Quest For Big West Point Lake Catfish

T.R. Clark with a 26-lb. blue catfish caught during a trip with the author to demonstrate his techniques for tempting big West Point Lake catfish.

Divers went down at the dam at Clarks Hill to do repairs and came right back up. They said catfish as big as Volkswagens were down there and they would never go down there again.

I heard that tale in the 1960s while in high school in Thomson. You can change it to pretty much any lake in Georgia and insert the current popular subcompact car and hear it again.

We knew there were big cats in our lakes for years. Even if they weren’t as big as VWs, catfish can reach sizes beyond any other fish in our waters. But the big catfish can be hard to catch, and many anglers didn’t spend much time trying to figure them out.

Then a few years ago, catching big cats in our lakes became the goal of some dedicated fishermen. Many big cats, like the 70-lb. flathead record on Clarks Hill, are caught by accident. Michael Dollar set that record while fishing for crappie.

Catfish records on all our lakes and rivers seem to get broken every few months now. The illegal introduction of flatheads is one reason. This species grows fast and has no natural predators, so it can overwhelm a fishery. But blue and channel cat records get broken often, as well.

If you are interested in getting in on the chase for a record catfish, or just want to catch some good-eating fish, the ways the dedicated fishermen go about it will help you be successful.

“I want to catch the biggest catfish in the lake,” said T.R. Clark.

Although there probably aren’t any catfish as big as a car in West Point where he usually fishes, T.R. has caught some big ones. And he knows there are some bigger ones out there.

T.R. Clark grew up in North Carolina and worked as a forester for the state of South Carolina after college. He now lives about 10 minutes from Ringer Ramp on West Point, and he fishes for cats three or four days a week. As a forester, he has most weekends off and can fish some days before or after work.

T.R. has learned some methods that produce, and he and his friends share tips and tactics. In fact, the day we fished for this article, T.R. got several texts from other fishermen, and Ken Athon told us a place where he was catching fish. Ken had to leave before we did, and he offered us his leftover bait.

The first step in catching big cats is critical. T.R. says you must have fresh bait from the water you are fishing to be successful. He says buying bait or using frozen bait will catch some fish, but nothing works as well as using fresh, local caught bait, especially for enticing the big catfish.

T.R. nets his bait before daylight and prefers big gizzard shad. But he will also use carp for cutbait. And if netting is not working, he may use a rod and reel to catch bream.

T.R. caught many gizzard shad from about 6 inches in size up to 10 inches for our trip. He also netted a 13-inch carp he kept. Threadfin shad were dumped back into the lake—they are just too small for T. R.’s use. The bluegill and crappie netted were released, following state law that game fish must be caught on rod and reel.

Most of the time, T.R. uses cutbait, chunking any 7-inch or larger shad up into three pieces. He throws away the short tail section, as he says it is just not as good as the heads and bodies for enticing a catfish to eat. A 6-inch gizzard may be cut or used alive. But he wants a big chunk—3 or 4 inches long—of bait for big catfish.

To tempt big catfish, T.R. prefers to use cut gizzard shad, and he believes it is key to use bait that is caught fresh from the body of water he’s fishing, rather than using frozen or store-bought bait.

An 8/0 to 10/0 circle hook is tied to a 30-inch leader, and the leader is tied to a heavy swivel, Carolina-rig style. Above the sinker is a heavy weight, with the size depending on the current and how he is fishing. That is the basis for his fishing technique while on spot lock or anchored at location.

Adding a small float above the hook to keep the bait up off the bottom a little turns it into a Santee rig, and at times that helps. Some baits are fished right on the bottom, while others are on the Santee rig.

T.R. also keeps some drag sinkers and planer boards in his boat. He fishes three ways: anchored or spot-locked in one place, dragging with his trolling motor or drifting with the current. The drag sinkers are used when he’s dragging or drifting, and the planer boards spread out his baits when dragging.

A good rod helps, but T.R. set the West Point record for a short time using a cheap Walmart rod. He likes the Mud Cat rods, but he says as long as the rod is strong enough to handle a huge cat, it will work.

More important is the reel. It must have strong, heavy “guts” that won’t strip out. And the drag must be smooth. He uses a variety of quality reels, including Ambassador 6500 and 7500s and a Penn Square 2. They hold up where cheaper reels have failed him after a short time.

Line is very important, too. T.R. spools up with 40-lb. high-visibility monofilament line. The bright line helps him see a bite and, most importantly, helps keep up with where the cat is going. He may use a heavy fluorocarbon leader for stripers, but T.R. says he doesn’t think the bright line bothers cats. He also has 80-lb. braid on one rod—the one he puts out when he’s fishing near timber.

While T.R. says there are big cats all over the lake, the particular places you choose to fish can make the difference between catching cats and soaking bait. I caught a 22-lb. flathead on a shaky head near Whitetail Park a few years ago. But T.R. concentrates up the river where their habitat is more limited and current is more consistent.

For anchoring or spot-locking, T.R. wants a river or creek ledge about 15 feet deep. It needs to drop into some of the deepest water in the area. And if it is at the mouth of a cove or creek, it is better. Timber in the cove helps, too.

T.R. has rodholders across the back of his boat and fishes from there. He will put out at least five rods, one in the main channel, one in the mouth of the creek or cove, and two behind the boat on the ledge. He also always drops one bait straight down under the boat.

