Channel Your Efforts

High Rock Lake provides great summertime catfish action.

Lexington’s Charlie Kingen has fished for about every species that swims in High Rock Lake. Working for Maynard Edwards’ Yadkin Lakes Guide Service, Kingen has taken clients fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, striped bass and channel catfish.

While he enjoys catching popular species like largemouth bass and crappie, his most-satisfying quests have been for channel catfish, especially when he’s in the company of youngsters.

“I can almost guarantee that during a half-day trip, a youngster will catch more than 20 channel cats, one of which will be a good-sized channel cat,” Kingen said. “Most of the channel cats at High Rock run from seven to 12 pounds, and they’re subject to very little fishing pressure. A typical channel catfish (in North Carolina) weighs one to five pounds.

“Everybody’s after largemouth bass and crappie at High Rock, but few anglers deliberately target channel cats.”

Kingen’s affection arises partly from personal experiences with his 9-year-old son, Austin, who caught his first channel cat at the age of four, and he’s been a devoted catfish stalker ever since.

“There’s nothing like seeing a youngster’s face light up after he’s landed his first big catfish,” Kingen said.

Besides the assurance that youngsters will get bites while catfishing, the sport appeals to the younger set and inexperienced fishermen because no casting skills are involved.

Kingen slow-trolls for channel cats, moving his boat with his electric trolling motor and with his rods mounted in rod holders.

When a fish bites, the fisherman simply grabs the rod and starts cranking the fish to the boat. A firm hook-set helps but is not essential, because most cats hook themselves.

Kingen’s spread consists of six 7-foot medium-heavy casting rods matched with baitcasting clicker reels spooled with 14- to 16-pound-test monofilament. They are placed in Santee rod holders mounted spider-fashion on the gunwales and stern of Kingen’s Carolina Skiff. Lines are let out to various lengths to avoid tangles when Kingen turns the boat to retrace his trolling path.

“I make long casts with the two rods mounted opposite one another at the rear of the boat,” Kingen said. “Then I let out about half that length with the next two rods mounted opposite one another, then let out half of that length with the final two rods mounted opposite one another. That arrangement eliminates tangles most of the time if I’m careful when I make my turns. I rarely use more than six rods, because too many rods are troublesome if snags occur or if several bites take place at once.”

Kingen gets his trolling-motor speed up just enough to keep the boat moving. When it’s windy, he’ll adjust to counter the wind.

Fishing for channel cats also has a strong economic appeal: it’s low in cost.

“You don’t need expensive rods and reels or a tackle box loaded with baits,” Kingen said. “An inexpensive baitcasting rod and reel and line and a handful of hooks, sinkers and bobbers, and you’re ready to fish.”

Kingen uses a basic Carolina rig consisting of a 2-foot leader, a ¾-ounce egg sinker, a bead, swivel, and a 5/0 Eagle Claw Kahle hook. A lighter or heavier sinker is used, depending upon the depth being fished and the amount of wind or current. Whatever the weight, the sinker should bounce along the bottom.

Kingen slides on an in-line, cigar-shaped Comal bobber several inches above the hook to avoid snags and to keep the bait off the bottom. If the bite is tentative, Kingen changes to a smaller hook or a smaller chunk of bait — or both.

He catches his own bait, which takes little time thanks to the abundance of threadfin shad in High Rock. He prefers threadfin about six inches long, slicing the bait into three segments: the head, midsection, and tail.

“The fresher and the bloodier the bait, the better,” said Kingen, who’s found that some days catfish prefer one segment of the shad more than the other. “The head portions may entice more bites one day; the tails on another day or the midsections. Usually, the midsection is the most effective, but let the fish tell you which part they prefer.”

The trick is knowing when and where to fish for channel cats. Kingen’s found summer to be the best season.

“When the water temperature drops into the 50s or lower, the catfish bite slows down considerably,” Kingen said. “The bigger cats are caught during the summer unless the weather gets extremely hot. Another good time occurs when shad are coming off the bank following their spawn.

“The bigger channel cats bite before a front with the water temperature ranging from 60 to 70 degrees. They don’t bite very well during thunderstorms.”

Kingen also said that channel cats don’t like muddy water, especially “new” mud. However, the mudline where the muddy and clear water meet often produces good fishing for cats.

When the lake is being pulled, producing current, channel cats frequently move to points to ambush their prey.

Kingen’s biggest fish, and the biggest fish caught by his clients, have weighed in the 14- to 15- pound range. Any channel cat weighing more than 10 pounds is considered a trophy.

“The fishing for channel cats at High Rock seems to get better each year, and the average weight is increasing,” Kingen said.

Lexington’s Adrian Sink, another fisherman devoted to catfish, said the biggest channel he’s seen at High Rock was a 23-pounder caught by Lexington’s Scott Briggs.

If the water is high, Kingen slow-trolls the backs of major creeks, but most of the time in the summer, he’s trolling the main body, dragging his Carolina rigs across subtle, underwater humps, high spots, and flats. He rarely fishes deeper than 25 feet, and like most trollers, he keeps his eyes fixed upon his depthfinder looking for forage in conjunction with those humps and high spots.

“Find the baitfish, and you’ll find the catfish,” he said. “Fishing for channel cats is similar to offshore fishing for largemouth bass. Both species frequently inhabit the same places.”

Kingen has also noted that channel cats and flathead catfish occasionally share the same places, though the much-larger flatheads prefer live bait to cut bait.

Productive waters for channel cats include Abbotts Creek, Swearing Creek, the main-river channel and upriver. The latter area must be navigated with care because of huge shallow flats that split the main channel.

One of Kingen’s most-memorable outings took place during an event at High Rock for underprivileged youngsters.

“The youngsters were allowed to weigh in any species of their choosing, and I was paired with one who wanted to go after catfish,” Kingen said. “We caught an awesome boatload of channel cats that I knew would win the tournament.

“I encouraged the youngster to hold back and wait until the other fishermen had brought their fish to the scales. He did as I suggested and hauled the fish up to be weighed at the last moment.

“The crowd gasped at the catch, and the look on that youngster’s face was priceless. That’s the reason I love to take young people catfishing. It’s rewarding for all parties involved.”