A fishing-line recycling tube at a Florida boat ramp is not a general tackle trash can. It can accept clean monofilament and fluorocarbon line, but not braided line, wire leaders, hooks, or sinkers. For catfish anglers who regularly fish around … Read the rest
Author: Tony Ray
Lead-Free Catfish Sinkers: Florida Rig Choices Explained
A catfish rig lost in a Florida river is frustrating, but the consequence can extend beyond the price of a sinker. Lead weights left in waterways can be swallowed by birds. Switching to a lead-free sinker reduces that particular hazard, … Read the rest
Florida River Gauges: Catfish Trips and No-Wake Rules
Before launching for catfish on a Florida river, particularly after heavy rain, check two different things: what the water is doing and what boats are allowed to do on your exact stretch of river. A gauge can show a rise … Read the rest
Florida Saltwater Catfish: Hardhead vs. Gafftopsail
A whiskered fish comes over the rail at a Florida pier, bridge or inshore boat, and plenty of anglers immediately call it a hardhead.
Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is a gafftopsail catfish, or “sailcat,” a different native species with … Read the rest
FWC Flathead Catfish Meeting Canceled: What’s Next
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has canceled the Oct. 9 public meeting in DeFuniak Springs on flathead catfish in Panhandle rivers, citing potential tropical-storm impacts and public safety.
The cancellation changes the immediate calendar, not the underlying … Read the rest
Florida Flathead Catfish: FWC Opens Panhandle Debate
Florida has reached an awkward point with flathead catfish: they are prized by trophy anglers and watched closely by fisheries biologists. That tension is now moving into public view as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gathers input on … Read the rest
Escambia River Catfish Are Biting Hard and September May Keep It Going
September has arrived in Northwest Florida, but the Escambia River has not received the message that summer catfishing should be winding down. The current Escambia River channel catfish bite remains strong, and the more useful story is not which bait … Read the rest
How Florida Catfish Tournament Teams Can Build A Better Practice Day In 2026
A productive Florida catfish tournament practice day should answer more than one question. Finding fish matters, but tournament teams need to learn which water levels, depths, bait presentations and travel routes make those fish repeatable. A single large flathead found … Read the rest
Summer Catfish Deep Holes: Why Current Beats Depth
Florida anglers have been taught for generations to find the deepest water in August and put a bait on the bottom. That advice is not useless, but it becomes dangerous when summer catfish deep holes are treated as automatic fish … Read the rest
Florida Just Refreshed Big Catch—How Big Does a Catfish Need to Be to Qualify?
Florida’s Big Catch program has a new look, and for catfish anglers the useful question is wonderfully simple: how big does a fish actually need to be? A Florida Big Catch catfish does not have to threaten a state record, … Read the rest