Settin’ It Up
Once Jeff has picked his area by marking the right bottom
contour near the thermocline and the right space between the
fish and the bottom, he is ready to deploy the drift socks.
Williams will usually only use on drift sock or “sea anchor”
to set his drift at the right speed and path. Some anglers
use two anchors out the side of the boat but Jeff prefers to
drift with the socks either out the front or the back to get
a more controlled drift. If the wind is moving at a fairly
good clip, Jeff will fish from the front so the wind doesn’t
push his boat too fast. If the wind is fairly slow, he will
fish from the back so the wind has more of a flat surface to
push on, thus speeding up his drift. Jeff notes that he will
catch more fish if he speeds up or slows down the drift when
he needs to cover more or less water. Also of note is that
matching the speed of the boat to the activity level of the
fish seems to work best on certain days. “You just have to
fish and vary your drift speed till you start hookin’ up
with fish. I like to start with a certain drift speed and
then go faster or slower from there.”
If Jeff is catching fish fairly consistently he will leave
the boat speed alone. If he goes very far without a hook-up
and he is still marking fish on the graph, he will slow down
or speed up if he thinks it is necessary. On windless days,
Jeff will use his bow-mounted trolling motor to create a
drift.
Fresh Bait
Jeff says that one of the most important parts of his
fishing success is having fresh bait all day long. He motors
to areas that hold shad such as bays, and cuts, and then
moves slowly around till he locates schools of shad on his
sonar unit. From the front of the boat, he throws a 16-foot
diameter 1-inch mesh cast net and usually gets enough bait
fairly quick. As soon as he nets the first few gizzard shad
he tosses them into a top-quality aerated oval bait tank
made by Grayline. After he has caught enough big shad he
drains the water out of the tank then refills it. “If I want
the freshest bait possible I have to get the water changed.
When shad get stressed they regurgitate and their stomach
acids build up in the tank’s water and burn their gills. By
changing the water, you remove all that and the built-in
tank filters will do the rest.”
Williams uses either chunks or fillets depending on what
works the best for that day. He makes sure to cut the chunks
at an angle so they are streamlined enough not to spin much.
Ready to Go
We’ve got the right bait and figured out where to fish and
set up the boat for the right drift by deploying the drift
sock according to the power of the wind. Now its time to
look at Jeff’s drift rig set-up. Jeff has experimented with
many different snagless sinker styles including
bottom-bouncers, weighted welding rods, modified egg sinker
rigs, pencil weights, and others but he has finally decided
on one that works best for him. He ties a short piece of 20
pound monofilament onto a small snap swivel then threads on
eight ½ ounce egg sinkers onto the line and then fastens the
last one to the line.
You’re Ready
Well, there you have it folks. Jeff’s simple yet effective
summertime pattern he uses to catch blue cats on reservoirs
can be used on lots of big lakes across the country. Get out
there and drift, pay close attention to what’s happening
while you’re on the water drifting and you’ll be catching
blues like he does in no time. Chances are if you spend the
time on a lake that has some monster-sized blues, you may be
surprised just how big a fish you can handle!
Copyright © 2004-2005 Jeff Williams and Procats
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Lake of the Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service”:
About the Author
Jeff Williams runs a Truman Lake Hybrid Bass and Lake of the
Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service offering lodging and
guided trips in Missouri. To book a trip, learn more tips,
or find out how Capt. Jeff would fish your own local waters,
call 1-866-HOOKSET or visit
www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com today!