Author: Matt Bush

Catfish are the perfect target for anglers who want a good chance at a big, hard-pulling fish on simple gear. They’re widespread, they bite well after dark, and you don’t need fancy tackle to catch them. Here’s how to get started.

Know your catfish

Three catfish make up most of the action. Channel catfish are the most common and least fussy, happy to eat prepared and cut baits. Blue catfish grow huge and love fresh cut bait in current. Flathead catfish are ambush predators that want live bait tight to cover. Matching your bait to the species is half the battle.

Best baits for catfish

For channel cats, it’s hard to beat cut bait (chunks of shad or bluegill), nightcrawlers, chicken liver, or a good stinkbait/dip bait. For blue cats, use fresh cut shad or herring — the fresher and bloodier, the better. For flatheads, use a lively baitfish (bluegill or sunfish where legal, or a bullhead) — they rarely touch dead bait. Fresh bait almost always beats old bait.

Simple rigs that work

Two rigs cover most catfishing. The slip-sinker (Carolina) rig — an egg sinker above a swivel, then an 18–24 inch leader to the hook — lets a cat pick up the bait and swim off without feeling the weight. The slip-bobber rig suspends bait off the bottom over cover or in current seams. Use a circle hook and let the fish hook itself; don’t rip the rod on the first tap.

Where and when to catch them

Catfish feed most heavily at dusk and through the night, so evening is prime time. Look for deep holes, channel bends, the bottom of drop-offs, current seams below dams, and cover like timber and riprap. In rivers, fish the slack water just off the main current where cats wait to ambush drifting food. Warm months are best; cats feed hard from late spring through fall.

Gear and handling

A medium-heavy to heavy rod, a reel with a solid drag and 15–30 lb line, and a rod holder (cats often hook themselves on a circle hook) will cover most freshwater catfishing. Handle them carefully — the pectoral and dorsal spines are sharp. Support big cats horizontally, and use our free fish weight calculator to weigh a bruiser before release.

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• Channel Catfish Length to Weight Chart
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Crankbaits are the ultimate search bait — you cover water fast, trigger reaction strikes, and let the lure’s built-in wobble do the work. For finding active fish along a shoreline or over structure, nothing beats a crankbait.

How crankbaits work

A crankbait is a hard-bodied lure with a diving lip that makes it wobble and dive as you reel. The size and angle of the lip set how deep it runs: square-bill cranks stay shallow (1–4 ft) and deflect off cover, medium-divers reach 6–12 ft, and deep-divers can reach 15–25 ft. Pick the crankbait that runs at the depth where fish are holding — our trolling depth and water temperature tools help you figure out where that is.

Match the crankbait to the situation

Use a square-bill around shallow cover — wood, rock, and grass edges — where the deflection off cover triggers strikes. Reach for a lipless crankbait to cover flats and grass fast (it sinks, so you can fish it at any depth). Go to a deep-diver to reach fish stacked on offshore structure like points, humps, and ledges.

Gear you’ll need

A medium-power rod with a moderate (softer) action is key — it lets fish load up on the treble hooks without pulling the bait away. Pair it with 10–14 lb mono or fluorocarbon (mono’s stretch is forgiving on trebles). A reel in the 5:1 to 6.4:1 range gives a steady, controllable retrieve for deep cranks; see our best spinning reels and baitcasting reels guides.

How to fish a crankbait

Make a long cast, then reel at a steady pace and let the lure’s action do the work — most of the time, a consistent retrieve outfishes anything fancy. The real trick is contact: bang the crankbait into cover and the bottom. That deflection — a crank ricocheting off a rock or stump — triggers reaction strikes from bass that ignore a clean-swimming lure. When you feel the lure hit something, keep reeling; don’t jerk. Vary your speed and add an occasional pause until the fish tell you what they want.

Quick tips

Use a crankbait that dives a little deeper than the water you’re fishing so it’s constantly ticking bottom. Don’t set the hook hard on the strike — just keep reeling and let the rod load, since a hard hookset can rip trebles free. And check your hooks; sharp, quality trebles land far more of the fish that hit.

