Stump Bumper
01-07-2006, 08:59 PM
I was introduced to drift fishing for catfish on the Santee Cooper Lakes in 1999. Talk about an eye opener! It's a "bread and butter" technique used by professional guides for covering a lot of water to locate and catch actively feeding fish. Easy modifications on hook size, bait and bait presentation can be made to suit the particular body of water you fish in. I'm convinced these techinques will work on any large open lake. What are some of the key factor's involved in drift fishing? First and foremost, you must have wind. A steady 8 to 10 mph wind is perfect. That will keep your boat and bait moving right along. After all, covering alot of water is the key to finding active fish. Monitor your graph as you drift along so that you can mark key features in the lake that are holding high concentrations of fish. If you catch a few fish over a particular area, like a submerged creek channel, you may want to make several drifts there. Next you will need at least 2 good drift socks for your boat. Most Marine Supply Stores carry drift socks (sometimes referred to as sea anchors), and a store representative can help you select the right size socks for your boat. Drift socks are designed to regulate the speed of your boat and control erratic movement during the drift. Now comes the question of where to drift? The answer is where ever you want. When fishing an unfamiluar lake, here are a few suggestions. Move slowly along until you start marking fish in conjunctiion with, humps, drop offs, submerged creek or river channels ect. Turn you boat directly into the wind and drive straight into the wind for 300 yards or so. Now put out your drift socks to stabilize your boats drift. Now you can put out your drift rigs as the wind will drift your boat directly back over the area you want to fish. What was that you said about drift rigs? Follow these simple directions and you will be ready to drift. The day before you go to the lake, take the rods and reels you plan to use to a nearby football field. Lay them down at one goal post, open the bails (spinning reels) or free spool (baitcasting reels), with lines in hand, start walking towards the opposite goal post. Once you reach the 75 yard mark, stop, lay the lines down, return to your starting point. Place a small piece of DUC Tape on the the spool then reel the line back in. When you put you drift rigs in the water to start your drift, leave the bail open (spinning reels) or in free spool (baitcasting reels). As you drift along, line will feed out freely. When the tape is fully visable on the spool close the bail (spinning reel) or "Click" /engage the spool (baitcasting reel). You now have exactly 75 yards of line out behind the boat. Welcome to the low stress world of drift fishing. Kick back, relax, enjoy your favorite cold beverage. Your rod tip's will occassionally dip and sway as your bait swims along the bottom through different types of structure. Don't get over anxious, BELIEVE ME, you will know when you get a fish on. A hungry Blue or Channel Cat will hit it like a runaway freight train. Let him really load up the rod before you take it out of the rod holder. No need to set the hook as they will do all the work for you. Once you take the rod, keep your rod tip up and reel that fish in quick! Don't give him a chance to tangle your other lines or wrap you up and break off. So now comes the challenge. Try reeling in a very mad, very strong Blue Cat from 75 yards out. It will let you know real quick what kind of shape you are in. I've included some attachments that show some of the different drift rigs and how to use different baits. The rules for selecting bait are simple. Use whatever works best on the body of water you fish. Small threadfin shad, small white perch or fresh pieces of cutbait work well when available but once again it depends on what works where you fish. Hope this motivates some of you to get out and try something different. Good luck and God bless....Ray