Bullheads, Whites, Snails, And Channel Cats

There are six catfish species that swim in the Brevard County stretch of the St. Johns River. There are three types of bullheads along with the snail catfish that seldom top a couple pounds. There’s the fairly rare white catfish that may reach ten pounds. Then there is the catfish I like to pursue, the channel catfish.

How big do our channel catfish get? Well they don’t get Godzilla size as you might find in places like the Mississippi River, but you might be surprised just how big they get. Seven – eight pounders are common. I’ve caught many that weighed in the teens and a handful over twenty. I’ve heard of catfish of almost forty pounds that were pulled from the St. Johns River.

Another big catfish caught in Brevard’s stretch of the St. Johns

Gearing up for Catfishing is EASY

The nice thing about catfish is you don’t need fancy gear or techniques to catch them. There are plenty of prepared catfish baits you can buy and all sorts of exotic home brewed bait recipes you can find on the internet. Honestly, I’ve never tried any of them. Peeled shrimp is readily available bait that works great. You don’t need fresh shrimp. The frozen stuff from your local bait shop works just as well. My favorite is cut bait from just about any legal fish you can scrounge up. Catfish aren’t picky. Leftover chunks of mullet or ladyfish from your last saltwater trip are fine.

You want to fish these baits on the bottom. I use a standard fish finder rig with a couple feet of twenty pound test leader and just enough egg sinker to hold bottom (typically one-quarter to one ounce). I pin the baits to a 4/0 Team Catfish TC84Z circle hook. You can fish these rigs on the same rods and reels you use for bass or flats fishing.

Targeting Catfish on the St. Johns River

There are not a lot of snags to worry about in the St. Johns so I think ten pound test line is perfect for catfish. You could probably manage with monofilament but I think you’ll catch more fish with a good quality braid like Platypus Platinum Plus because it is less affected by wind and current (plus it holds up a lot better in the long run).

Now, popular catfishing wisdom says you should be fishing the deeper bends and holes in the river. I followed that advice for many years. I caught plenty of catfish, but not a lot of the bigger double digit fish I wanted.

The St. Johns has lots of coves and sloughs that extend off of the main river. I found if they are a few feet deep or more they can hold some of the biggest catfish. They can show up anywhere in the cove, but most of the big fish stage near the mouth in the slack water but not far removed from the rivers main current.

I always cast at least one bait near the cove mouth and leave the rod in the rod holder and wait until a catfish puts a good bend in the rod, or better yet, starts taking drag. Catfish don’t always take the bait going away from you, so if the line suddenly goes slack, or the bait moves to the side, grab the rod and tighten up because there is probably a fish on the line.

Catfish aren’t the only fish you’ll catch on your baits. Bowfin are common in the St Johns, and they can put up a good scrap of their own. If you start catching lots of bowfin, but you want catfish, then I suggest you move elsewhere. I find bowfin and catfish seldom like to share the same locations.

Catfish are primarily scent feeders so it helps to douse you lure in scent.

Targeting the St. Johns Catfish with Artificials

Some years the St. Johns offers a special treat where catfish can be targeted on artificials. Water levels start dropping in the winter and by spring into early summer much of the river can be less than knee deep. When this happens all the fish congregate in whatever deeper holes are left. With the competition, catfish become aggressive and can be caught on lures. Last year I caught a bunch of catfish (and bass) on a creepy looking Nikko hellgrammite lure. Other baits like plastic worms and grubs also work, as long as they are bounced along the bottom.

Now catfish are primarily scent feeders so it helps to douse you lure in scent. I use garlic minnow or shad scented Liquid Mayhem. This is sticky stuff that stays on the lure for a long time.

You’ll need a freshwater fishing license to pursue St. Johns catfish. There are no size or bag limits, but if you want to keep some for the table I recommend you keep a few of the smaller ones and release the bigger cats to grow and spawn.