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• How to Fish a Jig for Bass
• Best Fishing Line of 2026: Braid vs Mono

If you had to pick one lure to catch the biggest bass in the lake, a lot of anglers would tie on a jig. It looks simple — a weighted hook with a skirt — but a jig mimics a crayfish or baitfish better than almost anything, and it comes through cover clean.

Why fish a jig?

Jigs catch quality over quantity. The compact, weedless profile lets you flip it into heavy cover, drag it across rock, or swim it over grass, and it appeals to bigger, more selective fish. It’s a year-round bait that shines in cold water when bass want a slow, bottom-hugging meal.

Types of jigs and when to use them

A flipping/casting jig (with a stout hook and weed guard) is the all-purpose choice for pitching to cover. A football jig has a wide head that stands up and crawls over rock and gravel — ideal for dragging deep structure. A finesse jig is lighter and smaller for clear water and pressured fish. Match the trailer to the mood: a craw trailer for a bottom-crawling look, a swim-jig trailer for moving water.

Gear you’ll need

A medium-heavy to heavy fast-action rod, 15–20 lb fluorocarbon (or braid in thick cover), and a 3/8 to 1/2 oz jig for most situations. A baitcaster gives you the power and accuracy jig fishing rewards.

How to fish a jig

The number-one rule: fish it slow. Cast or pitch to cover, let the jig fall on a controlled line (watch it — many bites happen on the initial drop), then crawl and hop it along the bottom with small lifts of the rod tip. Keep contact so you can feel it tick rock, wood, and grass — and feel the bite, which is often just a subtle tap or added weight. When you feel a fish, reel down and set hard. Around docks and laydowns, pitch the jig right to the cover and let it pendulum down the edge.

Reading the bite

Bass often grab a jig and swim toward you, so you’ll feel the line go slack or “mushy” rather than a hard thump. If anything feels different, set the hook — a jig strike is easy to miss if you wait for a big pull. For a weight estimate after a good catch, use our fish weight calculator.

Quick tips

Trim the weed guard slightly if you’re missing fish, and dip the trailer in a little dye or scent for cold, clear water. Slow down in winter — sometimes a jig sitting still for several seconds gets bit. And match the jig color to forage: greens and browns for crayfish, black-and-blue for stained water.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• How to Fish a Texas Rig
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The Texas rig is the most reliable bass setup ever invented — a weedless way to drag a soft plastic through cover where the biggest fish live. If you fish anywhere with weeds, wood, or rock, this is the rig to learn first.

What is a Texas rig?

A Texas rig is a soft-plastic bait (usually a worm or creature bait) rigged on a worm hook with the hook point buried back inside the plastic, so it slides through cover without snagging. A bullet-shaped sinker rides on the line above the bait. Because it’s weedless, you can throw it straight into the nastiest brush, grass, and laydowns — exactly where bass hide.

Gear you’ll need

A medium-heavy rod with a fast tip, 12–17 lb fluorocarbon (or 30–50 lb braid around heavy cover), a 2/0 to 4/0 offset worm hook (EWG for bulky baits), a bullet weight from 1/8 to 1/2 oz, and a soft plastic — a 6–7 inch ribbon-tail worm or a creature bait are classics. A baitcaster gives you the most control here; see our best baitcasting reels guide.

How to rig it, step by step

1. Slide a bullet weight onto your line, pointed end first, then tie on the worm hook (a Palomar knot is perfect). 2. Push the hook point into the very tip of the worm’s head, about 1/4 inch, then out the side. 3. Slide the worm up over the hook eye so the head is snug. 4. Rotate the hook, lay it against the worm to find where the point lands, and push the point back into the body so it’s just under the surface — weedless but ready to pop through on a hookset. 5. Want it to stay pinned to the weight in heavy cover? Peg the sinker with a bobber stopper.

