Photo by Mike Searles.

The popularity of catfishing seems to be on the rise among anglers in Tennessee and that's partly due to the sensational summertime fishing that's available. Anglers can catch catfish in just about any lake or river in Tennessee. However, there are some places that are simply special during the summertime.

Two of the top places in the Volunteer State to hook into Mr. Whiskers are Chickamauga Lake near Chattanooga and Old Hickory Lake near Nashville. Both of these places have huge numbers of catfish and have them in big sizes.

CHICKAMAUGA LAKE & TAILWATERS
Chickamauga Lake and tailwaters has long been known as an outstanding catfish factory, but word is finally getting out to other than the local anglers. Richard Simms has fished this lake all his life and now guides on the lake and in the tailwaters. With his 40 years of fishing experience on these waters, he proudly proclaims himself to be a Tennessee river rat and he specializes in catfish during the summer months.

"The catfishing action is great all along the Tennessee River," Simms said. "However, the action in the Chickamauga tailwaters combined with the outstanding fishing in the lake is hard to beat any place in East Tennessee in my opinion."

Simms has developed specialized techniques for his catfishing success. The fishing patterns during July are actually good in both the lake and tailwaters. In a normal year, in terms of rainfall and water flow, he is in transition from the tailwaters to the lake during this month. But both places typically provide outstanding fishing in July.

"July is usually when I make the switch from primarily tailwaters fishing to primarily lake fishing," he said. "But the good news is the fishing is usually good in both places. Later on in the summer, I'll tend to key my catfishing efforts on the lake. But during April, May and June, I prefer the tailwaters."

He said that water flow does influence the action. In 2007, for example, the drought and ensuing lower flow of water slowed the tailwater fishing earlier than normal. However, during the previous year, the water flow was more normal and the fishing action was still hot in the tailwaters right through the month of July.

Simms has developed specialized patterns for both the tailwaters and the lake. He's sums it up by noting he practices the three "P's" of catfishing.

I'm referring to places, presentation and perseverance," Simms said. "The place you fish is a key component because that's the actual structure in terms of bottom contour changes. Catfish are highly oriented to underwater contour changes. The second "P" is presentation of the bait. Proper presentation is absolutely crucial to consistent success. Plus, perseverance, which is simply another word for patience, is the final ingredient. If you persevere with the right structure and presentation, you will usually be successful."