Drift fishing is a great way to catch catfish. It’s a very effective technique for catching channel and blue catfish and works for catching not only numbers of smaller catfish but trophy-class cats as well.
There’s a variety of different techniques for drift fishing that is advanced using a trolling motor to move or hold the angler’s boat often referred to as controlled drifting and then there’s what I refer to as “traditional drift fishing”.
Traditional drift fishing is drifting for catfish in its most basic form and a technique that’s been used for decades. Traditional drifting uses the wind to move the boat and drag baits across the bottom of a lake or reservoir with a drift sock (or multiple drift socks) to hold the direction of the boat in the wind and maintain drift speed.
It sounds very basic but to be successful there’s a lot more than “just going out and dragging some baits” so we’ve put together this list of drift fishing for catfish tips to help get you started on the path to success (catching fish).
In this week's video Chad Ferguson from Catfish Edge covers tips for drift fishing for catfish sharing some of his experience from his career of over fifteen years as a professional catfish guide.
Here’s what’s covered in this video:
Scattered fish and why drift fishing is a great way to catch them.
Drift socks, what they’re used for, and why you need them.
Drift speed and why it’s important.
Catfish rigs for drift fishing and a “rattling” catfish rig I’ve been using. Rods and why they’re important as well as what to look for.
Reel options for these techniques.
Tackle basics and what you’ll need.
Bait for drifting and what the best bait is for success.
Drifting vs fishing on anchor and what’s better.
The hi-vis advantage and why you need it.
More tips for using these techniques.
For more information on drift socks be sure to check out the Drift Socks 101 video:
• Drift Sock 101: Boat C...
To get even more details on drift fishing for catfish check out the post at Catfish Edge
www.catfishedge.com/drift-fish...
To get on the fast track using these techniques and catching more fish check out the ebook from Catfish Edge:
www.catfishedge.com/product/d...
Timestamps:
00:15 Types of drift fishing for catfish
00:25 What is drift fishing for catfish
00:44 Finding catfish
01:30 Drift socks and boat speed)
01:45 Catfish rigs and bait for drift fishing
02:15 Casting baits
02:35 Finding catfish
03:30 Drifting blind
04:15 Staggering baits
04:50 The right fishing line
06:00 Catching a big catfish drift fishing