Question

I'm about to start drifting for some blues at Waxahachie and Bardwell. How much weight do I need, what depth, what bait?

Response from East Texas Johney Cash

Good questions. I wonder the same things. I dont know what to say about weight or depth, those are kinda realtime decisions. But as far as bait, I like to try and figure out what the most abundant bait fish are. I would say work with a cast net for a while and use the bait you catch the most of. Bream, shad or whatever it comes out to be is always a good choice and it would be what the Blues are use to seeing...

Response from Redneck

For drift fishing, 1 Oz sinker on a carolina rig with long leader or a three way rig rigged with an Eagle Claw L142 4/0 Kahle.

Question

I'm new to drifting but have catfished for a while. Does the thremocline come into play with summer time drifting. Do I need to drift above it or is it OK to drift in deep water say 35-40 ft on the bottom?

Response from East Texas Johney Cash

If you use your sonar, it will tell you about the thermocline, such as, where it's at, how deep the thermocline is, and where the fish are at, including the bait fish. If it was me, I'd try to put my bait in the face of the fish i'm trying to catch. But that's not saying a fish won't dive down below the thermocline to catch your bait, because they will. They will also come up, straight up, to get something to eat.

Look for the fish, first, then if you have a thermocline, look where the fish are at. More than likley, the fish will be right at the thermocline. Shad feed on planktons and other small critters that die below the thermocline, where there is little oxygen. Catfish will be looking for a meal of Shad. So, what I'm trying to say is, That's where I'd be trying to catch the catfish.