You can fish deep-water areas by casting well-weighted baits from a distance. Or position your boat so you can work a bait using a vertical lift-drop presentation. Top baits for trophy cats are fresh cut shad for blues and channel cats, and live sunfish for flatheads. Big crayfish also work well on all species here.

If deep-water angling isn't your cup of tea, don't fret. You can probably still catch catfish in shallow water haunts if you can locate shady cover. Virtually anything that casts a shadow is potentially productive, though objects that provide shade throughout the entire day are best. Boat docks are among the most productive clear-water catfishing hot spots, especially those built close to the water's surface. Dense stands of flooded timber and logs are also good, as are man-made brush piles, underwater ledges and the back ends of wooded coves.

Lake Ouachita is accessible throughout its length from U.S. Highway 270 west of Hot Springs (south side) or Arkansas 298 between Blue Springs and Story (north side). For more info, call the Lake Ouachita field office in Royal at (501) 767-2101, or log on to www.mvk.usace.army.mil/Lakes/lakeouachita

BEST AGFC LAKE
Lake Conway
Few bodies of water in the United States churn out the number of monster flatheads produced by central Arkansas' Lake Conway. This 6,700-acre Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lake off Interstate 40 just west of Little Rock is the largest ever constructed by a state wildlife agency. Its waters are shallow, heavily timbered throughout, rich in shad and sunfish, and full of huge logjams and deep holes-in other words, prime habitat for producing giant flatheads.

Scores of 30- to 60-pound Conway flatheads are taken every year, some by anglers fishing for other species, some on trotlines, a few by rod-and-reel anglers who enjoy the challenge of battling big cats in heavy timber. Serious local catmen believe that 100-pounders swim here, but the dense timber makes it almost impossible to land one. Small live sunfish are the leading bait choice.

Because most Conway flathead aficionados are secretive about the location of their favored honeyholes, it can be hard for a first-timer to locate an area harboring big flatheads. The best way to do this is to obtain a lake map from one of the local docks that shows the old lakes inundated when the Conway was filled. Flatheads prefer the sanctuary these deep areas offer. Adams Lake, Greens Lake, Cub Pond, Round Pond, Gold Lake, Goose Pond and Holt's Lake are all excellent locations for placing a trotline or baitfishing with rod and reel.