How to fish a Texas rig

Cast to cover, let it sink on a semi-slack line (watch for a tick on the fall — many bites come as it drops), then work it slowly: lift the rod tip to hop or drag the bait, reel up slack, and repeat. Stay in contact with the bottom and feel for anything different — a tap, a mushy weight, or the line swimming off. When you feel a bite, reel down to load the rod and set the hook firmly to drive the point through the plastic. Landed a good one? Estimate its weight with our free fish weight calculator or a largemouth chart.

Quick tips

Use the lightest weight that still reaches bottom and keeps contact — a slower fall draws more strikes. Go heavier (3/8–1/2 oz) to punch through matted grass, lighter (1/8–3/16 oz) in sparse cover or shallow water. And keep your hook point sharp; the whole rig depends on it driving home.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• How to Fish a Drop Shot Rig
• How to Tie the Palomar Knot

The improved clinch knot is the workhorse fishing knot — the one most anglers learn first and keep using for life. It ties your line to a hook, lure, or swivel quickly and holds strong, which is exactly what you need most days on the water.

When to use the improved clinch knot

Use it to tie monofilament or fluorocarbon to any terminal tackle with an eye: hooks, lures, swivels, and snaps. It’s a great all-around choice for line up to about 20 lb test. For very heavy line or slippery braid, the Palomar knot is often the better pick — but for everyday mono and fluoro, the improved clinch is fast, reliable, and easy to tie even in low light.

How to tie it, step by step

1. Thread the tag end of your line through the eye of the hook or lure, pulling through about 6 inches. 2. Twist the tag end around the standing line 5 to 7 times. (Use 7 wraps for lighter line, 5 for heavier line.) 3. Bring the tag end back and pass it through the small loop just above the hook eye. 4. Now pass the tag end through the big loop you just created — this is the “improved” step that makes the knot far stronger than a standard clinch. 5. Wet the knot with saliva or water, then pull the standing line slowly to cinch the coils down neatly against the eye. 6. Trim the tag end close, and you’re fishing.

Why wetting the knot matters

Always wet the line before you cinch any knot. Pulling a dry knot tight creates friction heat that weakens the line right where it counts, so a quick lick or dip before you snug it down noticeably improves your knot strength. Cinch slowly and smoothly rather than yanking.

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping the final pass through the big loop turns it back into a weaker standard clinch — don’t skip step 4. Using too few wraps on light line lets it slip, while too many wraps on heavy line makes the knot bulky and hard to seat. And don’t tie it in braided line; braid is slick and the clinch can slip, so use a Palomar or a braid-specific knot instead.

Put your knot to work

A good knot is the difference between landing a fish and telling a sad story. Once you’ve got the improved clinch down, pair it with a properly spooled reel — our guide on how to spool a spinning reel helps you start with line that behaves — and get out there.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• How to Tie the Palomar Knot
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When the water heats up in midsummer, a lot of anglers watch a great spring bite grind to a halt. The fish don’t disappear — they change where they hold and when they feed. Understand that shift and you can keep catching bass through the hottest weeks of the year.

Why the summer bite gets tough

As surface water warms past the mid-70s and into the 80s, two things happen. Warm water holds less oxygen, and bass — like most gamefish — get sluggish and stressed in it. So they leave the warm, bright shallows and slide to wherever the water is cooler and better oxygenated: deeper structure, shade, or moving water. Chasing them in the shallows at midday is why the bite seems to “die.” Our best water temperature guide breaks down each species’ comfort zone.

Where the fish go

In summer, look for bass in three places. First, deep structure — points, humps, ledges, and drop-offs where cooler water and baitfish stack up. Second, shade — docks, overhanging trees, thick weed mats, and laydowns that give fish cover and relief from the sun. Third, current and inflows — a feeder creek, dam tailrace, or wind-blown shoreline pumps in cooler, more oxygenated water and concentrates active fish.

Fish early, late, and after dark

The single biggest adjustment is timing. In summer, dawn, dusk, and night are prime — the water is coolest and bass move shallow to feed under low light. A topwater at first light or a spinnerbait at dusk often outproduces a whole afternoon of grinding. Our guide on the best time of day to fish covers why low-light windows work so well.