While watching the rod tips, if they bump and jiggle, there is a good chance it is a little cat or even a turtle, but be ready anyway. If the rod tip slowly pulls down, that is a good sign of a bigger fish.

When the rod pulls down, T.R. reels fast with the rod in the holder to tighten up the line and pull his circle hook into the fish’s mouth. Then he pulls the rod out of the holder with an upward hook set and pumps the rod, to make sure, if it is a good fish.

He will vary Carolina and Santee rods in the different positions.  Stronger current usually makes the Santee rig better, but it varies, so give them a choice. Fishing like this and the other ways, T.R. always insists on fresh bait, changing it regularly.

For drifting, the current has to be right. Too strong and you move too much, and too weak and you don’t move fast enough. To drift when the current is right, T.R. finds the edge of a flat with the current moving across it. He likes to spot some bait on his electronics, but says cats often bury in the mud enough to where you can’t see them.

Rods are re-rigged with drag sinkers replacing the round or egg sinkers. A drag sinker is basically a rubber tube with lead in it. It seldom gets hung.

Drag sinkers are excellent for drift fishing through areas with timber or heavier cover. The lead is inside a sleeve that pulls through cover without hanging up as often as a regular sinker.

Setting the boat in position on the upstream side of a flat or timber edge, he lets the current move him along, keeping the boat in the right position and depth with his remote-control trolling motor.

Dragging can be done in the same kinds of places. But when there is little or no current, T.R. will ride a contour line he wants to drag, putting the route into his trolling motor control. He then gets downstream if there is any current and lets the trolling motor move him along. He starts slow but will change speeds trying to trigger a bite.

Drag sinkers are used, but since he is usually on the edge of a flat, he uses planer boards to cover more water. Boards are set to stay out on either side of the boat about 25 feet, and two more rods are set on either side straight behind the boat.

T.R. likes a cloudy day, but more important is some current. As long as the current is low, he uses spot lock. If it is fast, an anchor holds the boat steady. And higher winds may call for an anchor, too.

If the wind is too strong for fishing any of his three ways effectively, T.R. will run the front of his boat up on the bank and fish out the back, casting his baits into the areas he can reach from his chosen beaching spot.

Although he fishes West Point most of the time, he does go to other lakes, especially for tournaments. He has caught his two biggest cats, 50-pounders, in Alabama. He says the tailwater fishing on the Tennessee River offers something we don’t really have here.

The day T.R. took me out on West Point, he warned cat fishing is like all kinds of fishing. You never know what you will catch, if anything. But the first place we anchored he quickly caught an 8-lb. blue, then a channel cat. Then we were both thrilled when he landed a 26-lb. blue.

I asked if that was typical, and T.R. said catfish school, but a school can have all sizes, from small to medium to big, and all species. That was the pattern we found. So if you are catching smaller cats, don’t give up. If you are set up in the right places, your personal best may be there, too.

T.R. does not want to be bothered by smaller cats—he does not keep any to eat. That’s why he uses big hooks and big baits. He wants to let them grow so he can catch bigger and bigger ones.

What does T.R. consider big? The 50-pounders in Alabama were big. But at West Point, he says he had caught more 30-pounders, big to most of us, than he can remember.

He remembers well each of the four 40-pounders he has caught at West Point, a flathead and three blues. He says he knows there are bigger ones out there and hopes to catch them. But 40-pounders are rare—T.R. says he figures he has caught a 40-plus in about every 200 trips!

The Georgia state record for flathead is 83 pounds, the blue cat record is a 110-lb., 6-oz. monster, and the channel cat is 44 pounds, 12 ounces.  Catfish can get huge in Georgia.

According to GON’s Lake & River Records, the West Point blue cat record caught in 2022 is 61 pounds, the flathead cat record is 48 pounds, and the channel cat record caught is 16-lbs., 7.5-ozs. T.R. hopes to break all of the West Point records, and you have a chance to do so, too.

T.R. says if you want cats to eat, go after smaller channel cats. You can use a smaller hook and bait up with threadfin shad for them. Fish in or beside standing timber, and he says you can catch all you want. But even with channels, let the bigger ones go, they do not taste as good anyway.

On a side note, stripers and hybrids will eat cutbait—during our trip T.R. boated a 15-lb. striped bass. And when they run, he will concentrate on them.  He always keeps a rod and reel rigged with topwater or a Little George to cast for schooling linesides.

When we fished, bass kept busting shad against the bank. T.R. says he sees that often and casts to them. He catches hybrids, stripers, largemouth and white bass. Ken Athon posted a picture of an 8-lb. largemouth he caught a couple days after we fished. He cast a Chug Bug to it while fishing for cats!

There is a close catfish community on West Point. That group of fishermen chat and text often, sharing information on phones and online, as Ken Athon showed us. And several, like T.R., have YouTube channels and are on Facebook where they share catches and information.

Two years ago, Nathan Inkman and Chris George were instrumental in forming the West Point Catfish Anglers and starting catfish tournaments. T.R. fishes them, and the group is growing. You can join in the fun and learn a lot by searching for the group on Facebook.

T.R. is a full-time forester, but he does do some catfish guide trips when time allows. His days are limited, but if you are interested, contact him on his Facebook page (trclark1).

T.R. posts videos—both his catches and how-to instructions—on his YouTube channel.