The elimination of commercial fishing on the Missouri River adds up to fabulous catfishing opportunities for Show-Me juggers. The Missouri is said to be the muddiest river in the world. Old timers say it's so because of her eternal habit of eatin' up farms and shiftin' sand bars. The non-farming types, the old river fishermen, say that the Muddy Missouri got that way from the rootin' and wallerin' of the big ol' catfish that call the Missouri home.

The Missouri's reputation spans beyond that of its color. According to Captain Bill Heckman, who spent sixty four years on the river, whiskey and carelessness sent many a side-wheeler and sternwheeler to the bottom. It's said that boat hulls made great hideouts for big catfish. Perilous snags and ever moving sandbars claimed even more. "We used to separate the men from the boys at the mouth of the Missouri. The boys went up the Mississippi and the men up the Big Muddy," Heckman said. And when Heckman hauled in a 250 pound catfish, caught on a spoiled ham, people began to believe that the fishing on the Missouri was for the men too!

Well, Ol' Muddy has changed a good bit since the days of the sternwheelers. However, she's still muddy and still full of big catfish, even though the 250-pounders are gone. The plight of man's hand has shortened her course drastically and reduced the fish and wildlife populations within her boundaries for decades, but dramatic changes dictated by the Missouri Department of Conservation and Mother Nature have stimulated an increase in the catfishing opportunities of the Missouri River and other waters of the Show-Me state.

Jack Robinson, an Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) fisheries biologist, studied catfish on big rivers for over twenty years. His studies found that numbers of catfish, particularly big catfish, had dwindled considerably over the years. His efforts led to the July 1992 ban on commercial fishing for catfish. Doug Clements, an MDC fisheries research biologist, on the Missouri River, in northwest Missouri, near the Nebraska border, is conducting a research project on the effects of the commercial ban. "Our study efforts are taking a look at the effects of the ban on channel and flathead catfish on this part of the river," Clements stated. "Our initial feeling is that there has been a, positive response. We are seeing increasing catch rates among sports fishermen, but enough data has not yet been collected to determine the full effects of the ban."

Catfishermen from across the state, who have many years of experience fishing big rivers, feel that there has been a dramatic increase in the catfish populations since the 1992 ban on commercial fishing. Mike Paffrath, from Warrenton, is a ten-year veteran of jugging the Missouri River for catfish. Mike jugs the 18 miles of water between Hermann and Washington. According to Paffrath, 1994 And 1995 were his most suc- cessful years ever. "I can catch catfish all day on my 1-liter bottle jug sets now, whereas a few years ago I really had to work to put a couple of fish in the boat. There is no doubt in my mind that the ban on commercial fishing has greatly improved the catfishing
opportunities for sportfishermen in the part of the Missouri I fish between Hermann and Washington," Mike stated. Paffrath noted that he began fishing the Missouri during the summer. "The dogdays of summer make for tough bass fishing. The cool breezes on the Missouri gave him a tolerable option. I quickly discovered that jugfishing for cats was exciting and catches were good," Paffrath pointed out. "Also, a factor I enjoy about fishing the Missouri that is hard to come by elsewhere, is solitude. I seldom see more than two other boats on the stretch of water I fish.""

The tactics Paffrath utilizes are simple enough. He simply drifts along with his 15-20 jug sets. Mike indicated that drifting by the ends of dikes has been one of his most suc- cessful methods. He varies the depth of his sets according to the depth of water, but most are set between three to six feet, without weights. Cut baits and worms are his favorite baits.

Joey Walters, of Portageville is a Mississippi River catfisherman. Joey quickly pointed out that 1996 was the best year he had ever experienced jugging for catfish on the Mississippi. "Numbers of 2-3 pound catfish are up a lot and I caught more 25-30 pound blues last year than ever. My largest blue weighed 47 pounds. Without the commercial fishing, we have a better chance of catching some big catfish," Walters stated.
Walters uses 2-foot lengths of 1-inch plastic pipe for jugs. "It is a little expensive, but the pipe is tough and lasts a long time. Too, the pipe stands up when a fish is on," Joey noted.

Walters advised that jugging is best when the Mississippi is at 23 feet at New Madrid. "The water is high enough then that you can float over the dikes without hanging up. During lower water you have to go around them," Joey stated. "Regardless, the fish are behind the dikes.

There is no doubt that the 1992 ban on commercial fishing has helped create a catfishing bonanza on the big rivers of Missouri. However, Mother Nature pitched in to compliment the positive effects of the ban with some positive effects of her own, at least for fish and fishermen by providing the great flood of 1993. Gordon Farabee is the Big River Programs Coordinator for MDC. Farabee is the author of the MDC publication "Fishing Missouri's Big Rivers". The 12-page booklet is chock full of good information for anyone thinking about getting started fishing on the Missouri and Mississippi. Access points are noted as well.

Farabee explained that big river fish have adapted their reproductive cycles to the natural occurrence of floods, "They rely on floods to successfully spawn and for the young to survive". The great flood of 1993 has proven to be a tremendous boon to big river fish populations. Fish were able to utilize much of the original floodplain for feeding, spawning, escape and growth. Levee construction over several decades has kept fish from accessing much of the floodplain area. The rushing waters of the '93 flood broke many of the levees, gouging out huge blue holes at the break sites, and reclaiming hundreds of acres of floodplain habitat.

Catfishermen from across the state, who have many years of experience fishing big rivers, feel that there has been a dramatic increase in the catfish populations since the 1992 ban on commercial fishing. The 93 flood lasted so long that it kept fishermen at bay for months. Growth rates among fish were excellent and spawning success was the best it had been in years. Farabee noted, "If we are successful in protecting and preserving habitats for aquatic life created by the flood, we will see improved fishing on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers for years to come".

Bell Cooper, Outdoor Guide - Early Summer 1998