Tactics that work in the heat

At low light, work the shallows with topwaters, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. Once the sun is up, go deep and slow: a Texas-rigged worm, a football jig, or a deep-diving crankbait dragged across offshore structure. When fish are deep and finicky, a drop shot rig is hard to beat — it keeps a finesse bait in the strike zone long enough to tempt a lethargic bass. Fishing shade in the middle of the day? Flip a jig or soft plastic right into the thickest cover you can find.

Handle summer fish with care

Warm water is hard on released fish. Keep them wet, unhook them fast, and get them back quickly — a bass that’s overheated and exhausted needs extra care. If you want a weight for the photo without keeping the fish out of the water, measure length and girth and use our free fish weight calculator, or check a largemouth bass length-to-weight chart for a quick estimate.

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• The Best Water Temperature for Every Gamefish
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The drop shot is one of the most effective finesse rigs in fishing — a simple setup that suspends a small bait just off the bottom, right in a fish’s face. When bass get pressured, water turns clear, or fish pull out to deeper structure and stop chasing, the drop shot keeps catching when other techniques stall.

What is a drop shot rig?

A drop shot is a finesse rig with the weight at the very bottom of your line and the hook tied inline above it, so the bait hovers off the bottom at a set height. Because the weight — not the bait — hits bottom, your soft plastic stays in the strike zone and moves with the slightest twitch of the rod. It’s deadly on both largemouth and smallmouth bass, and it also fools crappie, perch, and walleye.

When to fish it

Reach for a drop shot when the bite gets tough: clear water, cold fronts, heavily pressured lakes, or fish holding deep on points, humps, and ledges. It shines any time fish are present but inactive — you can shake the bait in place over a spot for a long time without moving it, which finicky fish can’t resist.

Gear you’ll need

A drop shot is a spinning-rod technique. Use a medium-light to medium spinning rod, 6–10 lb braid to a 6–8 lb fluorocarbon leader (or straight fluoro), a size 1 to 2 drop shot or octopus hook, a small 3/16 to 3/8 oz drop shot weight, and a 3–4 inch finesse worm or minnow-style bait. A smooth spinning reel makes light-line casting easy — see our best spinning reels guide if you’re shopping.

How to rig it, step by step

1. Tie your hook to the main line with a Palomar knot, leaving a long tag end (12–18 inches). Our Palomar knot guide walks through it. 2. Point the hook up, then run the tag end back down through the top of the hook eye. This makes the hook stand out from the line at a right angle — the key to the rig. 3. Tie or clip your drop shot weight to the bottom of the tag end. Most drop shot weights have a special line clip, so no knot is needed. 4. Nose-hook a finesse worm or minnow bait for maximum action, or Texas-rig it weedless around cover.

How to fish a drop shot

Cast or drop it to the spot, let the weight settle to the bottom, and take up slack until the line is tight but not lifting the weight. Now shake the rod tip gently — you want the bait to quiver in place without moving the weight. Pause often; most bites come on the pause. When you feel a tick or the line loads up, reel down and sweep the rod to set (no hard hookset needed with the light-wire hook). Landed a good one? Estimate its weight with our free fish weight calculator.

Quick tips

Keep the weight light — just heavy enough to feel bottom. Lengthen the tag end (the leader between hook and weight) when fish suspend higher off the bottom, and shorten it when they’re glued to the floor. And use a spinning setup; a drop shot on baitcasting gear fights you the whole way.

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Flatheads are heavy, stocky brutes that pack on weight fast, so length tells you a lot about a big cat. This flathead catfish length-to-weight chart estimates weight from length so you can size up a bruiser before the release.

Flathead catfish length-to-weight chart

Length	Average weight
14″	1.22 lb
16″	1.82 lb
18″	2.59 lb
20″	3.56 lb
22″	4.73 lb
24″	6.14 lb
26″	7.81 lb
28″	9.76 lb
30″	12.00 lb
32″	14.56 lb
34″	17.47 lb
36″	20.74 lb
40″	28.44 lb
44″	37.86 lb

These figures use weight (lb) = length³ ÷ 2,250 (length in inches), calibrated to Missouri Department of Conservation data from over 6,000 measured flatheads.

