When looking for a meal of fresh fish in June, any Virginia angler’s best bet is to go catch a stringer of catfish. Catfish are willing feeders nearly year ’round in just about any water in the state. There are three species of catfish that anglers regularly target: the flathead, blue and channel catfish. Each region has its gems that anglers should visit this summer. Check out our research to find the most productive water in your region.

TIDEWATER REGION
Tidewater anglers know that the tidal rivers get the spotlight when it comes to the best catfishing. All one needs to do is choose the nearest river and load the truck for a great day of fishing. Each tidal river offers a slightly different twist when it comes to catching Mr. Whiskers.

Bob Greenlee, the VDGIF regional fisheries guru, offered Virginia Game & Fish some data and tips as to where the fishing might be better this season.

“The tidal James River is the obvious choice for trophy blue cats. Blue cats over 80 pounds are now being caught from the James. Most blue catfish can be caught downstream of Richmond as far as the Chickahominy River. Anglers should note that most of the catfishing in the James is dominated by the blue catfish,” he said.

Blue catfish on the James River grow rapidly, in part because the river contains tremendous shad and herring populations that provide the catfish with all the food they can eat.

Trophy blue catfish are most easily caught from a boat using fresh caught gizzard shad either whole or cut. Fishing the deep holes, ledges and dropoffs in the river, especially near bends, is the favored strategy. With the aid of a good fish-finder, anglers can find submerged timber and other structure where the monster fish like to ambush prey.

A second choice for trophy catfish would be the Pamunkey River. Fish up to 50 pounds are fairly common and the population is still growing. Greenlee suggested that anglers fish the lower reaches of the river down to West Point for blue cats.

Both the Mattaponi and Rappahannock rivers boast blue catfish up to and over 30 pounds, but the larger fish are not as abundant as they are in the James and Pamunkey. As with the James, successful trophy cat anglers look for sharp bends in the river, deep holes, channels and structure. Where all three habitats occur, the fishing is fine.

On the Rappahannock, anglers will find most of the larger blue cats prowling the waters from Fredericksburg down to Fones Cliffs. The stretch from Nanzatico Bay upstream to Four Winds is particularly good.

Eating-sized catfish can be caught from the bank or boat on any of the rivers. Keep in mind, however, that the James River has an advisory against consuming catfish. This is strictly a catch-and-release water for blue catfish over 32 inches, and no more than two meals a month consisting of fish less than 32 inches should be eaten.