Roy Dupree, a retired educator who lives on Black Lake in Natchitoches Parish, employs a different, albeit highly successful, method of trotlining for channel catfish on the lake. Instead of suspending his baited hooks, Dupree allows the entire trotline, from the staging line to the hooks, to rest in the mud on the lake bottom, with only a couple of floats on the surface giving away the location of the trotline.

This highly successful method works because catfish are bottom feeders and have no problem locating the bait in the mud. Dupree abandons this method during summer months because oxygen levels are low in deeper water this time of year and hooked catfish can't ascend to oxygen-rich water quickly enough to avoid death.

For rod-and-reel catfishermen sitting on the bank, nothing is simpler than to bait a hook with cold worms, minnows, cut bait or chicken livers, cast it off the banks and wait for a bite, which usually won't be long in coming.

We visited with professional fisheries biologists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to get a better handle on where the fish will be biting this year, no matter what method an angler chooses to pursue his quarry. For purposes of identification, we've divided the state into three sections, North, Central and South Louisiana.

NORTH LOUISIANA
Jeff Sibley is a fisheries biologist with the LDWF's District One office in Minden, and his area of responsibility covers most of northwest Louisiana. This portion of Louisiana features the Red River, one of most productive catfishing waters in the state.

"There is a very high catfish population in the Red River, with all three popular species -- channels, blues and flatheads -- living there," said Sibley. "The Red has a very high population of blue catfish.

"Just about every legal method you can think of is used here on the river to catch catfish. In April and May, when the spawning run takes place, lots of catfish are taken by fishermen using snag hooks at the locks and dams.

"Some anglers set out trotlines and jugs back in the oxbows, and they can catch plenty of catfish.

"Bank-fishing using rods and reels is quite popular (here), and the area known as Lock and Dam No. 5, located off U.S. Route 71 north of Coushatta, is a good spot for bank-fishermen to take a seat, cast out several rods and watch for a bite. These fishermen use a variety of baits, from commercial blood and cheese baits to earthworms to cut bait."

As productive as is the Red River, there are other water bodies around northwest Louisiana where catfishing is outstanding. One such area, Cross Lake, is on the outskirts of the city of Shreveport.

"Cross Lake is one of the best lakes I know of where you can sit in a boat on a day with a slight breeze, bait several rods with your choice of baits, sit back and let the breeze drift you along. There is no better place to catch lots of channel catfish (by) drift-fishing than Cross Lake," said Sibley.