# Anyboby catfishing eastfork lake?



## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

Anyone do any regular catfishing at eastfork lake.I'm going out again this week and next ,intrested to see how others fish this lake.Mine will be evening fishing into nite from the boat with the wife,her with crawlers me with chicken liver and maybe a live bait.\
And has anyone ever caught any big bluegill from eastfork.


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## Hillbilly910 (Jan 6, 2009)

been biding my time till i get a chance to do some catfishing there. Have been hooking nice channels and a real nice blue while trolling flats on the north end. But as many big blues and flatheads as i have seen there, id really hafta get a big shad or shiner a few inches under the water on a bobber...and be ready

HB


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

It's really unfortunate as deep and as nice as this lake is that we don't see and pics of blues or flatheads from this lake.... Maybe it's just really top secret about the locations or people just don't share their experiences but from past threads I've yet to see any


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## bsmith (Mar 26, 2010)

We catfish at east fork. We catch mostly channel cats, an occasional blue and an occasional flathead. I don't think there are nearly as many blues or flatties in there. Even when fishing large cut skipjack or large live minnows, shiners, shad, etc. we catch mostly channels. Catalpa worms have been producing lately, they are hard to find this late in the season though (my friends tree is just getting over a late infestation.) Large minnows under a float have been producing also but to a lesser degree. We don't fish with liver much but I see people doing it all the time, they usually catch fish. I'm not sure why but folks sometimes catch big hybrids also while fishing liver on the bottom.


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## machujanga (Sep 16, 2009)

Been there not too long ago. A lot of hits fishing with liver on the bottom (from shore). My friend goes out there often to catch hybrids using liver off the bottom close to the dam. Whether my hits were from cats of hybrids, either way I was unable to bring it to shore. Let me know the results!


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

Went sat. nite.Crawlers and chicken livers.That's what we usally use.Haven't had the luck lately.We get on the water a little before dark and fish till whenever.Don't have any honey holes.Usually toward the shore till a little after dark then start going deeper.Along the bank up in the bigger coves.seems like all the little coves are full of turtles anymore and still catching them in deeper water.Don't catch much real big fish but still good ones.


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## fishymcgoo (Jul 20, 2005)

i have been twice this year and caught cats both times. channels, shovels, and a blue. problem seems to be for me the average size has went down. i used to fish east fork alot and i have seen and caught some BIG cats out of there. but i go to the same honey holes of past and still catching fish but nothing big. dont know why? this is why i dont fish for cats often there anymore. crappie fishing was good as always early spring though. wander when the muskies will be big?


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

Same with us,not catching anything of size and not as many.Am going to try some new areas and some different tactics.


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## bsmith (Mar 26, 2010)

I've also noticed that we're not catching catfish of any size this year. My largest was a 5lb. channel. This is just a theory but I believe it could be due to overfishing. I go out there all the time, mostly at night because that's the only time that I'm free. There are always people in all of the bank spots plus several boats, all fishing for cats. For the past few years it hasn't been uncommon to see guys roll into the dock with sizable catches of cats, keeping all of them. There's certainly nothing wrong with keeping some fish to eat but I get the impression that lots of people are keeping every fish they catch. It just seems like we may have tipped the scale and crossed the point where we're overharvesting.


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

fishymcgoo said:


> i have been twice this year and caught cats both times. channels, shovels, and a blue. problem seems to be for me the average size has went down. i used to fish east fork alot and i have seen and caught some BIG cats out of there. but i go to the same honey holes of past and still catching fish but nothing big. dont know why? this is why i dont fish for cats often there anymore. crappie fishing was good as always early spring though. wander when the muskies will be big?


 Any pics of the BIG cats or any pics of the shovels and blue you caught?


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

I have done well there catching channel cats. I have not hooked a flattie there (I also dont fish for them much) Most of the channels I have caught have been in the late summer/ early fall and all from the bank in timber. Cut shad is what I have done well on.

I got 3 over 10 pounds there last year and a lot of nice eater sized. I have not fished it all this year as I have spent most of my time on the river.

I have seen some pictures of some nice flatties but you dont hear about them very often anymore. I have also only seen 1 picture of a blue that came from there and it was a nice fish...obviously a transplant fromt he nearby paylake.

I would like to see pictures of the fish that people say are blues as most people call big channels blues and since blues are not naturally in East Fork they are probably transplants from other place.


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Hey Stamp,
I fish EF just about every weekend...usually for channel cats at night from the shore, occasionally in my buddy's john boat. I could probably tell you about every square inch of shore line there, lol. Depending on the water levels, I've had good luck fishing the bank around the Reisinger boat ramp in Bethel, and then in the big bowl west of the Tate Boat ramp. The Tate boat ramp shoreline is a very soft sand, and rarely results in snags when the water is up. The rip-rap over by the dam usually snag-city, but if you have a fishfinder on your boat, you might do well fishing a bluegill/shad a foot or two off of the bottom around whatever holes you can find in that deep water. I also fish the north east shore on the old public beach. It's wide open, few snags, and has the river entry there to attract fish.

I had a good chat with a cat fisherman on a boat last weekend who docked at Bethel and fished the area to the west near the overnight area (Sugartree/Woodruff Road area). He said that spot doesn't seem to get much pressure, is only 20ft deep, has plenty of cover and contains a good underwater point.

As to bait: I'd be surprised if you don't catch a ton of small ones on chicken liver at night. I'd say I probably get 10 runs on liver each outing, and probably land 5 cats (some are turtles). The biggest this summer was 3.4 pounds. I've tried cut bait and live bait, but never had much luck from shore. Perhaps I have it too far out or too deep. I've caught blues on the cutbait, but I've never caught a flathead out of EF.

My new two secret baits are cut bait dipped in garlic sauce and then topped with chicken liver on a snagless bait hook. (they sometimes get away with the liver and come back for the cut bait if I miss the first hit), and the second new bait is hotdogs sitting overnight in the liver juices with garlic powder and Koolaid. Don't ask, lol...I read it online and it works. 

I made a topographical map of all of the hotspots I want to hit up next time I get out there on a boat. I'll try and scan it for you and perhaps you can test some of them out for me. I know there are still some big blues in there...

-House


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

fishdealer04 said:


> I would like to see pictures of the fish that people say are blues as most people call big channels blues and since blues are not naturally in East Fork they are probably transplants from other place.


Isn't this a small little blue?


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## fishing247 (May 12, 2007)

here is a flathead from eastfork:


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

Awesome pics guys I've been waiting.. I'm almost certain that is a blue and a juvenile one at that. Hopefully it's a sign of good things coming for eastfork. I just don't see why this lake hasn't been stocked with blues? Is there something there that not good for their habitat?


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Buzzin said:


> Awesome pics guys I've been waiting.. I'm almost certain that is a blue and a juvenile one at that. Hopefully it's a sign of good things coming for eastfork. I just don't see why this lake hasn't been stocked with blues? Is there something there that not good for their habitat?


I've always thought of blues as deep water, river cats living in channels with moving water. I was proven wrong out at Miami Whitewater though...they have some MONSTER blue cats in there...stocked of course...but healthy and fat. East Fork strikes me as a pretty nice habitat for blues, especially over by the dam in the deep flowing water, I just haven't had enough luck catching any big ones to really make an honest assesment about the lake.


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

I've caught blues there bout the size of the picture,never caught any blues of size.


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