Smaller blue catfish exhibit some of the same markings and characteristics seen in channels; they too are somewhat of a bluish-silver hue, and sport a forked tail. But the two fish are entirely different in nearly all other ways -- particularly size: Blue cats attain weights well in excess of 100 pounds.

The channel cat is no slouch, however. Aside from being great table fare, it's a formidable adversary, fighting hard once hooked. Perhaps most important, it's quite plentiful. Hardly a lake or river in the state is devoid of channel catfish.

We're blessed here in Louisiana with millions of acres of water in which swim innumerable whiskerfish awaiting the juicy gobs of worms they'll have dangled in their faces. Here are the best spots for targeting Bayou State channel cats this month.

OUACHITA RIVER
Carving a watery slice through northeast Louisiana, the Ouachita River is a beautiful stream hugely popular among anglers who chase channel catfish. While these fish can be caught at just about any point in the year, the most favored time comes soon after heavy spring rains inundate the upper portion of the state, causing the Ouachita to overflow its banks. As the waters reach their peak and then slowly recede, anglers head in droves to the Ouachita to take advantage of nature's bounty.

Catfishing on the Ouachita can be a laid-back experience. I recall several episodes of sitting with friends in a boat anchored in one of the river's deeper holes as we lazily watched rod tips for the telltale sign of a catfish taking the bait, night crawlers or catalpa worms usually. While many anglers go after the bass, bluegills and crappie for which the river is also known, seasoned catfishermen have no problem sitting and watching other anglers haul in other species: They're after sleek and slippery catfish, and the more others focus on other fish, the less competition they face in the search for whiskerfish.

One of the areas of the river in which catfish tend to congregate most heavily is the place known locally as "river south" -- that stretch of the Ouachita lying south of Monroe between Prairieon and Riverton. Another fruitful site is the stretch of water north of Monroe from Sterlington to the Arkansas state line.

A predominant feature of the latter area is the numerous steep cutbanks beneath which catfish hide and nest. Anglers fishing these banks with night crawlers, cut bait, catalpa worms or stink baits have a virtual lock on enjoying a tasty catfish fry at the culmination of a day's trip. When floodwaters that have spilled over into adjacent farmlands and woodlands begin to drain back into the riverbed, Ouachita catfishing is at its peak. Rods and reels, yo-yos, trotlines and even slat traps all produce hefty catches of river channel cats.

RED RIVER
Another splendid river system for catching channel catfish is the Red River, the long ribbon of water winding through northwest and central Louisiana. Owing to the completion of five locks and dams in 1994 --which created five pools between Shreveport and Marksville south of Alexandria -- the river is far less turbid. Now, instead of a rapidly moving stream, there are pools that more resemble lakes along the margin of the river.