When you do get a strike, react immediately, setting the hook hard and reeling like crazy. You must get a good hookset and pull the fish out of cover before it has time to tie you up. That's why heavy tackle is so important. This battle requires brawn, not finesse.

BLUE CATS: LITTLE ROCK LAKES
Some very large blue catfish are stocked each summer in several small Little Rock-area lakes that are among the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Family and Community Fishing Program locations. The program is focused on getting more people in urban areas of the state involved in fishing. The lakes include those in Boyle Park, MacArthur Park, Kiwanis Park, Otter Creek Park, Ottenheimer Park, Hindman Park and War Memorial Park. Each body of water usually receives half a dozen or so of these trophy-sized fish, which are hand-delivered because they are too large to fit through the stocking tube.

These catfish, ranging in size up to 75 pounds or more, are trapped near the Game and Fish Commission's net-pen facilities on Lake Ouachita and Bull Shoals Reservoir where they congregate to eat food that escapes from the pens where trout and catfish are raised.

"Trapping and relocating these fish to urban settings presents a win-win solution to a problem," said AGFC urban fisheries biologist Clifton Jackson. "Our partnership with the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department helps the AGFC's Fisheries Division by offering inner-city residents the unusual opportunity to fish for trophy catfish in a metropolitan area."

It is almost impossible for catfish in any pond in a city park to attain the huge sizes of these cats, because fishing pressure and harvest is significantly higher in city parks. Blue cats require 10 to 30 years of natural growth to reach 20 to 40 pounds.

"These catfish are really not difficult to hook up with, and they will bite baits similar to other stocked catfish," Jackson said. But while they may be easy to hook, they still can be extremely difficult to land. Many are so big they escape anglers time and time again and remain in the ponds to be targeted by others. Use heavy rods, reels and line when tangling with these tackle-busters.

Be sure to read the current state fishing regulations guide before fishing these city-park ponds. Specific rules often apply to each water body. The pond at War Memorial Park, for example, is limited to fishermen 15 and younger or 65 and older.

BULLHEADS: LAKES DUNN AND AUSTELL
Because bullheads rarely weigh more than a pound or so, there probably aren't many Arkansans who target them specifically. Nevertheless, you'll need to catch one to complete your catfish grand slam.

Three species -- yellow, black and brown -- swim in Arkansas waters. The largest of these, the black bullhead, is a common resident of ponds, lakes, streams and bayous statewide. The yellow bullhead is the most widely distributed catfish in Arkansas. It tends to inhabit smaller, weedier bodies of water than its cousins, and is common statewide in the dense vegetation of shallow, clear bays in lakes, ponds and slow-moving streams. There are only a few records of brown bullheads in the state; they are very uncommon here.

Lakes Dunn and Austell in Village Creek State Park near Wynne are among the best bullhead lakes in the state. I've sat on the fishing docks of each lake and caught 20 bullheads in a single hour on chicken liver baits. Some of those fish weighed more than 2 pounds, which is exceptional for bullheads. Your fishing strategy can be as unencumbered as using a cane pole and small hook to dunk a worm or piece of liver in late evening. Fish on the bottom, using a split shot or a small slip-sinker to carry your bait down. Or use a bobber to float the bait just slightly above the bottom. You need not fish deep or far from shore.