Drift Fishing on Kaw Lake

With summer here and hot temperatures, the thermocline get's stronger every day and it got tougher to catch the fish on bottom. Been drift fishing over 30 years for blue cat and it's still my favorite way to catch them. Last year I was running one circle hook about 20 inches above my weight and getting very few bites. Had 7 jug lines out and was catching 12 to 16 blues a day on my top hooks so decided to try something different and made a second loop above my lower hook about 4 ft. and dropped the weight down to the bottom keeping the line almost vertical with the boat. Couldn't believe how my catch rate went up. Tried to show picture but it's a very simple set up. I run a 1 to 2 ounce weight on bottom go up 20 to 30 in and make a 6 in loop go up 4 ft and make another loop both tied with a double overhand knot. Something different if you like to drift.

Thanks for the tip I will try and see if that helps.

I think a buddy and I will start doing that too. Are you drifting during the day or night?

We drift during the day. Prefer cloud cover over bright sunny days. Did real well this weekend until all the water hit last night from recent heavy rains in Kansas. Looks like the holiday weekend is gong to be cut short for everybody. They will close Coon Creek boat ramp today because of debris.

I think I will give this a try as well, I just posted about my recent experinec with dead catfish do to jugging below the thermocline.

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Originally Posted by TimY

With summer here and hot temperatures, the thermocline get's stronger every day and it got tougher to catch the fish on bottom. Been drift fishing over 30 years for blue cat and it's still my favorite way to catch them. Last year I was running one circle hook about 20 inches above my weight and getting very few bites. Had 7 jug lines out and was catching 12 to 16 blues a day on my top hooks so decided to try something different and made a second loop above my lower hook about 4 ft. and dropped the weight down to the bottom keeping the line almost vertical with the boat. Couldn't believe how my catch rate went up. Tried to show picture but it's a very simple set up. I run a 1 to 2 ounce weight on bottom go up 20 to 30 in and make a 6 in loop go up 4 ft and make another loop both tied with a double overhand knot. Something different if you like to drift.

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Where do you normally drift fish and have the best luck? What depth do you normally look for?

Location depends on the time of year and water temp. I have a lot of success on big flats and along channels. Drift fishing requires watching your locator not only for fish but debris on bottom. I look for brush piles before my lines get to them and I can reel them in prior to getting them all hung up. You will loose a lot of tackle drifting but it's worth it. Takes some patience also. You may drift a quarter mile with no bites and go another 100 yards and catch 4 or 5 fish. In the summer months we target flats early and late and channels during the day basically following the shad. I run 4 to 5 poles with 30 lb mono most times. Another good investment for drifting is a couple of drift socks to hold your boat straight. Doesn't take much rope out 4 feet or so on the front and back of your boat. Drifting is one of the best methods to catch catfish during the hot summer months but works year round. I started using the double hook rig when the thermocline became evident so I could target the fish higher in the water column above the thermocline. Good luck to you guys.

TimY - Are you typically fishing Kaw for your blues?

George there are 3 lakes in Oklahoma I know of that are some of the best bluecat fishing you can find in the country. That would be Kaw, Grand and Texoma not in no particular order. I fish Kaw 99 % of the time since I live up here. A few years ago we went to Texoma striper fishing and ended up drifting for bluecats and done well in the Platter Flats area. Caught some big fish. I realize there are other lakes that you can catch blues but these consistently produce big fish. Since you are only allowed to keep one fish now over 30 inches per day it will just get better. The fish in the photo was caught on rod and reel at Kaw July 4th and weighed 66 lbs.

I normally fish Kaw for blues because there are so many in there. When I think of blues I think of Kaw. Texoma and Grand are equally outstanding for blues. Unfortunately I don't get time to go to Texoma very often. Dennis and i jug fish Kaw several times a year and do fine, but I am itching to drift and have fun reeling them in. I know its a hoot. Are you from Ponca?