For big flatheads, an after-dark approach is tough to beat. Here, author Jeff Samsel holds up one of the rewards of night-fishing for catfish. Photo courtesy of Jeff Samsel

Anchored strategically at the head of a big hole, just upstream of where the bottom begins sloping into deeper water, an angler lays out several lines. By varying the lengths of his casts, he can scatter baits down the drop and put a couple down in the hole. If the cats don't cooperate, he'll move 100 yards or so downriver and set up along the ledge on the side of the hole. He has already graphed the big river bend, which is close to one-quarter of a mile long, so he knows the big blues are home. He just has to get them to cooperate.

Catfishing has been extremely popular for many years. In fact, cats come in only behind bass and crappie as the fish most sought after by Tennessee anglers and are the targets of 11 percent of all angling effort. Over the past decade, "trophy catfishing" has ever increasingly become serious sport for Tennessee anglers, and in recent years anglers have devoted more targeted efforts toward finding and catching heavyweight cats, many of which they put back in the river after snapping a few pictures.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency recognized the value of quality catfish more than a year ago through the establishment of special regulations, which provide protection for large fish. Under these regulations, anglers may keep only one catfish of more than 34 inches daily. The regulation applies to all forms of recreational fishing, including trot-lining, noodling and other "traditional" methods. No commercial harvest of cats larger than 34 inches is permitted anywhere in Tennessee.

Tennessee anglers now can collect a different form of trophy for the big cats they catch, thanks to the Tennessee Angler Recognition Program (TARP), which TWRA also established in 2004. Through TARP, anglers who catch channel cats that are at least 30 inches long or flatheads or blues that are at least 34 inches can earn a certificate from TWRA that recognizes their catch.

Through November of last year (the program's first year), anglers were recognized for 35 qualifying blue catfish, 10 flathead catfish and nine channel catfish. Two fish actually tied as the largest catfish entered. Steve E. Ramsey and Matthew Bingham both were recognized for catches of 56-inch blue catfish. Ramsey was fishing on Watts Barr. Bingham was fishing on the Mississippi River. The biggest flathead and channel turned in came from Cheatham and Barkley lakes, respectively, giving all parts of the state and all of the state's three big rivers representation in the big-cat destinations.

Returns from the TARP program, while not a scientific survey, will prove beneficial to biologists and anglers for determining where large fish come from as participation builds. Any information about catfish catches is valuable, as biologists have virtually no data from any type of targeted surveys. They see big cats while shocking for bass or netting for other species and hear about big catches. However, no surveys specifically look at catfish populations. Fisheries managers must rely on casual observations and reports from fishermen.

Three major catfish species call Tennessee waters home and provide significant sport for fishermen. We'll look at the flathead, blue and channel catfish one by one, and where to find the best fishing for each this summer.

FLATHEAD CATFISH
The least abundant and toughest to catch of Tennessee's major cats, big flatheads are considered the greatest trophies of the whiskerfish clan by many anglers. As top-end predators, they demand live bait, and they feed only when they want to. Adding challenge, large flatheads are more nocturnal than their cousins, and they spend the bulk of their time close to very thick cover, where it's hard to present baits effectively and even harder to get the big cats out.