What’s an average flathead — and what’s a trophy?

A common “eater” flathead runs 15–28 inches and 1–10 pounds, while dedicated flathead anglers target 24–36 inch fish (roughly 6–25 lb). Anything past the mid-30-inch mark is a notable catch. Anglers widely treat 30 pounds as the trophy threshold — 20 lb is a strong fish and 50 lb+ is a true giant (a convention, not an official mark). The IGFA all-tackle world record is a massive 123 pounds, caught at Elk City Reservoir, Kansas, in 1998.

Put a number on your exact fish (worked example)

Flatheads are broad, heavy-bodied fish, so girth adds up fast:

Weight (lb) = Length × Girth² ÷ 800

A 36-inch flathead with a 24-inch girth works out to 36 × 24 × 24 ÷ 800 = 25.9 lb, well above the 20.7 lb length-only average — a thick, well-fed fish. Measure both and use our free fish weight calculator; see how to estimate a fish’s weight.

Why two flatheads of the same length weigh differently

Flatheads eat almost exclusively live prey, which drives fast, heavy growth — a reservoir fish gorging on shad and sunfish runs much stouter than a river fish of the same length. Pre-spawn females are heaviest; guarding males feed little during nesting and can slim down in midsummer.

Where and when to find bigger flathead catfish

Flatheads hold in deep, slow pools of big rivers, reservoirs, and lakes — turbid water with heavy structure like logjams, timber, undercut banks, and rock. They’re solitary and territorial, tucking into deep cover by day and moving shallow to feed after dark. Gear tip that matters: flatheads want it alive. Unlike other catfish, adults rarely scavenge — the go-to is a large live baitfish (bluegill or sunfish where legal, shad, bullhead) fished on the bottom tight to cover at night.

Flathead catfish weight FAQ

How much does a 30-inch flathead weigh? About 12 pounds in average condition.

What’s a trophy flathead catfish? Roughly 30 lb; 50 lb+ is a true giant.

Do flatheads bite dead or cut bait? Occasionally, but adults strongly prefer live prey — live bait tight to cover is far more productive.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• Channel Catfish Length to Weight Chart
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That chain-sided ambush predator hits like a freight train — but what does it weigh? This chain pickerel length-to-weight chart gives average weights by length, handy for ice season and quick releases.

Chain pickerel length-to-weight chart

Length	Average weight
14″	0.62 lb
16″	0.93 lb
18″	1.33 lb
20″	1.82 lb
22″	2.42 lb
24″	3.14 lb
26″	3.99 lb
28″	4.99 lb

These figures use weight (lb) = length³ ÷ 4,400 (length in inches); pickerel are long and lean, so the divisor is high. Their condition swings a lot with season, so treat these as approximate.

What’s an average pickerel — and what’s a trophy?

Most chain pickerel run 15–24 inches and roughly 1–3 pounds; statewide averages (Maine) sit near 16 inches and about a pound. A 4-pounder is a genuinely nice fish, and 5 pounds is the common trophy mark in most regions (a convention — several state records fall in the 6–9 lb range). The IGFA all-tackle world record is 9 lb 6 oz, caught in Georgia in 1961 — one of the oldest standing freshwater records.

Put a number on your exact fish (worked example)

Weight (lb) = Length × Girth² ÷ 800

A 24-inch pickerel with an 11-inch girth works out to 24 × 11 × 11 ÷ 800 = 3.6 lb, above the 3.14 lb length-only average — a chunky, well-fed or pre-spawn fish. Measure both and use our free fish weight calculator; see how to estimate a fish’s weight.

Why two pickerel of the same length weigh differently

Pickerel spawn very early — late winter to early spring — so pre-spawn females are the heaviest of the year, and that peak lines up neatly with prime ice-fishing season. Forage and body condition vary widely from water to water, which is why the chart is only a starting point.

