[Stinky_Pete]

Just want to say that the Choptank around the area of Denton Maryland is a great winter spot for cats, big blue cats in particular.

I primarily use night-crawlers as I don't like missing out on nice white and yeller' perch.

Best tide is a fresh outgoing, and a double hook set up.

I cannot stress this enough -- use RAZOR sharp hooks for blue cats; they have very hard mouths and often will throw your hook.

Here is how to sharpen a hook.

Big cats will almost always make a strong initial run. After that, they will normally surface to shake their head and throw the hook. Pull them back in and don't allow them to do this.

Once you get them in, land them with your hand. Use a leather glove and don't dilly-dally. Right at shore is where they usually get away.

This is a great video for how the prepare a Blue Catfish.

Really big cats love a whole bluegill cut in half. Another good bait is cut blue catfish!

Spray it periodically with menhaden oil spray.

This is how it all should look:

Good luck!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Went for an hour before work last week and hooked a very big blue. Could not move him at all. I should have been using at least 17# test (my favorite for cats is Red Cajun Line). He threw the hook, because I could not "muscle him" properly.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I use cut white meat chicken for bait too, as it is cheap and stays on the hook well. I don't spend an entire winter soaking it in garlic and all that stuff, just spray it with fish oil and be done with it.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

You don't need to fish really deep water, you can catch blue cats on a bright sunny day in three feet of water, as long as its within about two hours of high tide.

No need for a surf rod. A tall pole is harder to fight a big cat with, in fact, get something under six feet if you can.

ALWAYS anchor your rod so that a big blue will not take it! Hook it under a rock or, on a pier, stick the pole between the rails.

I use circle hooks for these fish, because they always take it and run, even in the winter. Blue cats are very active, wintertime.

 

[andypat]

Great videos! Thanks Pete.

 

[markedwards]

Where in Denton? Pm if you'd like

 

[AaronDen]

I'm going to have to give this a shot over the winter. Always looking for nice relaxing fishing. We have catfished at the Hillsboro bridge and done well but lots of snags. Haven't caught any blue cats yet. Did not know they were in the Choptank in any numbers.

 

[1BadF350]

LOL here come the report chasers!!!

 

[CYT]

I'm going to have to give this a shot over the winter. Always looking for nice relaxing fishing. We have catfished at the Hillsboro bridge and done well but lots of snags. Haven't caught any blue cats yet. Did not know they were in the Choptank in any numbers.

Same here on any numbers. News to me.

 

[bigjim5589]

Great post Stinky Pete! My old fishing buddy & I fished the upper Choptank & Tuckahoe quite often for cats in the winter. We caught mostly channel cats, but occasionally a Blue or two. None were monsters, perhaps 8 to 10 lbs being the biggest we caught.
We used fresh veal liver that had been soaked in garlic for a few days. My friend lived in Easton, and passed away back in 2004. I've not done much winter fishing since, but have been reading that more Blues are being caught in ES rivers.
I very much agree about using sharp hooks, and I liked to add a couple of beads & spinner to my rigs, which may have accounted for why we caught more Channel Cats than Blues. Still, we had fun doing it, and liked catching some eating size cats. Those big ones are probably a lot of fun, but not sure I would want to eat them.

 

[zam]

I always liked stopping in that area for Catfish in the summer when I go to Ocean city

 

[andypat]

Where in Denton? Pm if you'd like

There is a park with a boat ramp, benches along the river, and plenty of room to fish off the bulk-head in Denton. I watched a man catching catfish there one time. Not real large ones, but he did keep a few.

 

[bluefish1928]

Before I realize yellow perch bite better at outgoing tide, I did do the downtown Denton boat ramp waterfront winter fishing deal.

We had a day where no perch bit our worms (incoming tide), but we did end up with a nice mess of 8 cats- white, channel, and blues up to maybe 25 inches. For a cold winter day, we had enough fish for little fish fry!
So yes, there are fair numbers of blue cats in that river. As for monsters, they are probably there. Somebody will get them.

15 years ago or so, a 40# blue cat was big in the Potomac. Now, 40# seem to be caught every other day. The new standard of big is probably 65+. On the other hand, the peak of monster cats in the James is over. They are overpopulated to the point where they compete against each other for food.

When I target blue cats, I use 50# braid on conventional reels (Penn Fathom 40, Daiwa Seagte 50) and 50# mono leader . It is probably overkill, but I like to use what I already have for offshore fishing. I use Team Catfish Double Action Circle hooks after watching their videos. It is not a gimmick. They are pricier, but have their value.

Not from MD nor Va, but from shore- 4-8ft of water in late December on fresh cut gizzard shad with Team Catfish Double Action Circles

 

[andypat]

bluefish1928 That is a good picture. Them cats look clean and healthy. I never heard of Double Action Circle Hooks. Have to check it out.

 

[bigjim5589]

There are some big catfish down here in the rivers & lakes. My one son & I have caught some small ones, and have not seen anyone catch any really big ones, but did see a fellow catch one down near the dam that was about the size of the smallest in the picture bluefish1928 posted. He was using live shad that were about 5" long. From pics I've seen, there are 80 lb plus monsters in these Santee Cooper lakes & rivers.

 

[bluefish1928]

There are some big catfish down here in the rivers & lakes. My one son & I have caught some small ones, and have not seen anyone catch any really big ones, but did see a fellow catch one down near the dam that was about the size of the smallest in the picture bluefish1928 posted. He was using live shad that were about 5" long. From pics I've seen, there are 80 lb plus monsters in these Santee Cooper lakes & rivers.

Mine came from Lake Marion. Three cats- all over 30 inches were hooked and landed over a period of 2 hours. I also missed another one. For the quality of catfish, I feel like Santee Cooper is rather underfished. Most boat guys I see at the ramps are going out to LM bass fish. The bank fisherman are usually targeting bream. Also, the major shad run in early spring is also ignored by most. PM me and I will give you the exact spot- it's public. SC fishing just isn't as political as MD.

A 140 pounder was taken by trotline a few winters ago....... the 108 pounder was a former world record..... several 100+ are there even without the "divers fixing a dam story"

 

[Tommy Robinson]

Thanks for the tips. I may just have to try to get a few this winter. I like that spot in Denton. Deep water but those cables that run across the river are a pain in the ass.

 

[andypat]

bluefish1928,I use to fish both Santee Lakes the last week of March and the first week of April. We stayed at a fish camp on the Diversion Canal. I think it was called Jones Fish Camp. Along time ago. They use to save the fish in a walk-in box and ship them to an orphanage. This was our four man catch. They used this picture in their advertisement.

That was so long ago, people in S.C. use to eat bass.

 

[CYT]

I would not be proud of that pic Andy. Shear carnage. Sad.

 

[CYT]

Was just down at a landing near Greensboro on the Choptank.

Posted: Blue catfish, Snakehead(must kill) and Flathead cats up to 4' long....damn!

Quite a fishery.