"Once the water temperatures drop, the bait gets concentrated and the big blue catfish key on bait, which makes it easier for me to find the fish," he said.

December is a great time to fish Buggs, according to Puryera, for this very reason. Not only do gizzard shad become more concentrated and the blue cats easier to find, but also catching fresh bait is also easier.

Where To Look
Puryera has been fishing for blue catfish for a long time and has learned a few things about the fish at Buggs.

"Once the water gets cold, I have noticed that the big fish move out of the main-lake channels and begin showing up in the major creeks and tributaries. This is where I fish in the winter," he said.

Contrary to what many anglers think, Puryera finds most of his larger fish in relatively shallow water in the winter. Most of the major tributaries will have holes as deep as 40 feet, but Puryera prefers to fish in water depths ranging from 4 to 20 feet. His theory is that the sun warms these depths a bit faster on sunny days and draws baitfish, which are in turn attracting the attention of blue catfish. Some of the major creeks Puryera points to as good starting points include Bluestone, Grassy, Rudds and Eastland creeks.

What To Look For
Obviously, anglers want to find bait in order to find fish. Our Buggs Island source tells us that he catches his own bait in the above-named creeks by relying on his fish-finder to locate bait balls.

"I really rely more on my fish-finder to find bait in the winter rather than the summer months. The bait is easier to see, as it is a compact ball on the screen," he said.

Once he finds and catches bait, he does not move far. Puryera often finds nearby structure in 20 feet or less and then puts his lines out. Structure that he likes to focus his efforts on includes crappie piles that other anglers have sunk in the lake, shallow points and old roadbeds. This Buggs Island cat angler will spend his days off from teaching school sitting in his boat awaiting his next citation fish. Sometimes, he sits as long as two hours patiently awaiting the bait clicker to go off before he pulls his lines in and heads to the next potential spot.

A Good Day
For Chan Puryera, a good day includes at least several fish in the 20- to 30-pound range. He pointed out that it is not uncommon to catch up to 20 fish in this range per day of fishing at Buggs.

Gear
Puryera's view of the proper gear is much in line with our expert from the James River. Puryera prefers to use an Abu Garcia 6500, 7000 or 10,000 model baitcasting reel mounted very securely on a medium-heavy- to heavy-action cat stick. He spools his reels with 30-pound-test and uses a Ragin' Cajun 60-pound leader. His hook choices include Gamakatsu Octopus hooks in at least an 8/0 size. He also rigs his lines with a bait runner rig.