Where and when to find bigger chain pickerel

Chain pickerel love shallow, weedy, slow water — vegetated lakes, ponds, backwaters, and sluggish stream and river pools — where they ambush prey from the edge of cover. They’re a popular winter and ice-fishing target. Gear tip: they slash at flash, so spoons, spinnerbaits, and inline spinners worked along weed edges draw hard strikes — and a short wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader saves lures from their teeth. ID: the namesake dark chain-link pattern on a greenish-gold flank, plus a distinct teardrop bar beneath the eye (young northern pike show light, bean-shaped spots instead).

Chain pickerel weight FAQ

How much does a 24-inch chain pickerel weigh? About 3 pounds in average condition.

What’s a trophy chain pickerel? Around 5 pounds; a 4-pounder is a strong fish.

Do I need a leader for pickerel? Yes — their teeth cut light line. Use a short wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• Northern Pike Length to Weight Chart
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Landed a buttery-gold brown and want to know its weight? This brown trout length-to-weight chart estimates weight from length for a fish in average condition — handy for a quick photo-and-release on wild trout water.

Brown trout length-to-weight chart

Length	Average weight
10″	0.40 lb
12″	0.69 lb
14″	1.10 lb
16″	1.64 lb
18″	2.33 lb
20″	3.20 lb
22″	4.26 lb
24″	5.53 lb
26″	7.03 lb
28″	8.78 lb

These figures use weight (lb) = length³ ÷ 2,500 (length in inches), calibrated to statewide average-condition data (Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission). Well-fed lake and tailwater browns run heavier.

What’s an average brown trout — and what’s a trophy?

Most stream browns run 10–16 inches and about ½ to 2 pounds, with a good wild fish being 14–18 inches; lake, tailwater, and Great Lakes browns grow far larger. Anglers widely treat 20 inches or about 5 pounds as a trophy stream brown, pushing the bar to 10 lb+ on big water (an angler convention, not an official standard). The IGFA all-tackle record is 44 lb 5 oz from New Zealand (2020) — a pellet-fattened canal fish — while the classic North American benchmark is the roughly 40-pound brown from Arkansas’s Little Red River in 1992.

Put a number on your exact fish (worked example)

Length-only charts can’t tell a lean insect-eater from a predatory brown that’s been eating baitfish. Girth can:

Weight (lb) = Length × Girth² ÷ 800

A 20-inch brown with a 12-inch girth works out to 20 × 12 × 12 ÷ 800 = 3.6 lb, above the 3.20 lb length-only average — a well-fed fish. Measure both and use our free fish weight calculator; see how to estimate a fish’s weight.

Why two browns of the same length weigh differently

Big browns turn strongly predatory — a fish gorging on sculpins and minnows gets deep and heavy, while an insect-eating stream fish stays lean. Fall pre-spawn females are the heaviest of the year, and post-spawn winter fish are leaner at the same length. Tailwater and lake browns simply outweigh stream fish of equal length.

Where and when to find bigger brown trout

Brown trout live in cool, clean, well-oxygenated streams, tailwaters, and lakes around 53–66°F — and they tolerate warmth better than brook or rainbow trout. They hold near undercut banks, cover, and current breaks and feed hardest at low light, so early, late, and after dark produce the biggest fish. Fall, as pre-spawn browns get aggressive and territorial, is prime trophy season. ID: black and red/orange spots (the red ones often ringed with a blue halo) on a brown-gold body, and a nearly spotless tail — the fastest way to separate a brown from a rainbow or brookie.

Brown trout weight FAQ

How much does a 20-inch brown trout weigh? About 3 to 3.6 pounds, depending on how well-fed it is.

What’s a trophy brown trout? Roughly 20 inches or 5 lb on a stream; 10 lb+ on lakes and tailwaters.

Why are lake and tailwater browns so much heavier? They switch to eating baitfish and grow deep, heavy bodies that beat length-only averages.

Related from Fishing Toolbox

• Rainbow Trout Length to Weight Chart
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