Pay lakes in most areas host large channel and blue catfish. The catfish that are stocked every week are usually 1 to 2 pounds, perfect for eating, but that is not what I want. I want the monsters that have been netted out of the river and placed in the lake. Most pay lakes pay a premium to have large river catfish stocked once or twice a year.

The smaller catfish that are stocked every week have been raised on a fish farm. They have been fed a prepared food (pellets) their entire life, making them very susceptible to a hook with a prepared bait on it. The bigger "wild" catfish are not as easy to catch.

The first thing I do when I get to a new lake is determine the depth of the water I want to fish. I do this by casting a large slip bobber to the area that I want to fish and watching the knot stopper on the line. I keep adjusting the depth until the stopper floats just before the bobber. This means that the weight is on the bottom. I then reel in the line and slide the knot-stop down 1-2 feet. I want the bait to be 1-2 feet off of the bottom.

I will normally start fishing a new pay lake at the dam. The water is usually deepest at the dam, and there is probably debris under the water here from the construction of the dam. Once I have determinded the depth of the water I bait up a small hook and fish for small bluegills.

I like to use 20# test monofilament on a heavy freshwater spinning reel. A 6/0 hook baited with a live bluegill is suspended beneath a large slip bobber. I like to use a quarter to a half ounce sinker to keep the bluegill down. I will cast this out and wait. While I am waiting for the monster catfish to take my bluegill, I like to fish for the eating size catfish with another pole baited with a prepared bait on the bottom.

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