LOWER WHITE RIVER
The best fishing on this legendary catfish stream begins near Clarendon and gets progressively better as one travels downstream. Trophy-class blues, flatheads and channels are possible anywhere in the lower river, but the best stretch, perhaps, is the lower 10 miles from the Corps barge canal to the Mississippi. Another top area is that portion bordering Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake Wildlife Management Area in White County. You can launch a boat at the landing in Augusta and fish down to Georgetown landing on the southern tip of the WMA.

From dusk to 2 or 3 a.m. is prime time for big White River cats -- the darker the night the better. The outside bends of rivers are among the most productive hotspots, especially where trees have toppled in and the river has gouged deeply into the bank forming undercuts. Potholes or slight depressions in the river bottom also tend to concentrate catfish, as do the upstream sides of underwater humps, and shallow flats and drops near tributary mouths. Live fish are the best baits, with sunfish, goldfish, shiners and small carp topping the list.

POOL 6, ARKANSAS RIVER
You can catch lots of nice catfish throughout the Arkansas River in the Natural State, from the upper end near Ft. Smith to the river's confluence with the Mississippi in Desha County. Some locales are better than others, however, including Pool 6 at Little Rock. This body of water has for years been one of the Arkansas River's hottest pools for consistency and numbers. Trophy blues, channels and flatheads always are possible. There's excellent access for bank fishing in the first mile below Murray Lock & Dam and the North Little Rock hydroelectric plant on the north bank, and at Little Rock's Murray Park on the south bank.

I often bottom-bounce 1- to 2-ounce jigs tipped with cut shad or herring along the channels for numbers. Cast whole baitfish into grooves of slow-moving water immediately below the dam for a shot at a bigger catfish. Live bluegills fished on three-way rigs account for many trophy-class blues and flatheads taken here.

In the reaches of the pool above and below the lock and dam, a boat can provide access for blue-ribbon fishing. Smaller catfish gather in scour holes and along downstream edges of wing dams and bridge piers. Cast cut bait, chicken liver or big balls of night crawlers for action in these areas. Bigger cats roam the pool at night, often feeding in shallower 5- to 10-foot backwaters. Try drift-fishing with chunks of skipjack herring or shad. Hot spots include riprapped banks in the tailwater and beneath the Little Rock/North Little Rock bridges, and the first mile of the Fourche Creek tributary just above Interstate 440.