When you're serious about catching catfish, it's imperative to have choices: If the cats aren't biting shallow, they might be deep, and having jugs at both depths helps you find where to fish.

The same holds true for choosing bait. If you have two or three choices of bait in the water and you know which jugs are rigged with which, you can determine quickly what the catfish are dining on most frequently. As a rule, I'll have at least three colors of jugs -- for example, yellow baited with night crawlers, pink with cut bait, and orange ones dangling anything from uncooked bacon bits to pieces of wiener. I've even used those little cocktail sausages with success.

Lake Eufaula has long been considered one of the nation's best bass fishing destinations, and the 45,181-acre reservoir on the Alabama-Georgia border contains its share of crappie as well. But it's also home to plenty of channel catfish ripe for the plucking.

One of the neat things about Eufaula is its bounty of access areas. Among them is Lakepoint State Park, a few miles north of downtown off U.S. Highway 431. Near there is the 11,160-acre Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.

Black Warrior River, stretching from central Alabama down to where it meets the Tombigbee in Demopolis, is also perfectly suited for catfish of all stripes. Every impoundment on this system is inhabited by all three major species -- blues, channel cats and flatheads -- but if you're looking for really big ones, try fishing near the warmwater discharge at the Gorgas Steam Plant, which sits alongside the Mulberry Fork of the river on Bankhead Lake. During both World Championship Catfishing Tournaments held out of Howton's Camp in the mid-1990s, the winning stringers were composed of big blues pulled out of this artificial version of the Gulf Stream.

Another hotspot for double-digit cats is between old locks 8 and 9, between Akron and Moundville, and well below Tuscaloosa.

STATE LAKES
The catfishing is so good at most of Alabama's 23 state-owned public fishing lakes that it's hard to pick the best. My favorites are Bibb County Lake (between West Blocton and Brent), Monroe County Lake (near Beatrice) and the lakes in Chambers and Dallas counties. In North Alabama, Catfish Central is Madison County Lake in Gurley, not too far from Huntsville. All are stocked with channel catfish from the state fish hatchery, and these fish are excellent table fare.

Another great destination for those seeking the bigger-than-average catfish is 130-acre Lee County Lake, south of Auburn and Opelika. You'd better have stout reels and new line to take on the cats here, which routinely push or exceed the 10-pound mark.

In addition, this place now offers overnight accommodations in the form of lakeside cabins. There's even a "fisherman's special": For about $200, get you two days of fishing and three nights in a cabin for two anglers -- boat, trolling motor, anchors and fishing permits included. To check on the availability, call (334) 749-1275.

The fishing at Lee County, like most of the state lakes, is limited to daylight hours. And, as a rule, it's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the summer. The facilities include a lakeside bait shop, public restrooms, a fishing pier, and a launch ramp for those who want to bring their own boats (the launch fee is $2). Boats may have an outboard motor attached, but you can only use an electric trolling motor.

In addition to a state fishing license, you must purchase a $2 daily fishing permit (for ages 12 and older), and -- if renting a boat -- another $3 boating permit. The rental vessels, completely rigged, cost $18. Fishing rods are even available for rent here for $3.