Morrison reports that the majority of anglers going after Lac des Allemands' channel catfish will work the brushtops all along the edges of the lake, with the area of the lake near Vacherie being especially popular. "Channel catfish will bite virtually anything, but channel cats here prefer something like earthworms or blood bait," he noted.

LAKE VERRETT
Yet another south Louisiana catfish hotspot, Verrett, which in Assumption Parish, some 15 miles west of Thibodeaux, is almost a mirror image of Lac des Allemands, according to Morrison. "Verrett is a little larger -- 14,080 acres -- but it is also a shallow lake with lots of good catfish-holding structure such as sunken brush and trees," he said. "Verrett has all three popular species of catfish, with channel cats creating the most interest."

The lake was restocked after the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in the early 1990s, Morrison notes, and the lake has responded with hefty growth rates among both blues and flatheads. "Bayou Magazille, at the south end of the lake, is one of the better spots on the lake for catfish," he offered. "There are some deeper holes with current."

Another much-liked spot is Crackerhead Canal; several other oil-field canals on the east side of the lake also meet with approval. "Catfishermen know about these areas," Morrison added, "and you can just about always find anglers trying for cats in these areas."

CROSS LAKE
At this lake in northwest Louisiana, channel cats have been king for eons. Sitting on the edge of Shreveport, one of the state's largest cities, Cross has provided fun and food, in the form of channel cats, for generations.

A typical method of filling a limit of channel catfish on this 8,000-acre lake involves making for open water on a breezy day, hanging several poles off the side of the boat and letting the breeze do the fishing. Once the bites begin, anglers will note the area in which the channel cats are concentrated. After a drift through the area, the best method is to motor upwind of the hotspot, kill the engine and drift the area again and again. It may seem boring, but when several poles begin dancing at once, drift-fishing Cross Lake for channel cats can offer all the excitement that you can handle. This is fishing reduced to its simplest form. Bait up with night crawlers or catalpa worms, and let the breeze do all the work.

POVERTY POINT
This lake carries the distinction of being the newest in the state. But it also deserves mention for being a dynamite spot in terms of fostering channel catfish of the sort that make for hefty stringers. Located near Delhi in northeast Louisiana, Poverty Point is also yielding not only lots of catfish but also some of the largest channels to be caught in the state. "We're having anglers catching channels that weigh in the neighborhood of 10 pounds already coming out of Poverty Point," said fisheries biologist Mike Wood.

LAKE D'ARBONNE
If there's a sure-thing catfish lake in the state, this is it. If you can hold a pole in your hand and detect a bite, you can for sure catch channels on D'Arbonne -- no doubt about it.

The area most reputed for its channel cats on the lake is known locally as "the meadow." A flat stretch of lake bottom lying between Bear Creek and the dam, it's a hotspot throughout the year; anglers here dangle Canadian night crawlers, (popularly known as "cold worms") in the depths to catch weighty stringers of channel catfish.

If catching channel catfish is your bag, there are no better places on the good earth for filling a cooler's worth of these tasty fighters than the spots we've told you about. All you have to do is hook up the boat and go.