So what areas on the lake are best for taking catfish? "If I want to target blue catfish, I head to the Bernice area," said Williams. "The best bait to use for blues is cut shad and the catch will average 5 to 20 pounds. The area offers excellent access for bank-anglers, as well as those fishing from a boat."

Williams said that anglers catching blue catfish over 10 pounds should consider releasing them, keeping only the smaller ones to eat. "According to a catfish management report I just read, a catfish grows about a pound a year," explained Williams. "So it takes a long time to grow a real heavyweight catfish."

Grand catfish anglers targeting channel cats should target the mudflats in 6 to 30 feet of water with cut shad as bait. The average channel catfish will weigh between 2 and 8 pounds.

"For anglers seeking flatheads, I think night is the best time to go," opined Williams. "I like to fish in the Port Arthur area of the lake and up the Neosho River, targeting mudflats where cover is available. I have found that flatheads prefer live bait such as shad, perch, or bluegill."

The daily limit on blues and channel cats is 15 combined, and the limit on flatheads is 10 with a 20-inch minimum.

LAKE HUDSON
On the Grand River system just below Grand Lake is Lake Hudson -- a sleeper of a catfish lake, according to Williams. In fact, he said, the fishing at Hudson is stellar, and worthy of recognition.

"Most people go from Grand Lake to Fort Gibson to fish, and in the process they drive right past Lake Hudson," he said. "I believe the fishing at Hudson is as good as at Grand Lake, except Hudson gets less fishing pressure.

This green-water river lake offers all three species of catfish, Williams stated, and has some nice blue catfish. The blue catfish weigh 5 to 20 pounds on average, he said, while the channel cats will weigh 2 to 10 pounds. His favorite tactic for taking blue catfish and channel cats is to drift-fish with cut shad.

He offered this bit of advice based on his many hundreds of hours of catfishing: "When you are drift-fishing, it is very important that you use a drift-sock to control the speed you're drifting. If you drift naturally, many times the boat drifts too fast, and your bait never stays in an area long enough to present an opportunity for a hungry catfish."

According to Williams, a large park near Salina offers good bank-fishing access; many anglers like to fish from the Highway 82 bridge there, he reported.

The daily limit on blues and channel cats is 15 combined, and the limit on flatheads is 10 with a 20-inch minimum length.

LAKE TEXOMA
Lake Texoma is known by many names, like "Sand Bass Capital of the World" and "Striper Capital of the World," and is the home of several record catfish, including the state-record blue cat, a former world-record blue cat, and the unrestricted class (trotline) state-record blue. Pretty impressive catches from this huge impoundment shared by Oklahoma and Texas!

Texoma also has been named the site of the Bass Pro Shops' Big Cat Quest catfishing tournament in August.

Cody Mullenix held the world-record for blue catfish with a 121-pound, 8-ounce brute he pulled from Texoma in 2004. The huge blue was caught on the Texas side of the lake in Big Mineral Creek. Mullenix baited his line that morning with gizzard shad and then waded into the lake before propelling his bait 100 yards farther offshore with his 14-fool surf rod. Hooked shortly after 10 a.m., the behemoth blue fought like the monster it was for all of the 30 minutes required to bring it in near the shore and land it.

"It blew my mind when I saw him," Mullenix remembered. "I've certainly caught some big fish in my lifetime, but this catfish was massive."

Buncombe Creek, the Washita Arm, and Cardinal Cove were named as excellent spots for catfishing according to Mullenix, no one-hit wonder. In fact, he has won two catfish tournaments and placed in several others. He holds the tournament record for the heaviest stringer -- seven catfish weighing a whopping 134 pounds!

This world-class angler is hanging out his shingle and starting a guide service named Trophy Catfishing Adventures -- (903) 337-0537 -- in hopes of parlaying his whiskerfish knowledge into a thriving business.

Mullenix relies heavily on his depthfinder to find spots where big catfish lurk. Like Williams, Mullenix prefers to release all catfish over 10 pounds.