mid-30°F range, I switch to a 5/0 size to better match the smaller baits I use then. My primary winter bait is shad. I cut the head off and use only that. The whole bait is about the size of a quarter to a 50-cent piece, compared to the rest of the year when I’m baiting with 6- to 8-inch sections of cut skipjack herring, shad, or carp.”

Blues become particularly sluggish during midwinter cold fronts, he notes. “When there’s a combination of a south wind and mild temperatures, blues tend to hit more aggressively. When the wind blows from the north and air temperatures are down in the 30s or lower, the fish bite more gingerly, even big fish, and the smaller hook-and-bait combo has the advantage.”

He doesn’t fish with the same piece of bait for longer than 20 minutes, noting that changing baits often is key to developing a stronger scent trail. “I think that a small bait emits more scent in cold water than it does in warm water; or maybe the scent dispersion lasts longer when it’s cold. Blues still eat big baits, but the smaller baits seem to have the advantage in winter.”

Freshly caught bait is often preferred among blue cat anglers. But Jamison offers a theory to the possible benefits of using previously frozen bait. “A common thought in winter is that most of the forage base is winterkill, not fresh

livebait,” he says. Gizzard shad and other baitfish often experience pulses of mortality in winter, when dead carcasses provide a source of food for catfish.“

I find that bait stored frozen and then thawed is a better option than fresh. Thawed baits develop a stronger and more distinctive odor, more closely mimicking a winterkilled baitfish. It might be just enough of a difference to attract more cats, at times.

“I learned another trick from a fisherman who’s fished the Missouri for years,” Jamison says. It’s called a stink bucket. Put a bunch of carp fillets in a bucket and throw in a couple of whole shad for flavoring. Refrigerate the bucket for a month or so, and use chunks of cut carp for bait. It works so well I hesitate to mention it.” The formula he’s referring to is a milder version of a true sourbait, which can be a top option for channel cats feeding on winterkilled shad in early spring.

To present baits, he uses a sliprig. He threads a 4- to 6-ounce egg sinker on 80-pound-test McCoy braided line that’s tied to a barrel swivel, followed by an 18-inch leader of 60-pound Berkley Big Game monofilament and then the hook. He hooks the shad through the eyes or, if the current’s fast, under the mouth and through the snout to keep the mouth from catching too much water.

If he’s fishing around a lot of rock, Jamison ditches the egg sinker and opts for a dropper—a bank sinker tied to a 4- to 6-inch section of 20-pound mono. The dropper’s hung on the mainline using the snap end of a snap swivel. If the sinker gets snagged, the dropper breaks, saving the rest of the rig. He uses braid exclusively for a mainline, noting that since he’s made the switch, his hooking percentage has risen to above 90 percent.

Through trial and error, he arrived at a leader length of around 18 inches for his coldwater setup. “In the slower currents in the scour holes, you can get away with a longer leader. It allows the bait to waft around in the current without flapping too wildly. When leaders get too long, though, you lose control over the bait. I sometimes walk baits downriver through spots, lifting the rig off bottom and letting it move downstream in increments, and that gets difficult when a leader’s too long.”

To match the lighter-style fishing in winter, he downsizes rod weight, using the Blue Cat Number 2, the lightest of his three signature series E-Glass models available from The Rod Shop (816/454-6740) in Kansas City, Missouri. The Number 2 is an 8-footer and has the softest tip in the series. This helps to detect lighter bites that often occur when midwinter fronts move through.