Fishing in Oklahoma: Catfish

Catfishing is an exciting and interesting sport. It is great fun to reel in a giant with a nine foot fishing rod and the fish that weighs 50 plus pounds. One of my favorite hobbies is fishing. Here in Oklahoma there are many lakes and rivers that house excellent catfish holes. Catfishing is only one of the several types of fishing that my husband and I participate in. First we need to discuss what tackle you will require depending on where you are planning on fishing. I will then review several different places to catch catfish here in Oklahoma. I will then discuss the four seasons of catfishing.

The tackle you necessitate will depend on if you are river fishing or lake fishing. There are a few general tackle pieces that you will need wherever you possibly will fish. These items include 4/0 hooks, all sizes of sinkers from 1/8 ounce to 5 ounces, and slip corks or bobbers. I suggest the use of Eagle Claw's Circle Sea Hooks as they do not bend as easy as some. You should have plenty of each of these because as you may know your fishing line might break if you snag a limb or rock, which very well could happen depending on where you fish.

For river fishing it is important to for to encompass a variety of live bait instead of plastic baits. Whole shad, cut shad, and shad gizzards work very well in Oklahoma Rivers. Live bass minnows also work extremely well because they are much larger than the typical minnows and stay alive for extended periods of time. When utilizing live bait you should always ensure that you keep it as cool as possible on a hot day or else they will expire quickly. This is why it is very important to carry a minnow bucket with you on your fishing trip so you can keep the minnows in the water as much as possible, maintaining them at a constant temperature.