The author lifts two dandy blue catfish that he caught in quick succession on the Ohio River. When blue catfish school up in deep water, the action can be fast and furious! Photo courtesy of Tom Berg.

Some Indiana catfish anglers fish year 'round. It can be cold, rainy or even snowing -- nothing stops them. But those are the die-hards. Most whiskerfish lovers wait until the heat of the summer to grab their gear and head for the water. An evening or night of catfishing with a warm summer breeze is exactly what the doctor ordered. It's part of their annual summer ritual, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Summertime fishing for catfish in the Hoosier State is always great, because the heat of summer doesn't really slow down these game fishes' ravenous appetites. As a matter of fact, the warmer water increases their metabolism and makes them feed even more often. At night or during the day, catfish always seem to be willing to bite. What could be better?

Although Indiana is home to a wide variety of lakes, reservoirs and river systems where catfish thrive, Indiana Game & Fish magazine has chosen five exceptional waters to help narrow your search this summer. Read on to find out more.

WABASH RIVER

When it comes to excellent catfish waters in Indiana, the Wabash River always ranks near the top. This river flows across much of the state, providing access to thousands of fishermen, regardless of their ages or locations. This river is also absolutely full of catfish, including channels, blues and flatheads.

From its northernmost point near Huntington, flowing across to the western edge of the state and then down to where it meets the Ohio River, the Wabash is certainly one of the best places for Hoosier whiskerfish anglers to make a catch. This river has tremendously varied habitat, from deep water to shallow, from straight sections of silt-covered bottom to winding bends and exposed gravel bars. Most of these places can provide good catfish action at one time or another.

According to Tom Stefanavage, one of Indiana's big rivers biologists for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Wabash River is an extremely diverse river system.

"The river is so different from upstream to downstream," he said. "Around Lafayette, the distance between river bends and pools might be only be a half mile, while in downstate Posey County and Gibson County, the distance between bends might be 20 miles in some places."

The long, straight stretches of river really don't have much fish-holding habitat, so look for deeper pools, river bends, sandbars and shorelines with an abundance of logjams or other structure. Flatheads, in particular, are usually associated with heavy structure. Thick logjams and piles of broken concrete along the shoreline are favorite flathead hideouts. Channel catfish also frequent these same areas, but they can actually be found almost anywhere on the river.

Blue catfish are not very common in the shallower northern sections of the Wabash. They are much more common down south nearer to the confluence with the Ohio River, where the Wabash is a much bigger river.

"We typically only find blue cats in the Wabash in the deepest water," said Stefanavage. "The stronghold for blue catfish in the Wabash is from about Mt. Carmel, Illinois (where the White River joins the Wabash), downstream to the Ohio River. That's about the lower 100 miles of the river."

Of course, there are always a few fish that don't follow the rules. In 2008, Wabash River angler Ben North caught a giant blue catfish while fishing the river near Lafayette. His catch measured 47 inches long and was estimated to weigh about 65 pounds. Like many trophy catfish anglers, North practiced catch-and-release on his big blue cat to help protect the resource.