When anglers think of freshwater species such as striped bass, largemouth or crappie it is well understood that those fish could be near the surface, suspended somewhere in the water column, or on the bottom. But with catfish we usually think of them as a bottom species, which is what makes fishing for them in the summer on Lake Monticello so intriguing. For years I have been hearing that in the hot months you can catch catfish suspended near the top of the water column, and I have heard it from such reliable sources as Captain William Attaway (and before him Captain Chris Simpson) so that I knew it had to be true. Still, I wanted to see it for myself. I also wanted the chance to enjoy the calm of Lake Monticello on a summer evening with some friends, and to fish with William. He warned our group we would be fishing a pattern for catching eating-sized catfish, not monsters, and we headed out with the understanding that catching any fish over five or ten pounds was extremely unlikely. But possible…
Lake Monticello
Lake Monticello is located in Fairfield County near Winnsboro, just over a half-hour to the north northwest of Columbia. Built in 1979 to cool now-Dominion’s nuclear reactor beside the lake, it is approximately 6 miles long and encompasses 6800 acres of water. The deepest water in the lake is about 160 feet. There are a few minor creeks that feed it, and there was a small creek that ran through the middle of the valley which is now the lake, but the Broad River that runs parallel to the lake is the main water source. Water is pumped from the Broad into Lake Monticello and then back out frequently if not exactly predictably, and the lake levels can fluctuate by several feet in only an hour or two. The warmest water is typically located by the power plant, and there is a large exclusion zone that boats can not enter.
Water sports such as skiing are prohibited on Lake Monticello, and it is first and foremost a fishing lake. There is a trophy black bass fishery with both largemouth and smallmouth bass, and the lake also has crappie as well as a healthy population of bream. Striped bass are conspicuously absent; DNR does not stock them in part because biologists say nutrient levels would not be favorable for striper since Monticello is not fed upstream by a river.
But probably the most prolific species in Lake Monticello are catfish. And while there are small, native channel catfish in the lake and probably some bullheads, the Arkansas blue catfish is king of the Lake Monticello cats. In addition to a tremendous number of blue cats, there are also some monsters in the lake. Fish in the 100-pound range have been caught, and it is not unreasonable to think that a Monticello catfish could approach the current world record of 124 pounds.
Lake Monticello blue catfish (and other species) thrive because their forage base is excellent, perhaps because trees topped when the lake was impounded provide lots of places for bait to hide. In addition to the game species, all of which blue catfish will eat, the lake also has large populations of white perch, gizzard shad, and threadfin shad. Another important food source on Monticello is mussels, and it is common to catch catfish with their stomachs bloated from digesting mussel shells.
Seasonal catfish patterns
This article will focus on summer free-line drifting patterns for catching Lake Monticello catfish, but as fall approaches the bait schools migrate towards deep water and the catfish also spread out. This is probably the best time of the year for catching big fish. While anchoring can be effective, this is the prime period for drifting in 50-60 feet of water.
By December and continuing through February drifting slows down as a technique, and in this period William is more likely to be fishing at anchor in an area with plenty of bait. It could be near a ledge, a point, or a deep flat – the key is finding bait and feeding fish. Late January and February can be the toughest time of the year because catfish are often sated after gorging all fall and in the early winter.
In late February and early March the fish start to feed more, and for the next couple of months William will be fishing somewhat shallower on points, humps, and ledges by anchoring nearby.
Early May until early June usually encompasses the pre-spawn period for blue catfish on Lake Monticello, and like other species such as bass blue cats engage in heavy pre-spawn feeding. The locations do not change that much, but fish will be feeding more and they may move shallower.
Less is know about the blue catfish spawn than about that of other species, partly because catfish spawn deeper than other species – particularly on Lake Monticello because of its extreme water level fluctuations. But it appears that the spawn starts around the middle of June, the same period that the free-line drifting bite gets really good. During the spawn it can be harder to target big catfish with a hook-and-line, another reason why fishing the free-line drifting technique offers such an attractive warm-weather option. You can certainly anchor around very deep structure for big fish, but it is usually not the hottest bite of the year.
Summer Free-line Drifting Technique
What is often a hot bite on Lake Monticello in the summer is the free-line drifting bite, and as the name implies anglers are not fishing on the bottom. They are usually fishing out over deep water, but they are targeting catfish that are suspended – often near the top of the water column. This is not where most people are used to looking for catfish, and, while catfish on other lakes will occasionally suspend, it is not the norm as on Monticello in the summer.
While it is unclear exactly why Monticello blue catfish are scattered throughout the water column more than their kin on other lakes, it may be related to the absence of striped bass. Nature abhors a vacuum, and without striper to feed on suspended bait catfish may step in to fill that void.
