LAKE OCONEE — Fishing is down right unpleasant for anglers right now due to the excessive heat. However, there is one species of fish that can create good fishing if you can stand just a little heat.

That species is catfish. You can also avoid the heat of the day because the best hours to catch catfish are two to three hours before daylight until two to three hours after daybreak.

Catfish, like other game fish, are affected by hot weather but seem to tolerate temperature extremes better. That is not to say that anglers targeting catfish do not have to understand how hot weather affects the catfish.

Bigger catfish look for cooler, more comfortable water during hot weather, and that often means deeper water.

Now let me hasten to say that smaller catfish seem to ignore the idea that deeper is better. You can usually catch small, good eating size catfish throughout the day and nighttime hours in relatively shallow water around docks on both Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee during summer. However, if you’re looking for bigger catfish, and especially trophy size catfish, the angler must consider deeper water.

Deeper water locations around humps, points and creek/river ledges will provide the best opportunity for anglers looking to catch bigger catfish.

Bigger catfish will sometimes venture into shallower water areas during the nighttime, but most catfish anglers will choose to target deeper water even during those times. Catfish will often be found in the same deep water locations that hold schools of largemouth bass and crappie during hot weather.

Some of the bigger catfish I have caught came while fishing for largemouth bass using plastic baits on a Carolina rig. Those locations were humps, ledges and deep points, and those are the same places that catfish anglers should target catfish.

Year-round, the best bait for larger trophy catfish is shad baitfish and small bluegill that are located in large numbers in lakes Sinclair and Oconee. Flathead catfish, blue catfish and channel catfish will all take a live shad or bluegill or cuts of bait taken from shad, bream and even shrimp. Both lakes Oconee and Sinclair now have all three species of catfish.

It is legal to use both shad and bluegill (either dead or alive) for bait in Georgia. However, anglers can only catch shad with a cast net. If you intend to use bluegill for bait, you must catch them on hook and line. This can easily be done with crickets or worms around lake docks.

The practice of using trotlines and jugs is legal, but specific requirements apply to their use. First they can only be used to take catfish and nongame fish in Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair. All trotlines and jugs must be marked with the owner’s name and address and must be marked with visible buoys. Anglers are restricted to 50 jugs with hooks or 50 hooks attached to a trotline. Using greater than 50 hooks is considered commercial fishing, which requires a commercial license.

Additionally, trotlines must be at least three feet below the water’s surface, and both trotlines and jugs are to be attended regularly and removed after fishing. Unattended trotlines and jugs will be confiscated by the Department of Natural Resources, and anglers will be given a citation for violating the laws governing the use of trotlines and jugs.

If you are a hook and line angler and prefer to use a rod and reel for catfish, there is no rig better suited than one you would use in pursuit of largemouth bass. A baitcasting reel with a medium heavy rod that is further rigged with a Carolina rig is all you will need to land just about any catfish in the lake. You will need to use heavier line because a big twisting catfish will break smaller line or break you off on some underwater structure.

I use 20-pound monofilament line and have had good success landing some big catfish. Catfish don’t seem to mind heavy line, and I know folks that use up to 50-pound line on their reels. The Carolina rig will keep the bait near the bottom where the catfish reside, and the rig will allow the catfish to take the bait and not feel resistance with the sliding sinker.

A new catfish hook sold by Team Catfish          (www.teamcatfish.com) is ideal for using either live or cut bait. Their hook is referred to as a Double Action circle hook, and their website if also full of information on helping you catch catfish.

Tommy Cummings fishes for catfish on a regular basis at Lake Oconee and keeps me up to date on what the catfish are doing. Last week, he and his partner caught 23 keepers on cut shrimp and live bream. The biggest catfish was a flathead weighing 17 pounds that took a live bream. Cummings and his partner were fishing in 22-foot of water.

Catching catfish can be fun, and there are many ways to legally catch catfish in both lakes Oconee and Sinclair during hot weather.

So, whether you’re after a tasty meal of catfish filets or trying to catch a trophy catfish, anglers can expect some good summer fishing for catfish right now. Good fishing and see you next week.Outdoor Columnist Bobby Peoples can be contacted via e-mail at brpeoples@windstream.net.