Escambia River
The Escambia River is a great place to fish for catfish. The best area of the river to fish is that area north of Pensacola Florida. In the Escambia River you’ll find flat-head, channel, and blue catfish.As long as the water is warm you can catch some really big catfish out of this river. When the water cools off you’ll still catch catfish but they will be small.
The best times for the big catfish are mid April through the end of June and October and November. The very best place to fish is from the Alabama state line to the Interstate 10 bridge.
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River from the Florida/Georgia state line south to the city of Apalachicola. You will catch the most and biggest catfish here in the months of April through June and October through November but you can catch catfish here anytime of the year.
This river is really known for big channel and flat-head catfish. In this area you will also be able to catch a lot of catfish in the back waters of Lake Seminole and from the Jim Woodruff Dam south.
Ask around at the local tackle shops about what the catfish are biting on when your there. In the warm times of the year a small minnow fished under a clear float will almost always produce strikes.
Choctawhatchee River
The Choctawhatchee River northwest of Panama City is a wonderful catfish river. You will find flat-head, channel, and bullhead catfish in this river and there have been flat-head catfish caught here often weighing in at 30 pounds plus.
A 46 pound channel catfish was recently caught and released in this river. Again the best times of the year are April – June and October – November but you can catch catfish here at almost any time of the year.
The St Johns River and Dunn’s Creek
The St Johns River and Dunn’s Creek are excellent catfish waters. The St Johns River is one of the few rivers in the United States that flows north and it flows north through eastern Florida from Indian River County to Jacksonville for over 250 miles.
There are a lot of wonderful fishing spots all along the river here but bring plenty of hooks and sinkers because you can get hung up easy in this area. You will want to fish Dunn’s Creek as far south as Lake Crescent and Murphys Creek from the St Johns River down to Dunn Creek.
You’ll find plenty of big channel catfish in all of this area in the warmer months but you can catch catfish here pretty much any time of the year. You will find white catfish, bullhead catfish, and channel catfish in this area.
Oklawaha River
The Oklawaha River east of Ocala is a great place to catch catfish. You will find some white catfish in this area but mostly bullhead and channel catfish will be caught in this area.
You will catch the bigger channel catfish in the warmer months but as you know it can often turn quite warm in Florida even in the late winter months. If you find a few really warm days together you just may land a few big channel catfish even in the winter months.
Fish small minnows under clear floats in big pools in the river and you just may be surprised at the size of the channel catfish you catch in this area.
Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes
The Upper Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes south of Orlando is a great place to catch catfish and you will find an abundance of bullhead and channel catfish in this area. Any where that you find moving water is a great place to fish for catfish.
If you find a place where a creek is emptying into one of the lakes it should be a great place to catch some catfish. Keep in mind that catfish in this area like moving water and drop offs so fish those areas.
You will find the occasional flat-head catfish in this area. You will of course catch more and larger catfish in the warmer months but this far south you often have warm to hot weather even in the middle of winter.
South Florida Lakes Including The Everglades
You will find a lot of lakes in south Florida with plenty of bullhead and channel catfish and the really good thing about these catfish is that they can be caught year round.
If you really want to hunt down lakes to fish for catfish in this area just go to Google and put , " South Florida Catfish Fishing " in the search box and start planning your fishing trip.
A few years ago I stopped using red and white or yellow fishing floats for catfish and switched to all clear fishing floats. When I did I started catching a lot more big catfish.
Hungry catfish will bite on almost anything but they can be spooked if you throw a big red and white fishing float at them. If you use the clear plastic fishing floats you’ll catch more catfish. I do very well fishing minnows under clear fishing floats.
I hook my minnows through the back fin and I usually prefer using smaller minnows than other people do. I fish my minnow under a big clear round float and I hook the minnow through the back fin.
I find the minnow is a lot more active that way and active minnows will catch more catfish. Be sure to check any local laws to be sure you are using legal minnows only. If you live in one state but you plan to fish in another state be sure that you check out the fishing regulations for the state where you’re going fishing.
If your going to stay closer to home don’t miss farm ponds as they quite often contain populations of catfish and some farm ponds have some really large catfish. So if you’re in an area with farm ponds check around to see if you can get permission to go fishing there.
Cat Fishing Tips, Tricks, And More
Chicken Livers Is The Best Catfish Bait
In a farm pond or in still water I think you’ll find that chicken livers are the best bait to catch cat fish with. Use your chicken liver slightly frozen or lay it out and let it dry slightly.
You’ll find that catfish just simply love chicken livers. If you can’t catch catfish on chicken livers then there probably aren’t any catfish where your fishing.
You Can’t Go Wrong With Big Pieces Of Shrimp
Pieces of shrimp is probably the next best bait for catfish after chicken livers. And you will catch more catfish if you’ll lay the shrimp outside and let it get ripe before you fish with it.
