You haven't felt power until you've held a rod being pulled downward by a surging flathead catfish. And one of Arkansas' rivers or lakes is just the place to experience that power. Photo by Keith Sutton

Looking for a place where you might set a hook in the jaw of a giant catfish this season? Chances are good that you won't have to go far. The following five bodies of water provide superb possibilities for trophy cat aficionados throughout the Natural State.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Most catfish fans agree that the best trophy cat water in Arkansas is the Mississippi River, a mother lode of heavyweight blues, flatheads and channel cats. James Patterson of Mississippi River Guide Service -- (901) 383-8674, www.bigcatfishing.com -- is one of those folks. He's on the "Father of Waters" 100-plus days each year. And when it's big whiskerfish he's targeting, he as often as not fishes around eddies near the ends of the river's many wing dikes.

"I fish the current along the edges of these eddies, or whirlpools, of water," Patterson said. "I find that catfish in the middle of the eddy water are not active. Active cats are along the edges, so that's where I anchor and fish."

Patterson relies on two primary baits to entice his quarry. "I use live shad a lot, even though they're hard to find," he said. "Cut skipjack herrings also are good bait."

A simple three-way-swivel rig is Patterson's standard. The 2-foot hook leader is tipped with a 3/0 to 7/0 Eagle Claw Kahle hook. The 8-inch weight leader is tied to a 3-ounce sinker.

"I anchor above the hole I intend to fish," Patterson said, "then cast to the spot and let the reel free-spool until the weight hits bottom. Sometimes I'll have out 200 feet of line. Big cats usually hit hard and quick, so rod holders are necessary if you fish more rods than you can hold."

It would seem that bait tossed to the edge of one of these huge suck holes would swirl round and round. But when it's done properly, the bait will sink quickly to the bottom and remain stationary. Reposition your rig if necessary to achieve this end, and then prepare for the rod-jarring strike that will soon follow if a giant cat is nearby. Often, big cats cruise slowly through a hole, waiting for something to jolt their taste buds before they rush in to strike. Allow the bait to sit up to 10 minutes; if there's no bite by then, move and try another eddy hole.

LITTLE RIVER ABOVE LAKE MILLWOOD
Several topnotch catfish anglers I've spoken to believe that the Little River, one of the tributaries feeding Lake Millwood in southwest Arkansas, has the potential to produce a new world-record blue or flathead catfish. One of those anglers is "Catfish" Kay Emmons of Ashdown, one of the state's best trophy cat anglers. She's hooked some enormous Little River cats.

"I hooked one using a heavy surf rod with a Penn reel and 120-pound-test braid," she told me. "My tackle held up fine, but that fish -- a flathead, I'm sure -- straightened out a 7/0 hook. It was huge."

Kay usually fishes bait beneath a bobber, saying that she'd rather let her rig float than put it on the bottom.

"I use an 8-inch-long weighted float above a 6/0 octopus hook or an 8/0 Kahle. About 15, 20 feet above the hook I have a bobber stopper. I put two or three split shot right above my hook, but no other weight is used."

After anchoring her boat well above the hole she intends to fish, Kay sets the rig adrift. "I keep an eye on my float and let my line go free," she noted. "When it gets 100, 150 yards down the river, I stop it and just let it ride there. That way I'm not on top of my hole spooking fish."

Kay usually fishes with five outfits -- two heavy-action 7-foot surf rods paired with Penn baitcasting reels and 120-pound braid, and three 7-foot medium-heavy graphite rods paired with Shimano baitcasters and 75-pound braid. The rods are placed in holders on her boat -- two for trophy-class cats, three for smaller fish.

"I use shad gizzards to bait the biggies," she said. "They're natural forage, and because you can smell them two miles down the river, they draw catfish in."

Patience, says Kay, is the virtue that will help her catch a new world record.