The best baits for these areas are chunks of fresh baitfish such as herring or shad, and a good rig to use is a basic three-way-swivel rig. Use a 2-foot hook leader tipped with a 3/0 to 7/0 Eagle Claw Kahle hook. The leader for the sinker should be 8 inches or thereabouts and be tied to a 1- to 3-ounce sinker.

Anchor above the eddy you intend to fish, cast to the spot and let the reel free-spool until the weight hits bottom. Strikes usually come quick and hard, so use heavy tackle. A 7- or 8-foot rod with a soft tip such as the Shakespeare Ugly Stik catfish rod would be ideal. A rod such as this has enough backbone to parry the aggression of a large fish, but the tip allows the fish to take the bait without immediately feeling the tension of the rod itself. Marry this rod to a reel with strong gears, and you're in business. And since the bites from river catfish can be aggressive, keep a firm grip on the rod at all times. One moment of inattention could cost you the catfish of a lifetime.

CATFISH ON THE ROCKS
Riprap is used to help lessen erosion on rivers. In this case, however, the rocks aren't constructed into dikes -- they're used to blanket the banks. This cover is most often placed on shores near dams and around bridges, causeways and roadways that cross channels. And because it provides shallow- and deep-water domiciles in proximity to one another -- in addition to being a haven to baitfish -- riprap is a frequent hotspot for channel cats.

Hangups are common in the rocks, so it's best to keep riprap-fishing rigs simple. When fishing shallow edges, use nothing more than a baited hook. Smaller channel cats are abundant here, so a 4/0 to 6/0 octopus or circle hook usually is adequate. Cast to the targeted spot and then allow the rig to flutter down enticingly through the water column. When you perceive the rig has touched bottom, lift your rod tip and pull the rig sideways, so it drifts down to a different spot. Repeat until you get a taker.

When targeting deeper riprap edges, try a 1/4- to 1-ounce jighead with bait rigged on the hook. Work this is the same manner as the weightless rig. Drop, lift, move: This is an ideal means of both avoiding hangups and targeting cats hiding in cavities and crevices within the rocks.

The best baits are native riprap inhabitants such as shad, minnows, crayfish and small sunfish. When fishing for flatheads, a tail-hooked crayfish or a sunfish hooked behind the dorsal fin can bring smashing strikes. For blue cats, use chunks of cut shad. Small whole shad and live minnows stacked several to the hook work great on channel cats. Commercial stinkbaits and night crawlers are effective here as well.

WADE ON IN
There are many small, seldom-fished rivers whose channel cats are abundant. Wade-fishing is often the best way to catch a mess of cats in these environs. Slip on some waders or a pair of shorts and tennis shoes, and move slowly through the stream, stopping to check areas in which cats may hide, which shouldn't be hard to find. Fallen trees in outside stream bends attract some of the biggest channel cats, especially in those areas where current has eaten away the bank so the tree has toppled into a washout where catfish can hide. Ledges are also small-stream hotspots. Cats love holes, and they'll back in beneath a ledge to ambush forage animals brought by in the current. Other good fishing spots include the downstream side of huge boulders, eddy pools (where water moves in a circular pattern forming a pool of calm water) and water near logs and logjams.

Use a bobber to drift bait over these areas. Add just enough weight to the line to hold the bait down; then, allow the rig to drift naturally in the current, guiding it alongside potential catfish hideouts. If possible, use natural baits -- crayfish, hellgrammites, etc. --taken from the stream you're fishing.

Jimmy was correct about the river being "right" that night.