We hadn’t been anchored for more than a couple minutes when the tip of one of the rods stationed at the back of Rod Bates’ boat began to dance.

I somewhat clumsily removed the rod from its holder and set the hook.

A short time later a citation-sized channel cat was securely in the net.

I was fishing the lower Susquehanna River, not far downstream of Three Mile Island, with Rod Bates, owner of a Susquehanna River guide service.

A few falls ago I’d joined Bates for a fantastic morning of flathead catfish action, when we’d boated several fish in excess of 30 pounds.

So when the opportunity presented itself to join him for an outing directed toward channel cats I jumped on it.

“Channel cats are a great resource,” Bate noted. “They bite when it’s hot out and when it’s cold. When the river is high and muddy, when it’s low and clear.”

As a guide, Bates has found channel cats to be a reliable species, particularly since the Susquehanna’s world class smallmouth bass fishery has been declining during the past decade.

Channel cats not only give anglers plenty of action, since they are abundant clients can go home with fish for the pan.

In addition to being plentiful and relatively easy to catch, Bates appreciates the simplicity with which they can be taken.

“You don’t need a lot of specialized gear,” he stated. “The same gear that works for bass is ideal for channel cats. And you don’t need to collect live bait, as you do for flathead catfish.”

During my time on the water with Bates, the clinic he provided reinforced his claims. In terms of bait, all we used was Team Catfish Sudden Impact Fiber Bait. It’s a relatively viscous concoction that’s packed in a pail.

Baiting up was easy – simply use a spatula-like device to place a gob of the stuff within a treble hook. And though it might be best not to know what it’s made of — and I suspect the maker wouldn’t be anxious to give away the formula — it wasn’t overly smelly or nasty.

In terms of terminal rigging a short (one to three foot) leader was constructed of the same 17 pound test fluorocarbon line he uses as his regular running line. A barrel swivel was used to connect the leader and line. Above the leader an egg sinker was slid up the line, and then a “sinker bumper” that protected the knot from the sinker. The pool we fished was fairly shallow – three to four feet deep. So we used a light egg sinker, about a quarter ounce.

Deeper water and/or stronger current would have required a heavier sinker.

On the business end of the leader went a size 4 or 6 treble hook.

On the back of Bates’ boat was an aluminum rod rack that spanned the width of the boat.

The rack held multiple rod holders, so several rods could be fished out the back with minimal tangling.

We used four rods – 7-foot medium heavy casting rods – coupled with appropriate low profile casting reels.

During the oh-too-short evening that I fished with Bates the action was consistent.

Every few minutes a rod would get active, and he would help coach me on the proper way to test to see if the forktail was still there, a method somewhat different from my bass/walleye fishing background.

Despite my missing a few opportunities we boated at least 10 channel cats up to 25 inches.

Most were in the 16 to 18 inch range.

All the action came from one pool.

When we initially pulled up to the spot we anchored at the head of the pool in water around a foot deep. Casts were made directly downstream, spaced at the proper intervals to keep lines separated.

When the action would cool down Bates would pay out more anchor line so we’d be working new water. After each move there would be another flurry of action.

Though this adventure took place on the Susquehanna River, our area has many fine channel cat fisheries that are largely ignored by anglers.

This includes the Allegheny River, Mahoning Creek Lake, Crooked Creek Lake, Shenango Lake, Lake Arthur, and Pymatuning Lake, to name just a few.

Jeff Knapp is a fishing columnist for the Butler Eagle