Big catfish in deep holes love ripe shrimp. Try it and I’ll bet you catch some big catfish.
Live Minnows Will Catch The Big Catfish
However if you’re in a farm pond or still water with really big catfish you should try fishing a minnow hooked through the back under a clear plastic float. You want your minnow to appear to be wounded or hurt and you want to fish the minnow in 3-5 foot deep water in close to shore especially in the warm to hot summer months.
You’ll have much better luck after dark but hold onto that rod tight or it just may get jerked out of your hands.
Well I hope those tips will help you to catch plenty of catfish and I hope you catch some big catfish. And when you catch all those catfish you’ll be able to use the recipes below to cook up some wonderfully delicious catfish.
Delicious Fried Catfish
One of my favorite ways to cook catfish is to dip them in well mixed milk and eggs and then I dip them in the below mixture of flour and cornmeal.
Catfish Breading Mixture
1. 1 Cup Of Self Rising Cornmeal.
2. 1 Cup Of Plain All Purpose Flour.
3. 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.
4. 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper.
5. 1 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper.
I mix all my dry ingredients together well in a large bowl and then if I have small catfish or catfish fillets I first dip them into well beaten milk and eggs and then I dip them into the dry mixture and then fry them in 350 degree vegetable oil until the catfish is golden brown.
My Favorite Hush-Puppy Recipe
I love hush puppies and the below recipe to me is the best hush puppy recipe in the world. I fry my hush puppies by dropping a table spoon full of the batter at a time into 350 degree vegetable cooking oil and I fry the hush puppies until they are golden brown on both sides.
You will need to take a large metal fork and flip your hush puppies over so they are cooked all the way through and golden brown all over.
1. One Cup Self Rising Yellow Cornmeal.
2. One Cup Self Rising Flour.
3. One Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.
4. One Third Cup Of Finely Minced Sweet Onion.
5. One Teaspoon White Granulated Sugar.
6. One Teaspoon Brown Sugar.
7. One Cup Buttermilk.
You want your onion to be a sweet onion and you want it to be very finely minced. Mix all your ingredients together very well and cover the bowl containing your hush puppy mix and allow it to set at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.
The hush puppy batter will rise and when it does you’re ready to cook your hush puppies. I guarantee you that these hush puppies will be some of the best you’ll ever taste.
Mississippi Catfish Stew
I don’t see a lot of people making catfish stew but I don’t know why because this catfish stew is oh so delicious. In and around Greenville Mississippi you’ll find Catfish Stew being served quite often especially in the early spring or late fall and winter.
You of course make catfish stew out of catfish fillets cut into chunks and you want to check your catfish fillets carefully to make sure there are no bones.
For your Mississippi Catfish Stew your going to need.
1. One Cup Finely Diced Sweet Onion.
2. Three Tablespoons Butter.
3. One And A Half Pounds Of Catfish Fillet’s Cut Into Small Pieces.
4. Two Cups Chicken Broth.
5. Two Cups White Potatoes Cut Into Small Cubes.
6. Two Teaspoons Ground Dried Basil.
7. One Sixteen Ounce Can Stewed Corn And Tomatoes.
8. Two Cups Whole Milk.
9. One Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.
10. One Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper.
You will want to start by cooking your onions in the butter until the onions are done. Now add all your ingredients to a small stock pot and let your pot almost come to a boil but not quite.
Turn your stock pot down to a low simmer and cook for about one hour stirring often. Serve your Mississippi Catfish Stew in bowls with saltine crackers and I bet you people are going to want seconds.
To me this is the best catfish stew you’ll ever taste. If you make the catfish stew please post a comment and let us all know how it turns out for you.
You can make a wonderful flavorful variation of the above catfish stew by adding a pint of fresh oysters including the juices to the ingredients of the above catfish stew and you’ll have a stew like you’ve never tasted before.
I have even added a half pound of raw okra to the stew and it turns the catfish stew along with the fresh oysters into a Mississippi Catfish/Oyster Gumbo that almost everyone loves. If you need to use a half pound of unbreaded frozen okra or a can of okra.
There is a small cafe just south of Greenville Mississippi called Alice’s and they serve a very similar Catfish/Oyster Gumbo just like the above recipe and they serve a big piece of corn bread in the bottom of a large soup bowl and they serve the Catfish/Oyster Gumbo over the corn bread.
Let me tell you if you try it that way you’ll love it and anyone you make it for will love it. Cornbread is usually used with Gumbo’s in Mississippi while over in Louisiana rice is always served with Gumbo.
Before anyone asks let me tell you that there are no hard and fast rules for what can or cannot be in Gumbo. I have made Gumbos many different ways and I make the Catfish/Oyster Gumbo with and with out the roux.
I like it better with the roux but I was raised with the ideal that a Gumbo had to have roux but it really doesn’t have to.
I hope you enjoy the recipes!
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