12-28-2012, 10:00 AM
I spent a long day catfishing and bass fishing. I started out putting some gigantic bluegill in the boat for catfish bait. 2 of the gills went 10 inches long, impressive battle on ultra light tackle. I went downriver to catfish, and also searched for bait. I managed to cast net some gizzard shad. The upriver holes are dead as far as catfish, they must have dropped way back when we had little rain October/November. I managed smallmouth bites in 3 spots, a few on a current break, and 2 quality fish in 20 ft holes downriver. One smallie was a toad for sure, thought it was a drum for a minute or two it took so long to surface. All my bites were on gizzard shad around 6-8 inches long. I didn&#39;t bring any shiners as I wanted to try just natural bait. A few toads came unbuttoned, guess I didn&#39;t let them have the big shad long enough. Way downriver, I did manage a 33 lb blue that put up quite the tussle in good current and 25 ft of water. They seem to fight better in shallower water. <br /><br />Here&#39;s my dilemma, I want to catch giant cats, but they don&#39;t seem to be in the river holes. I&#39;m also addicted to smallmouth, so what&#39;s a guy to do? Good problem to have I guess. I might have to do a few combo lake/river trips to try for both. Honestly, not much beats an aggressive smallmouth fight. It&#39;s addictive, and they are filled out and healthy this time of year.