New Kindle Book by John Phillips Highlights the Three Best Areas to Catch Catfish in Any State
John E. Phillips 07.10.12
“I believe any state’s catfishing waters could best be divided into three regions for the best chances to catch Mr. Whiskers,” Smith says. “The very-best place to catch catfish is in the tailraces below dams. Another good spot is along many of the small streams and creeks. The third place to take catfish is in any state lakes.” By picking these three areas, Smith definitely has narrowed-down the search for the most-productive catfishing waters.
Tailraces
According to Smith, “I would have to say that in many states the very-best catfishing is in the tailraces. I believe that the number of catfish you will take at any given time will be higher in tailraces than it will in any other waters – not only for catfish but for many other species. A dam serves as a point of concentration for fish. At the upper end of a lake where there’s a tailrace, many of the fish in that lake will migrate upstream until they encounter the dam. Then, they’ll concentrate in that tailrace with its highly-oxygenated water. And, the forage fish that the game fish feed off of – like shad – also migrate upstream and are blocked by the dam at the tailrace, which creates plenty of food for the fish. For instance, in my home state of Alabama, the Wheeler Dam tailrace in north Alabama on the Tennessee River always has been the No. 1 catfishing area in the State of Alabama. More anglers are fishing at Wheeler for catfish, more catfish are being caught there, and bigger and better catfish are being taken below Wheeler than just about anywhere.”
Small Rivers and Streams
“The small rivers and streams anywhere generally will be some of the best catfishing areas in any state, because there are so many of them, and they are so close to so-many people,” Smith reports. “The small streams are also easy to read to determine where catfish should, and will, be holding. Most anglers know that eddy holes, deep holes and places below shoals are often where catfish concentrate. Once these locations are discovered on small streams and rivers, anglers can find where the catfish are holding. And, these little creeks, streams, and rivers can usually be fished from the bank or with canoes and/or johnboats. Any small stream or river with a good flow may have a good population of catfish in it. And, due to proximity of small rivers and streams to metropolitan areas, they can be fished regularly by many anglers.
“One of the favorite baits of many small river catfishermen is the hellgrammite – larvae of the Dobsonfly that live up under rocks on the bottoms of lakes, streams and rivers. For some reason, the catfish really seem to like the hellgrammite, and consistent cat catchers on small rivers and streams often use this pincered demon for bait. Often the sportsmen who fish these small streams for catfish are more successful than the anglers who fish major reservoirs for cats. Small-stream cat catchers can locate the areas where the catfish concentrate more easily and more quickly than the anglers on the big reservoirs.”
In John E. Phillips’ new Kindle book, “Catfish Like a Pro,” he interviews some of the best catfishermen in the world, to learn the techniques for not only catching big catfish, but also for catching large numbers of eating-size catfish. Go to http://www.amazon.com/Catfish-Like-a-Pro-ebook/dp/B0083UYQAY/. Or, you can go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, and type-in the name of the book to find it.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
