Fishing Forum

I have not fished, for catfish, in August before. What depth, of water, should I target?

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Bird Island right now.

Hey Kent,

I was out there last weekend and most of the fish were in 8 to 11 FOW. If you can find a transition where it just starts to go from deep to a little shallower, they seem to hang around those areas this time of year.

Over the years I have come to believe that on the same day the fish might be orienting differently in different parts of the lake...and their preferred depths may even change throughout the day.  It is almost always the "biblical system" for me on any given trip..."seek and ye shall find"...maybe.

As a general rule, I find the fish shallower...up to 4-5' deep (or even shallower) off the reeds at both Lincoln Beach and Lindon.  But wherever there is deeper water...and some rocks nearby...the fish are likely to be in deeper water.  Like all of us, I have had days when I had to focus on one specific depth to catch fish...and other days when they were scattered all over the place.  They locate based upon food availability and comfort (water temps)...or spawning in the spring.  

One of the observations I made many years ago was that the bigger cats often became more nocturnal feeders during the warmest parts of summer.  Not sure if that was because of slightly cooler temps at night...or more boat traffic and disturbance during the day.  But I also discovered that by baiting catfish at night I also fed more mosquitos.  Not being a fan of West Nile virus, I have not fished at night for many years.

Agree with Pisco. Cats seem to be moving to deeper water as the spawn starts to wind down. The heat also drives them deeper. They still like to come in to shallow water, usually at night, to snarf up the abundant young of the year. August should produce some good cats, September and October will be even better.

Best tip I could offer would be to watch for Jim at launch and then follow him. He and his better half have caught at least a half dozen 30+ inchers in the last couple of weeks including one at 33 inches. Jim's got 'em figgered out.   The heat has also driven me off the water. I hope to get after 'em again soon.

Good luck!

We are doing good strolling in water between 7 1/2 and 9 1/2' deep.

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Anchoring up and fishing bait, for catfish, was nonstop catching for whitebass.

(08-09-2024, 08:02 PM)Kent Wrote: [ -> ]We are doing good strolling in water between 7 1/2 and 9 1/2' deep.

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Anchoring up and fishing bait, for catfish, was nonstop catching for whitebass.

Glad your having fun!

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(08-09-2024, 01:53 PM)Kent Wrote: [ -> ]I have not fished, for catfish, in August before. What depth, of water, should I target?

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Bird Island right now.

I should have realized from your picture that you were on the lake when you posted. I said earlier that I was "out there last weekend." I was at Utah Lake, but not out at Bird Island. I'll try to pay attention better in the future.

Thanks for the replies from everyone. We had a fun day and caught nearly all of the channel cats strolling.