Catfish experts offer up springtime gameplans

WEST TAWAKONI — Larry Spillers' bumped and banged his 22-foot center console rig across the shallow flat, then glided to a stop in the middle of a huge stump field at the upper end of Lake Tawakoni.

I didn't have a clue where I was. But I knew the spot had to be good. Spillers takes his catfishing seriously. Tawakoni is one of his favorite places to play the game.

Photo by Matt Williams (enlarge photo) Catfish expert Larry Spillers targets shallow water almost exclusively when fishing for blues and channels. Spillers prefers a Carolina-style rig for bottom fishing. Note the small Comal cork pegged just ahead of the hook.

"Time to get busy, Mr. Williams," Spillers said with a chuckle. "I hope you've got your dancing shoes on."

Spillers' idea of dancing on the deck has little to do with the common two step or dosado. Manning a half dozen baited rods can turn into a break dance when 3-4 reel clickers sound off in unison, especially when there are only two guys on board to handle them all.

No sooner had Spillers secured the last rod in its holder than the band began to play loud and clear.

One clicker sounded. Then two, three and four. Spillers giggled as I scrambled across the deck in an attempt to tend to all the business at once.

"Dang, you're like a bull in china cabinet up there," Spillers said. "Pretty wild, ain't it. I told you this place was good."

A regular on several national catfish tournament circuits, Spillers has soaked his baits in some of the country's top catfish haunts. He rates 36,700-acre Tawakoni among the best in Texas for numbers of quality fish, especially blues.

"Cedar Creek is pretty strong, too," Spillers said. "But Tawakoni would have to be my top pick. It's full of them. It is nothing out of the ordinary to go out there and catch 50-80 fish in a day's time when the conditions are right. A good catfisherman can expect to catch good numbers of 4-6 pound fish and at least one in the 15-25 pound range."

Spillers' heaviest cat out of Tawakoni weighed 61 pounds. That's a giant to tussle with on rod and reel, but he knows there are plenty of bigger ones out there. He has tangled with more than one.

"I've had 1/0 treble hooks straightened out by catfish in this lake," Spillers said. "It takes a big fish to do that. To land one everything has to click just right. It helps if you have a little luck on your side, too."

There are a couple of avenues to take when targeting big, Tawakoni blues. Some anglers like to drift live bait or cut shad over deep, main lake structure. Others prefer to fish shallow.

Spillers is devoted member of the skinny water fraternity. He rarely fishes water more than waist deep, regardless of the season of the year.

"A lot of people think you have to fish deep to catch big blues, but that is not true," he said. "You would be surprised at what you will find cruising around up there in two feet of water or less, even when its 90 degrees outside."

The attraction to shallow water is enhanced even more during late spring, when channel cat and blue cat move shallow to spawn. Plus, there is budding food supply provided by frogs, crawfish, worms, bait fish and assorted insects. It is a smorgasbord up there, and the eatery open for business on lakes across the region right now.

"It's just about to bust loose," said Charlie Shively, owner of Bill's Landing at the upper end of the Toledo Bend Reservoir. "I'm seeing lots catfish come in that are plump full of eggs. Most of them are being caught in shallow water."

Ditto that at Lake Limestone, another East Texas hotspot that produces five star catfishing year-round.

"The catfishing has been outstanding lately," said Ellie Engle, owner of Lake Limestone Campground and Marina. "Fishermen are bringing in quite a few channel cat, but the bigger ones are the blues. We've had a couple of fish in the 35-40 pound range caught off our pier during the past week."

At Lake Palestine, Greg Porter of Porter's Sporting Goods said the shallow water bite has been a little slow materializing this spring, but he expects it to kick in within another week or so.

"The cool weather set the timing back a bit this year, but things are beginning to change," Porter said. "We're starting to hear some good reports from around the rocks at Highway 155 crossing. When that happens, you can bet the bite is about to cut loose. If you've got rocks or laydown logs in shallow water, the catfish will be there."

Catching whiskered fish this time of year is not rocket science, but it helps to have a game plan if you want to get your hands dirty. What follows are a series of proven tips gleaned from Spillers and others who share the passion:

Creek Channels: Creek channels are always good during spring. Spillers likes creeks that are relatively shallow, four feet or less. Places where a channel winds close to shore can be especially good.

"Catfish use creeks as roads to travel and they will disperse onto shallow flats to feed and spawn," Spillers said. "The bank is where the dinner bell rings the loudest."

Where the Wind Blows: Wind churns up waves that force zooplankton and other microorganisms against the shoreline. This lures in bream, shad, minnows and other forage, which in turn attracts larger predators.

Any windy shoreline can be good, but wind-blown points can be particularly attractive to catfish. Log jams, stumps or scattered vegetation potentially can make such a spot all the more productive.

"I never pass up a windy bank, particularly a main lake point with waves crashing in on top of it," Spillers said. "Catfish gravitate to those types of places to feed, because there is plenty of food that is easily available."

Stay Mobile: Catfishing has a rich history of being a lazy man's sport. But not the way Spillers does it.

"I won't stay in one place longer than 15-20 minutes unless the fish are biting," he said. "I will move if I am not getting bit, or not catching the size of fish I believe are present. But the move may not be far. Fifty yards can make a big difference on a good catfish lake. Keep moving and sooner or later you will find them."

Tricks of the Trade: There are all kinds of ways to catch a cat. Spillers prefers to stick with the basics — cork fishing and bottom fishing.

The cork serves a dual purpose. It suspends the bait off bottom and allows the angler to detect strikes without having to rely on feel. When a fish bites the bait, the cork lets you know it.

The standard cork is secured to the line using clips that suspend the bait at a constant depth.

The slip cork concept allows the cork to slide up and down the line until it comes in contact with a bobber stopper. This makes it easier to control the depth of the bait presentation. Plus, it is easier to cast. Many anglers will use a weight to hold the bait down and make the cork stand erect in water. Spillers had rather go weightless, especially when fishing for channel cat.

"The weight holds the bait stationary, which makes it much easier for the fish to mouth the bait and clean the hook without actually eating it," he said. "Using no weight takes away that resistance; it almost forces the fish to eat the bait."

Porter and Shively said anglers on their respective lakes have been experiencing excellent results lately using corks. According to Shively, the best bite has been on cut bait and night crawlers suspended about 18 inches beneath the surface. Porter said Palestine crowds are scoring the best results on Danny King's punch bait.

Spillers does his bottom fishing using a Carolina-style rig. The standard Carolina rig is built by sliding a 1/2 or 3/4 ounce slip sinker onto the main line, then stacking a couple of glass beads and a barrel swivel beneath it.

A mono leader attaches to the opposite end of swivel. Complete rig by adding a hook to the free end. A standard treble hook is best when using punch bait, stink bait or night crawlers.

Spillers thinks a fairly short leader around 12 inches long works best when fishing for channel cat.

"Channel cat are not like blues — they bite pretty light," he said. "Use too long of a leader and you may not feel the bite."

Another key ingredient to the Carolina rig is a two-inch Comal cork. Spillers pegs the small cork on the leader, about three inches above the hook. The idea is to float the bait off the bottom. Plus, it adds some color beneath the surface. The floats are available in several colors — chartreuse, yellow, green, red and pink.

"I believe there are times when the color of the float can make a big difference in the number of bites you get, too," he said. "Yellow and pink are probably my favorites."

Matt Williams is a free-lance writer based in Nacogdoches.