Hinsley recommends setting lines on the bottom using cut bait or shrimp, both of which are effective. Anglers can either bank-fish or anchor a boat to use this approach.

Jug-fishing is another great option, Hinsley said. Set out several jugs upstream of good catfish territory and drop the bait down underneath them 15 to 18 inches deep. Drift downstream with the jugs and get ready for the action.

"You can catch 40 or 50 channels on a good day with jugs and it's not unusual to catch 15 or 20 on three or four poles," Hinsley said.

"If you find the fish, stay on them. They're very active in the summer."

Hinsley also finds his share of big flatheads.

"Some anglers catch shad with throw nets or put on commercial baits for flatheads. You can also go with chicken livers or chicken guts in the deeper holes. Let the bait drift down into the hole and then be patient."

Old Hickory is an impoundment on the Cumberland River in Smith, Troysdale, Wilson, Davidson and Sumner counties. It's more riverine and less than a quarter mile wide about five miles upstream from the dam and then widens out into a shallower, slower-moving current farther upstream.

Depths go to 50 feet, though most of the reservoir is much shallower.

Flippers Bait and Tackle can be reached at (615) 452-7719.

Contact Region II at (615) 781-6622 for more information.

CUMBERLAND RIVER
The Cumberland River near Nashville offers both lake-like conditions in the impoundments and river-current stretches that have a wide variety of options for catfish anglers. Bank-fishing, slow-drifting or jug-fishing all excel here. As in most waters across the state, channel catfish predominate, but huge flatheads and blues are a draw.

The generation below Cordell Hull on Old Hickory's headwaters keeps the current flowing. Deeper sections occur in the tailwaters below the dam for a mile or so and harbor big flatheads and the occasional blue catfish.

According to St. John, the Old Hickory dam downstream to the Opryland area produces some nice catfish, while the Upper Cheatham Reservoir on the Cumberland River meanders through Nashville and is a very good trophy-class fishery.

"Below Old Hickory, the stretch is riverine and may require heavier tackle than what is used in tributary reservoirs," St. John said.

"Three-way rigs are fished on the bottom with shad or river herring that are caught below the dam for bait."

Bigger flatheads are caught from submerged treetops along the banks. Rocky shoreline and riprap, shallow logjams and channels with cut walls provide all the habitat cats have come to expect in a perfect world. Channel catfish tend to forage in the shallows, while their larger cousins are likely to hold a little deeper.