Photo by Marvin Spivey.

Among Virginia anglers, catfish angling is second in popularity only to bass fishing these days, and I am fairly certain there are some anglers who would argue it is equally as popular. No matter whether you are a bank-bound angler, a big-water catman, a meat angler wanting to catch dinner or a trophy-catfish hunter, Virginia has it all for you. We will take a region-by-region look at the catfish opportunities available and highlight the best ones.

TIDEWATER REGION
If trophy fish are your passion, there are two places in Virginia that you need to fish. Obviously, the lower James River is one of them. The James River holds the new state-record blue catfish. The record fish was caught last July 5 at approximately 10 p.m. by Archie Gold, who released the 95.7-pound fish back into the river after getting a certified weight.

The record fish is just one of many mammoth cats that have been hauled over the gunnels over the past few years in Virginia's Tidewater region. Most anglers targeting trophy catfish on the James prefer to fish the stretch of the river from Dutch Gap to Brandon.

Bob Greenlee, district fisheries biologist for the region, pointed out that blue cats were introduced into the James in the mid-1970s and finally took off in the late '80s and early '90s. Since then, abundant forage in the form of gizzard shad, herring and perch have boosted the population and size structure in an incredible way. Fish in the 30- and 40-pound range are abundant and fish upward of 50 and 60 pounds are not uncommon anymore.

Trophy cat hunters who fish the James use a fish finder and target deep cut channels with nearby structure that holds bait. This scenario seems to change little from season to season. Deep cut channels and structure are not hard to find on the lower James, and therefore, there are plenty of fishing spots.

The best trophy catfish angling on the James occurs from late fall through mid-spring, although as noted above, record-breaking fish can be caught in the hottest part of the summer!

Greenlee points out that there are a number of access points on the James that will put you near excellent fish-holding water.

Anglers targeting blue catfish in the James can access the river from the Deep Bottom Landing in Henrico County or the Chickahominy Riverside Park in James City County. Private access points include Jordan Point Marina east of Hopewell. Farther upstream, anglers can access the river at Dutch Gap Landing in Chesterfield County or Osborne Landing in Henrico County.

Although the James River is famous for large catfish, the whole Tidewater region is thick with catfish opportunities. Every tidal river that crosses the region holds catfish, mostly blue cats, which push the scales over 40 and 50 pounds.

The Rappahannock tends to play second fiddle to the James for monster catfish, but whatever it lacks in size the Rapp has the James in numbers of eating-sized fish that are safe to eat. (The James has an eating advisory concerning catfish consumption.)

Since the breach of the Embry Dam several years ago, channel catfish have spread upriver from Fredericksburg and are also fairly common downriver to Port Royal. Once below Fredericksburg, the mighty blue cat begins to seriously outcompete the channel. Blue catfish are very common all the way to Tappahannock and can even be caught below Tappahannock with regularity in the tidal tributaries of feeder creeks where the salinity level is lower.

Catching a bucket of eating-sized fish is no difficult task on the river. Bank-anglers in Fredericksburg can take channel catfish with chicken liver, worms or cut bait by drift-fishing or bottom-fishing. Wading anglers can target Mr. Whiskers upriver with the same bait in pools and deep holes, while bank-anglers or small-boat anglers will find all the fishing they can handle downstream to Leedstown. Target side channels, submerged structure, such as woody debris and tidal creeks for intense action.