Drift Fishing

I've read a lot about drifting for big blues. And I've watched videos. And I've read some more. I understand the basics. But I've went a couple times and haven't had any luck. I predominantly catfish and it seems there are several guys here that are seriously into drifting for big blues. Would anyone be willing to show me the ropes hands-on? I've approached a few people and it seems people are hesitant, which I can understand. I'm just looking to shorten my learning curve and get a better understanding not only of drift fishing but also how to fish the river out of a boat in general. I'm new to fishing the river out of a boat. Not looking for a free ride, I'll gladly pay for the knowledge.

Thanks in advance.

I'm eager to hear some responses to this as well. I've just recently started doing a little Ohio River fishing and I'm really out of my element too. Having grown up fishing farm ponds and good size lakes/reservoirs, river fishing is a totally different animal.

The thought of tangling with a big catfish prompted me to go and spend some money on four different setups. I think I'll try for them down at Barkley in a few weeks, some biguns down there.

hi there I see your from Irvington I live in Brandenburg I fish the river a lot. and I do drift at times. best advice I can give is look for current brakes with deep water use a egg sinker rig 2 to 3 oz egg sinker about a foot leader 5/0 or even bigger size circle hook. at this time of year I use live bait or skipjack. let it hit bottom reel up a few feet and start drifting and keep a eye on your fish finder for depth changes if no luck redrift the hole in a deferent spot in the hole. hope this helps and if the river has a little current in it that always helps:-))

Yeah I don't have a problem with the setup. I'm fishing a slip sinker rig with a 3oz no roll sinker, barrel swivel with a 12-18 inch leader and a 8/0 circle hook. I'm looking for river familiarization probably more than anything with finding fish.

im glad you have the basics down I guess what you need is to find fishing holes. its simple enough start at the outer bends of the river for the most part they are deeper and look at the land scape if its a steep bank most likely its deeper water. and what I look for is a deep hole not just a deep run. deep runs can hold fish but! deep holes at the start of them hold the better fish.

After re-reading my post, I realize I may not have been clear about what I meant by learning hands-on. I'm looking for a one or to trip understudy type of thing. I'd like to go with someone and watch what they do, how they read their electronics (if they do) and what they look for and see things live. Not looking to steal your spot or anything like that.