October-December Fishing / Primarily Catfish

[remington88]

Hey everyone...I'm a recent first boat owner and new to fishing larger lakes(mostly fished private smaller lakes all my life), and I have been struggling to catch fish at the lake closest to me recently now that the weather is cooling off here in Missouri. It is about a 1000 acre lake and depths up to 60 feet. I mainly enjoy fishing for channel catfish/flathead catfish but I don't really know how to locate them now that warm weather has passed. I attached a link to a topographic map of the lake I visit often. I do have a fish finder, but still learning to read and and what to look for. I would greatly appreciate it if people could look at the map and maybe help point me to where the catfish may be(depth, location, why they are there, etc). Basically any tips for fall/winter catfishing or any other tips for the fish species we have(crappie,largemouth,white bass,walleye) would be greatly appreciated to aid my learning.

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts....9869/-94.3163

[Solitario Lupo]

Such a big lake can be a pain to fish. The best that I can answer is to always cover as much water as you can just to catch fish. Right now it’s about temps. If the surface is still warm then the catfish and warmer fish should will still be swimming around eating and getting ready for the winter. If it’s getting colder the warmer fish go deeper and the colder fish start to come shallower. You say you have a fish finder. The places you are looking for is where can the fish be hiding trees, drop offs, maybe some big rocks, etc. As for walleye look for the schools and once you find them then thats the spot. A lake can be hard to fish but once you figure out what spots give up fish then you’ll learn your lake. The more you fish and more water you cover can really help. Trolling can help cover water but it’s not for really catfish fishing. For catfish get some chunks of fish, bread, or something smelly on and let it sit for awhile then move on to another spot. The best time I’ve caught catfish is in muddy waters.

[jhjimbo]

Hey everyone...I'm a recent first boat owner and new to fishing larger lakes(mostly fished private smaller lakes all my life), and I have been struggling to catch fish at the lake closest to me recently now that the weather is cooling off here in Missouri. It is about a 1000 acre lake and depths up to 60 feet. I mainly enjoy fishing for channel catfish/flathead catfish but I don't really know how to locate them now that warm weather has passed. I attached a link to a topographic map of the lake I visit often. I do have a fish finder, but still learning to read and and what to look for. I would greatly appreciate it if people could look at the map and maybe help point me to where the catfish may be(depth, location, why they are there, etc). Basically any tips for fall/winter catfishing or any other tips for the fish species we have(crappie,largemouth,white bass,walleye) would be greatly appreciated to aid my learning.

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts....9869/-94.3163

As the lake temp cools, my bet is the cats will be in the shallows sunning them selves.

[99explorer]