“With such a keen sense of smell, any baits that deliver a steady distribution of scent into the water should attract catfish,” he said. “Blood baits, like chicken livers or hearts, put out a lot of smell. Fresh cut baits do well, especially oily baits like eels. People still catch a fair amount of cats on hunks of Ivory soap as well.”

Over a few years of doing fish population studies in the Mobile Delta, Armstrong has started to notice a trend with catfish -- one that should put a smile on catfish anglers’ faces.

“Our sampling studies have shown a steady increase in catfish populations in the Delta,” he said. “We really have no scientific evidence for the increase, but feel it’s a sign of a very healthy population and environment. Fishermen looking to bring home a few catfish for dinner should do well in the Mobile Delta.”

POPULAR FISHING METHODS
A rod-and-reel angler in the Mobile Delta can select from a multitude of locations at which to pick up a few catfish.

Philip Guy is a south Alabama native who thrives on the opportunity for catfishing in the Mobile Delta. Although his fishing methods include running trotlines, Guy also enjoys the one-on-one matchup of rod-and-reel angler and cat.

“There’s not anything much better than tangling with some Delta catfish on a lazy summer morning,” Guy offered. “Besides being so great to eat, the catfish we catch are pretty feisty, too! Whether fishing alone or with friends, the excitement of locating a good school of catfish can measure up with almost any species of fish we target.”

For Guy, the nuances of catfishing in the Delta region were partly self-taught and partly a legacy. “I learned so much about catfish from an old commercial catfish man I met at the launch one day,” he recalled. “I struck up a conversation, and soon the old-timer was leaking out his wisdom to me in dribs and drabs. Naturally, I soaked up as much as I could to use myself when fishing rod and reel.

A lot of what the old-timer told Guy about commercial fishing for cats was very helpful, especially when it came to baits.

“When a man who makes his living doing something gives you advice about the subject, you better listen!” Guy continued. “I always used chicken livers for my catfish, but the old man said no.

“He told me that one of the best baits to use in the Delta for catfish is a common freshwater eel. He told me to cut up the eels in small chunks -- just big enough to hide the hook. When checking trotlines for catfish, the old-timer often caught eels on the baits intended for catfish. So one day he kept some of the eels for bait and discovered how effective they were.”

When he can’t get his hands on any eels, Guy will use fresh cut shad for baits. He also uses another bait very familiar to Delta catfish.