Phil "The Catfish" King of Corinth, Mississippi, one of the nation's leading catfishermen, has proved his prowess in national, regional and state catfishing tournaments and derbies. He has won over 20 biggest catfish-of-a-tournament titles and the 2001 Catmaster's Classic and the 2002 & 2003 Cabela's King Cat Tournaments. He also has taken first place in the overall biggest blue cat in the National Catfish Derby. As a catfishing guide at Pickwick Lake on the Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee border, King has fished in all types of water and weather conditions. Here, King gives us some of his best secrets for catching catfish.

Phil King explains, "The first secret of catfishing isn't so much a secret, as it is a necessity. You have to have the right equipment to be a successful cat catcher. When I'm drift fishing, there are two rods I like to use. In a light to medium current, I'll fish with the Phil King Signature Series King Cat Cabela's 7-foot 6-inch rod. If I'm fishing below a hydroelectric plant or in a strong current, I like the Phil King Signature Series King Cat Cabela's 7-foot heavy-action rod. I match these two rods with Cabela's Line Counter reels and have won $21,000 plus in cash and prizes with this combination.

"My main line is 65-pound test Spiderwire Stealth line. For a leader, I'll use Berkley's 60-pound-test Big Game monofilament. I use Spiderwire Stealth because it gives me the sensitivity I need to feel a catfish in a heavy or a light current. Catfish don't always give you the big-bang bite, and a 30-pound catfish can feel like a 3-pound catfish when it first takes the bait. But, you also need a strong, powerful line to set the hook on a big cat.

"On the bottom of my leader, I use a 2-ounce bell sinker, whether there's a heavy current or no current at all. I use a double-hook rig with a Daichii No. 5 Live-Bait Series hook with a wide gap. This hook makes setting the hook or just reeling down on the fish to let the fish hook itself easy."

King believes the best bait for catching catfish is the bait found naturally in the body of water you're fishing. "However, I carried shad from Pickwick Lake when I fished West Point Lake on the Alabama/Georgia line, recently and still won the tournament," King reports. "I knew I wouldn't get to the lake in time to find and catch shad there. However, I really think if you have time to catch bait from the body of water where you'll be fishing, then you'll increase your chances of success.

"One of my favorite catfish baits is roosters' livers because they're bloody and smelly. Catfish key in on smell. Red blood to any fish means a meal. I always like to have on-hand at least three different types of catfish baits."

Why I Like A Depth Finder

"I constantly watch my depth finder when I'm fishing," King explains. "To me a depth finder is like a set of encyclopedias, because no matter how many times you read it, you can consistently learn from it. A depth finder can show you the contours of the bottom of a body of water. You need to look for bottom breaks, humps, riprap and other types of bottom changes since abrupt changes in the bottom are where you'll find cats. A 2- or a 3-foot hole in the bottom is big enough for a 30-pound catfish to lay in and wait on bait to come by."

King uses his depth finder not only to look for bottom breaks where cats may hold, but also to see and catch suspended catfish. "When I spot suspended catfish, my depth finder tells me at what depth of water the cats are holding," King says. "Then I'll use my Cabela's Line Counter reel to get my bait down to the right depth of water where I see the cats. I'll usually fish with four different rods set at various depths. My Line Counter reel will tell me the depth at which I catch a cat. After I catch that first cat, I move the other three rods to that depth where the fish are the most active. Catfish will suspend above the bottom when the current isn't moving. When the current comes on, the fish will stay closer to or on the bottom, behind a current break like a rock or down in a hole to let the current pass over them."

Why I Troll For Cats

King enjoys trolling because it allows him to cover a vast amount of water and different water depths. "When I troll, I'll put four different-length rods in rod holders and lower each to a different depth, King reports. "If I see a school of catfish, I'll hesitate over them and give them a chance to bite. If they don't bite, I'll keep trolling because fish aren't always actively feeding. I like Drift Master rod holders because they're made of steel and have a 0-degree angle for trolling and also allow for a 25-degree angle for anchor-style fishing. Drift Master rod holders not only hold your rods while you're trolling or anchor fishing, but also will hold your rods vertical while you run down the river with your big motor to your next spot without having to put up your equipment."

How The Size Of Baits Affects The Size of Catfish You Catch

"The size bait you use often determines the size catfish you'll catch," King emphasizes. "If I'm fishing for little cats 5 pounds or less, I'll fish with crappie, minnows, chicken livers or wigglers. I've caught as many as 100 pounds of little cats in a half a day of fishing. For really big cats, I'll use a bait at least 3-fingers wide. Once I fished a tournament that had a 10-fish limit and brought in 10 cats, with a total weight of 112 pounds using big baits. When you fish with bigger baits, you don't have as many bites, but when you get a bite, it's usually a big catfish. For my personal dining pleasure though, I prefer the smaller cats that are 5 pounds or less."

How King Learned To Catch Cats

"Before I was a guide, I fished commercially for about 12 years," King recalls. "On a good day of fishing, I made between $200 to $400. However, commercial fishing for cats is one of the most-physically-demanding jobs that you can have. The human body can't withstand this intense kind of fishing every day. Even when I wasn't on the water, I had to repair equipment and clean catfish. A younger commercial fisherman probably could make about $1000 in a week now.

"But, thanks to my commercial-fishing experience, I've learned how, where and when to catch catfish on different areas of lakes and rivers. That experience has paid off for me as a tournament catfisherman and a guide. Another thing commercial catfishing has taught me is how to clean cats quickly. This knowledge has been beneficial for me since I always clean the cats for the parties I guide. I can clean a 2-pound catfish in 15-20 seconds. Here's how.

"First, I cut the fish's skin behind each of its two pectoral fins. Then, I come under the back top fin with my knife and cut down to the two cuts on the sides. Using a pair of skinning pliers, I take hold of the skin on one side of the cat at the cut I've made behind the pectoral fin. I'll then pull the hide halfway down that side of the cat, then turn the fish over and grab the skin on the other side of the cat and pull it half way down the catfish. Next, I grab the skin in the middle with my pliers and pull, and the skin will all come off in one piece. Holding the head in one hand and the body of the fish in the other, I break the head away from the body. Then, I take the knife and cut off the entrails. Using this technique, I've cleaned 230 pounds of catfish for clients in 50 minutes."

What's The Future Of Catfishing

Interested anglers have organized numerous catfish clubs in the past 10 years. Also, now, more than ever before, more people fish in catfish tournaments because there's more prize money offered than ever before. This year, the Cabela's King Classic in Sheffield, Alabama, already has a guaranteed $25,000 payout, which includes a $10,000 cash prize or a fully-rigged ProCraft boat, for first place. To participate in the championship, you have to qualify on the Cabela's King Cat circuit.

As Phil "The Catfish" King says, "One of the reasons I like to fish in the Cabela's King Cat Tournaments is because I meet so many nice people, and I continue to learn new techniques and baits for catching cats in different areas of the country. For me, catfishing is a constant quest for knowledge, and I love the competitive aspect of the tournaments."