CLAIBORNE TAILRACE
"Anglers do quite a bit of catfishing below Claiborne Dam, between Monroeville and Grove Hill, near Fountain and just off County Road 17," Armstrong points out.

This part of the Alabama River historically has been home to great catfishing opportunities. Extremely fertile, this section of the river has a variety of cats and a long growing season; thus, the Claiborne tailwaters are especially productive for catfish.

"This area has a strong current, and you really can get your rod doubled-up by big blue cats in this tailrace," Armstrong emphasizes. "You also find some really nice-sized channel cats and a few flathead cats there."

If you head for the Claiborne tailrace, take stiff rods, strong lines and heavy weights to get your baits down because of the very strong current. Most catfishermen here prefer live or cut shad, and although most anglers drift-fish this tailrace, some others prefer to anchor. If you anchor, use your depthfinder to locate holes, dropoffs or boulders on the bottom that break the current and provide holding places for cats. Just upstream of those spots are where you want to drop the anchor.

In August, the blue cats, which are the dominant whiskerfish here, provide most of the action.

MILLERS FERRY TAILRACE
Millers Ferry Lake, near Camden on the Alabama River, is officially known as the William B. Dannelly Reservoir. Regardless of what you call it, this patch of water has always has had a reputation as a great bass and crappie lake. However, many anglers fail to realize that one of the state's best catfish hotspots lies in the tailrace just below the Millers Ferry Dam. Part of that has to do with the problem of reaching the action.

"Because of the difficult access, you often don't find large numbers of catfishermen in this tailrace," Armstrong admits. "You catch some channel cats and a few flathead cats, but the blue cat will be your primary target."

Like almost any tailrace in the Cotton State, at Millers Ferry tailrace you have to use heavy weights to get your baits down when the current's running. Once you're hooked up to one of the river's plentiful cats, the need for heavy line also becomes obvious. In the cool, highly oxygenated water, the catfish are strong and use the current to make boating or landing them even harder.

Baitfish congregate around the dam, and so will the cats.

"You see plenty of shad in this tailrace," Armstrong says. "Of course, the catfish's primary food source consists of shad. That's why catfish here prefer live and cut shad. This tailrace may offer one of the best catfishing hotspots in the state."

LOWER MOBILE DELTA
Often overlooked as a catfishing hotspot, the lower Mobile River Delta covers a broad area and receives quite a bit of fishing pressure. However, unlike state lakes and tailrace areas, the fishermen here rarely congregate in one spot. Delta fishermen have such a wide choice of places to launch and fish that you really cannot pinpoint just one particular place for catfish. They are virtually everywhere.

Still, David Armstrong points to Bayou Sara, Catfish Bayou and Dead Lake as areas off the Mobile River that provide some of the best locations in which to find cats in the Delta.

"These regions produce mostly channel catfish, but you catch a few blue catfish where there's current and also an occasional flathead cat," Armstrong comments.

Stink and cut baits seem to produce the most and the biggest cats in this section of the Delta. Look for ledges, dropoffs, holes and any types of bottom breaks or cover where cats can hold.