Arkansas Catfish Fishing Areas And Strategies

The catfish is an amazing species that can be found in all types of water located in Arkansas. Search for them in the rivers, streams, lakes and even ponds. Most of the catfish in Arkansas will vary in size from about one pound to over a hundred pounds so there are many opportunities to reel in a nice catch.

Arkansas is definitely an excellent place to go fishing for a catfish trophy fish because they do grow so large in this area.

When you are searching for one of the largest catfish you can find in Arkansas the rivers are usually the best place to start. However, you will find some good size catfish in many of the other bodies of water as well.

Keep in mind that not only do the catfish grow to some huge sizes but they can also put up an amazing struggle. You need to be prepared for this when you head out.

Make sure you have good strong equipment that can hold up to the fight you will encounter. All species of catfish are considered to be bottom feeders so you will want to use a technique that allows you to get the bait on the bottom of the water where the catfish is located.

Lakes and Rivers in Arkansas

There are many different bodies of water located throughout Arkansas in which you can go catfish fishing. All of them have something to offer that will make your fishing trips fun and exciting. Below is a list of lakes and rivers where you can go catfish fishing in Arkansas:

Arkansas River
Mississippi River
Lake Ouachita
Lake Conway
Greers Ferry Lake
Lake Millwood
Beaver Lake
Lake Dardanelle
Lake Jack Lee
Norfolk Lake
Bull Shoals Lake
Lake Maumelle
Lake Hamilton

It is interesting to know that the state record for the blue catfish was caught in the Mississippi River. The record for the channel catfish was pulled out of Lake Ouachita and the flathead catfish record was caught in the Arkansas River.

Catfish Fishing Strategies

Most catfish will eat just about anything they can get in their mouth and they have the strongest sense of smell out of any species of fish. They use their extraordinary sense of smell to locate potential food sources, which explains why stink baits are so popular when fishing for catfish.

Shrimp, chicken livers and a variety of prepared baits are used when fishing for catfish. The catfish is always attracted to live bait but you can also catch them with artificial baits too.

It doesn't matter what type of catfish you enjoy going fishing for because you will find all of them in Arkansas.

Since there are blue cats, flathead, channel cats and bullhead catfish locate throughout the waters of Arkansas, it's a good idea to get a little information about all of them before setting out on your fishing trip. This way you will be prepared for anything that comes up.

The blue catfish are found mostly in the major rivers that are fed by the large tributaries. They hang out in logs, brush and other structures. They feed primarily off of mollusks, crayfish, invertebrates, frogs and other fish.

Most any type of bait will work well for this species of catfish but stink bait, shiners and cut baits will produce some amazing results.