HOW AND WHERE TO CATCH CATS AT NIGHT

General Catfishing Information

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jerry Crook, of Gardendale, Alabama, a veteran Tennessee River angler, has fished this region for over 22 years. Crook operates Tailrace Guide Service that focuses on live-bait fishing to provide his clients with various opportunities to catch several species of fish during a day's outing.

Question: Jerry, what do you charge for fishing at night?
Crook: I get $225 for two people for eight-plus hours -- whether day or night

Question: When do you like to go out to catch catfish? When's the best time to start fishing for cats at night? And, what time of day is the most productive to fish for catfish?
Crook: I like to get out right before dark to get my bearings, see where we can visibly spot bait and get situated.

Question: So, you like to have an hour or two to scout, right for catfish?
Crook: Yes, an hour to 1 1/2-hours is plenty of time.

Question: When you fish an 8-hour trip, you actually fish about 6 1/2-hours really, right?
Crook: Well, my 8-hour days usually turn into 10-hour days.

Question: So at what time do you usually come back to the dock?
Crook: I come in whenever my customer says to come in. If we start at 7:00 p.m., though, we may stay out as late as 4:00 a.m. if my customers want.

Question: How many cats do you usually catch in a night of fishing?
Crook: We measure the numbers of catfish we take not so much by numbers as by weight. Generally two anglers will catch from 70 to 125 pounds of catfish for a night's fishing.

Question: How many catfish do you think we had from yesterday?
Crook: I believe we had 30 catfish weighing 125 pounds or more.

Question: Another thing about catfishing all night, if you're tough enough, you can stay out there for that
early-morning bite too, can't you?
Crook: Well, depending on TVA's water schedule, you can. If TVA has the water running that surely helps the early-morning bite. You can catch catfish in the heat of the day too, if you're willing to stay out on the water and suffer in the heat and bright sun.

Question: Fishing for cats at night has several advantages too for anglers since you can stay fishing as late as you want, come in, go to sleep and then the next morning get up and clean your cats, right?
Crook: Correct.

Question: I interviewed one of Crook's catfishing clients, Jason Berryhill of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, and asked him his thoughts about his first tailrace, nighttime catfishing experience.
Jason Berryhill: We've had an incredible night of fishing for catfish. At one point, anytime any of us got our baits down to the bottom, we pulled up catfish.

Question: What did you like about fishing in the tailrace for nighttime catfish?
Jason Berryhill: This type of catfishing wasn't very hard work. As long as you kept a hook and a weight on your line, you seemed to be catching catfish.

Question: Tell me about the biggest cat you caught.
Jason Berryhill: When I was fighting that biggest catfish, it felt like it weighed as much as a ton of bricks that was on the bottom. I kept fighting that catfish up and fighting it up, until I finally got a net on that catfish and brought it into the boat.

Question: What else besides catfish did you catch?
Jason Berryhill: We also caught some white bass, drum and plenty of hybrids.

Question: Tell me about catching the drum.
Jason Berryhill: The drum reminded me of a big horse in the water. That drum took off running and would have taken all of my line if I hadn't been careful.

Question: What did you think about this kind of nighttime/tailrace/catfishing? How did it compare with the other kinds of fishing you'd done before in the summertime?
Jason Berryhill: I really enjoyed fishing for cats at night since I didn't have to stay out in the heat all day. Sitting out at night on the river was like being in an air-conditioned room compared to most of our summer days.

Question: Tell the truth, Jason, had you rather go
catfishing around the dam than go out on a date with a young lady?
Jason Berryhill: Probably.

Question: Since we had such a large catch of catfish, I asked Jerry Crook about the best way to take care of and clean big cats.
Crook: I don't eat a lot of fish, simply because I don't like fish. But I'll fillet them out for my clients, clean them with an electric knife, cut them into thumb-size pieces, dump those pieces into an ice chest and then cover the catfish chunks with ice. Next I fill that ice chest up with 7-Up to cover all the meat. After letting the catfish pieces sit for three or four hours in 7-Up, that 7-Up puts a
lemon/lime taste in the fish and pulls out all the oil out of the fish. Then regardless of the size of the catfish you've caught and filleted, you'll find the chunks very palatable with no strong catfish taste.

For more information on fishing the tailrace contact Jerry Crook at 1128-Meadow Drive, Gardendale, Alabama 35071, or call him at (home) 205-608-0933 or (cell) 205-243-6198. You can visit his website at www.alabamaoutdoors.net/tailrace.html.