Summertime angling for trophy-sized blue cats on huge reservoirs can be tough. Peer across an expansive lake and 
sheer vastness will seemingly swallow you whole. Where do you start? Do you just go out and look around with a good locator and hope to see some arches and begin fishing? Based on past experiences you know two things. Sometimes you have to drift. Other times you’ll have to anchor. How do you know which to do first and what types of structure are you looking for that will hold big burly blue cats? Procat pro-staffer Jeff Williams ardently targets big blues on Truman Reservoir and Lake of Ozarks in Missouri. A lifetime of big-lake catfishing has taught him a thing or two about catfish behavior in reservoirs, and according to Jeff you can put more fish into boat if you learn a few keys to summertime blue cat location. Before we get into fishing part let’s look at two lakes Jeff fishes.
Lake Ledges
Many lakes around country have different bottom styles from sheer drops down into as much as 180 foot of water on canyon terrain reservoirs, to relatively shallow featureless bowls with subtle drops in depth. Not all lakes are built alike but trophy-sized blues behave in similar ways wherever they swim - especially when it comes to relating to same types of cover and depth according to season you are fishing.
Ledge Blues
While Jeff targets cats in a variety of situations during summer period, he reports that during warm-water post-spawn period, drift fishing is in his most productive pattern for most days on both lakes for numbers of fish.
He looks for areas where bottom has subtle rises and drops going from just below and well above thermocline. “During hotter water period, thermocline is everything.” Jeff uses his locator to mark fish on gently sloping ledges with right depth before he deploys his baits and begins a drift. “You can find fish holding on steep ledges in summer but steep ledges are difficult to get right drift to stay in contact with numbers of fish. I prefer gentle rises and drops in a long diverse bottom contour area. Once you catch a few fish, make a note at what depth you’re catching them in. If you’re catchin’ fish in 16 foot of water around a 12 foot hump – you’d better find some more 16 foot of water to drift around in.”
Why Drift During Summer
Jeff anchor fishes ledges, flats, trenches, wood cover, and steep drops during most of year except during hot-water post-spawn period. Big blues will hold on specific cover part of time and roam around in tight areas looking for food before relocating during cooler months which allows him to set up on a good number of fish. He still has to look for fish with his finder during colder water periods but once he finds them, he can anchor up and fish a specific area. Jeff’s theory about blue cat metabolism may hold key to understanding why he does better while drift fishing during summer and opposite during cooler water period.
