Back for round two on the Palouse River, this time with my wife and my sister targeting channel catfish.

We arrived at the KOA marina at 9:30am and started fishing around 10am. This time we stayed in the flats by the mouth instead of going upriver. We started in the real shallow areas adjacent to the channels in 1-2' ft of water using bottom rigs and cutbait. We immediately landed one and hooked and lost another, but then not a bite for about an hour.

After that lull we moved into the channel that was about 5' deep next to the bank and switched to a bobber with baits suspended 2-3' down with either cutbait or worms. That turned out to be the correct combo as we started catching consistently for the rest of the day. Ended with 40+ lbs of catfish including an 11lber, 10lber, several 3-6lbers, and one gut-hooked SMB. At 3:30pm, we decided we were thoroughly cooked from the sun and had our fill of catfish for the day. Cutbait and worms worked equally well.

One lesson I learned is to use heavier leader. I had 12lb fluoro rigged up at the start and we broke a couple fish off. I switched to 25lb fluoro instead and had no further issues. I will also definitely be using the KOA facilities again in the future. Very friendly staff and a functioning fish cleaning station made for a pleasant experience.

Great day on the water. I'll be back next year for sure!

---