(Note: While a lake without striped bass may therefore have a greater population of small catfish, there is good evidence that the presence of both blue catfish and striped bass does not negatively affect the overall fishery for either species. The Cumberland River in Tennessee is well known for having some of the best blue catfish and striped bass fishing anywhere.)
The season for free-line drifting correlates with the period when water temperatures are the warmest, and even though air temperatures may be very hot in May and early June it is usually not until mid-June that the water temperatures get where they need to be for Monticello blue cats to really suspend. The hotter the water gets the more the fish suspend, and the season usually runs right through August. However, it can last into September and there are even times later in the fall when anglers can sometimes fish down rods for catfish (as if they were targeting striper.)
As with most offshore fishing anglers aren’t targeting visible cover when free-line drifting, and unless they want to fish blind – which can be successful – they are using their electronics to find the fish. However, instead of looking at bottom structure anglers need to check the top of the water column to find groups of fish. The day that we went with William we spent almost a half hour riding and looking for stacked-up fish before we started fishing, and it paid off! The afternoon we fished the biggest concentrations of fish were over the deepest flats and drops in 100 plus feet of water, but William says that sometimes there will be more catfish over humps. Sometimes they will be suspended over the top of timber, and at night they have a tendency to move into coves and bays.
As far as tackle, William doesn’t downsize too much from his normal catfish gear – for reasons that became apparent! He uses Shakespeare Ugly Stik Catfish rods paired with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 Series reels. The reels were spooled with 40 pound high visibility fluorescent green line and several feet of 50 pound fluorocarbon leader. At the business end of the line was an 8/0 circle hook.
Catfishermen can be very particular about their baits of choice, and after several years of talking to William – and several trips with other catfish guides – I expected some assortment of fresh fish for cut bait. To my surprise there was no fish on the boat, and instead William had two varieties of cut chicken thighs – plain and soaked in strawberry Jell-O! Cut bream, perch and other cut fish will all work, although William advises that cut herring won’t stay on the hook very well for this style of fishing.
To increase our chances of hooking up William put a bunch of rods out, usually drifting out of the back of the boat although at one point the wind set up perfectly for a drift off the side. Out of the back we used six rods, with the ones in the middle out further to avoid tangles but all a good distance out from the boat. We were aiming to have the lines about 10-12 feet below the surface, but you can also put split shot on some of the lines if you want to get some down a little deeper. The goal was to troll between .5 and 1 mile per hour, and since there was a little breeze William put out two 6-foot drift socks to moderate our speeds. In stiffer winds he can use his larger 10-foot drift socks. I was most impressed by William’s ability to keep a good speed, and all the lines from getting tangled, even as we moved around and as fish bit.
Our trip
Few fishing guides worth their salt will guarantee results, but based on my conversations with William – if they were biting – I was expecting to catch catfish between about a half-pound and five pounds. I knew it would be a bonus if we caught a bigger one, and I was cautiously optimistic that my friends and I would get to see a ten-pounder come into the boat.
After a ride around this unique lake to find the biggest concentrations of fish, William settled on a drift on the lower end starting just outside the exclusion zone closest to the plant. That drift, and the next, and the next, all paid off, and at least every five or so minutes we caught fish in the expected size class. We had several doubles, and learned to judge how big the fish were long before we saw them by the fight.
David Hicklin looks on as William handles a small one
But then, about two-thirds of the way into the trip, something unexpected happened in the middle of the lake drifting over 143 feet of water. We had a pull-down on one of the rods baited with Jello-soaked chicken, and when one of our group grabbed the rod he could tell it was in a completely different class. After a long fight the fish came to the surface, and it was the largest catfish I had ever seen in person – a 60 plus pound blue! My friend Jimmy had a hard job getting the fish to the boat, but since he had left his big net at home William had an even harder job getting it into the boat to be weighed. After round after round of photos the fish was released into the lake, to continue to grow and hopefully be caught by another angler. We continued to catch eating-sized fish, but this special fish was released to live another day.
Overall we discovered that free-line drifting on Monticello is a great way to catch a bunch of fish. That is fun itself. However, while it’s not reasonable to expect a monster every time you go out drifting in the summer, just knowing that it’s possible adds some additional excitement!
Captain William Attaway
Whether you want to target big fish in the cooler months, or fill a cooler with eaters while drinking a beer on a summer evening, Captain William Attaway is your man. You will not find a more pleasant, relaxed and knowledgeable guide to take you out on the lakes he fishes. William guides year-round for catfish on Lake Monticello, Lake Murray and the Santee Cooper lakes, as well as for striper in the summer on Lake Murray. While summer fishing can be unpleasant in the heat of the day, I highly recommend fishing in the morning or evening with William on Lake Monticello. It’s a great way to spend an evening with friends and get the ingredients for a fish fry!
For more information or to book a trip with Captain William Attaway check out the Slick Willie’s Guide Service website or give him a call at 803-924-0857.
