Blue Catfish – The Elusive Deep-Water Prize Catch!

Do Blue Catfish prefer deep water or shoreline structure when the sunlight is hot?

Blue catfish are the guys that like to stick as close to the bottom as possible usually.  They prefer the cool in the bottom to the warmer water at the top.  They live in the big rivers, and you can find them heading upstream for cooler waters during the summer, and downstream to feed in the winter.  These are probably the only cats you’re going to catch winter fishing.
Blues generally stay away from the sunlight.  You will see them come up to the shoreline at night, or sometimes when there isn’t much of a current.  They prefer to stay deep down where the current isn’t strong, as long as they can find food there. 
The temperature range of blues is a water temperature of anywhere from 70 to 82 degrees.  They will often hang out in colder waters than that, but rarely much hotter.  If the waters are pretty calm, you might find one in water as warm as 85 degrees.
This is one of the reasons blues are such a prize to catch.  They hang around hidden in the bottom, they’re big, and they put up a good fight when you do get a bite.  They’re among the hardest to catch.
If you do want to get a blue, trotlining, limblining and any other technique where you can get deep down in the river, are all good techniques.  And, be sure to use especially smelly bait.  These guys are way down on the bottom, and they rely much more on their sense of smell than sight when looking for food.