Smaller rivers can also provide outstanding catfish action throughout the state. Catfish thrive in nearly every suitable body of water in Louisiana. They can live in anything from a small drainage ditch to the Mississippi River. Most bayous, canals and lakes hold good populations of blues, flatheads and channel catfish.

As a youngster, my friends and I bicycled to several fishing holes around Slidell and caught cats in ditches that didn't exceed 2 feet in depth. Once, someone caught a 10-pounder from a ditch that we could jump across, but a 2- or 3-pounder usually took bragging rights at most places. Some of these drainage ditches eventually connected to West Pearl River or Lake Pontchartrain.

Sloping gradually southward through pine and upland hardwood forests to cypress swamps, freshwater marshes and finally brackish estuaries, the Pearl River forms the boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi. North of Slidell, the Pearl splits into the West Pearl and the East Pearl, with former taking the majority of the water. Between the Pearls, several other rivers and interconnected bayous form Honey Island Swamp.

Most of these waterways contain excellent catfish populations. In September 1992, Christie Carpenter landed a 72.50-pound blue catfish from West Pearl. Unlike most other waterways in Honey Island Swamp, West Pearl carries quite a strong current. Instead of fighting the current, catfish hide behind logjams and other obstructions looking upstream waiting to grab anything that washes downstream to them.

For catching catfish in streams with swift currents and sandy bottoms like the West Pearl, use a bottom-float drift rig. On a conventional sinker or drift sinker and leader rig, add a small plastic bobber such as one that bream fishermen might use just above the bait. The bobber suspends bait off bottom and keeps hooks out of snags. In turbid water, catfish see a suspended bait chunk more easily than one resting on bottom.

Besides the Pearl, several rivers that flow into the Lake Pontchartrain Basin hold strong catfish populations. Pass Manchac and North Pass connect Lake Pontchartrain to Lake Maurepas near Ponchatoula. Some holes in these deep tidal passes offer drop more than 50 feet in places. Every summer, blue cats up to 50 pounds congregate under the Interstate 55 and U.S. Highway 51 bridges spanning these passes.

The Amite, Tickfaw and Blind rivers flow into Lake Maurepas. Several tributaries enter these rivers. The Tangipahoa and Tchefuncte rivers flow into Lake Pontchartrain. All of these rivers hold good populations of flatheads, blue cats and channel catfish. Big cats here forage in the tangled logjams, under lily pads or in fallen treetops.

"Lake Maurepas is an excellent catfish lake," said Howard Rogillio, LDWF biologist in Lacombe. "It has a lot of blues, channels and flatheads on the north end by the cypress trees. They get in the bayous and rivers that feed the lake. Lake Maurepas is noted for big catfish, mostly flatheads."

Near the Blind and Amite rivers, fish the Diversion Canal, Bayou Conway, Petite Amite and dead-end canals off the rivers. Also, try where the rivers hit Lake Maurepas. Fish at the confluence of the Tickfaw and Blood rivers. Several canals connect the Tangipahoa River and Bedico Creek to the Tchefuncte River. These swarm with catfish.

On the other side of Louisiana, the Sabine River forms the Louisiana-Texas boundary and creates Toledo Bend Reservoir. The reservoir holds huge populations of gigantic catfish. The official lake-record flathead stands at 97.50 pounds, which Otis Pleasant of Texas caught, landed a 68.50-pound blue cat on June 12, 1999, also with a trotline. Doug Skinner landed a 67.65-pound blue cat on April 12, 1995.