Tight-line rigs are best for putting baits right in front of the cats in moving water. Photo by Jeff Samsel.

When summer starts to sizzle, the channel catfish action heats up as well. The cats are all done spawning by now, so their focus is on feeding, and they tend to pile up in predictable places. River fishing can be especially good this time of year, if an angler is well schooled on the best approaches. Let's look at how, where and when to catch the most river cats during the dog days of summer.

FIND BIG BENDS
Among the most predictable places to find concentrations of catfish in virtually any river is within the sharpest bends along a river's course. Sharp bends scour deep holes, often with steep banks, and bank erosion commonly causes brush and trees to fall into the deeper water. In addition, river bends naturally create a mixture of current lines and eddies that provide holding areas and feeding lanes for the catfish.

The fish might be over the slope at the head of the hole, along its edge or down in the deepest water. They are somewhere, though, and by trying a few different anchoring positions, you generally can find them. Because catfish follow their noses (and whiskers) to food, the best way to find fish in a river hole, generally speaking, is to begin at the upper end of the hole. Use baits that give off a lot of scent, which disperses farther down into the hole to draw fish to the bait.

A simple bottom rig consisting of an egg sinker, swivel, leader and hook works nicely for fishing big holes within river bends. The weight should be just enough to hold the rig solidly on the bottom, given the water depth and amount of current.

Circle hooks work nicely because the fish often hook themselves. Among the best baits for this style of fishing are commercial catfish pastes, chicken livers and cut fish. The best setup for many river holes is to anchor a cast's distance upstream of where the baits should be, cast downstream and let the baits settle on the bottom.

FISH AFTER HOURS
Although plenty of cats certainly can be caught through the middle of the day, channel catfish are somewhat nocturnal, feeding most actively at night. This behavior becomes even more pronounced during the summer, adding to the night bite. Providing even greater appeal, nights can be more pleasant than days for being out on the water when summer really starts to sizzle.

At night, the catfish are near the same holes where they stack up during the day; however, they typically aren't down in the deepest water. During the evening, they migrate up the slopes of the big holes, and at night, feed in shallow water just upstream of holes or on the flats that are often found along the insides of the same big bends in the river. These cats may be in very shallow water, so it's usually necessary to anchor upstream of their likely holding position and cast to them. An alternative setup that works well in light current -- which is common along inside bends -- is to beach the nose of the boat and spread baits out in different directions on the flat.

Catfish roam more at night than they do during the day, so action often occurs in flurries. The best strategy is to scout out a few productive-looking spots before dark -- areas where fish are holding in holes that have shallow flats near them -- and set up on those flats or along the slopes before the sun goes down. Because the fish do tend to move and because of the added challenges associated with navigating rivers at night, spending more time in less spots is a better strategy than doing a lot of searching at night.

USE TIGHT LINES
Often the best way to place an offering among actively feeding cats is to position a boat directly over their heads and fish a tight line straight down to them. As long as the water is deep enough to fish overhead without spooking fish and the current is sufficiently modest to let you hold a boat in position with a trolling motor, a tight-line approach allows for precise bait presentations.