- 1). Find a part of the river that you think holds catfish. Some of the primary habitats for catfish are holes, log jams and undercut banks. The fish generally spend the day in deeper water, then move into shallow water under the cover of darkness to feed.
- 2). Secure one end of the line to a sturdy object on the bank of the river. Trees or stumps are good natural options. If they are not available, you can drive a stake into the ground or attach the line to cinder blocks. Whatever the line is attached to, it must be heavy enough that it will not slide into the river as fish pull on the line.
- 3). Play the trot line out as you motor in a straight line away from your anchor. As you come to each of the hooks on the trot line, bait them. Some of the best baits for catfish are night crawlers, shad and minnows that are cut up.
- 4). Tie an empty milk jug to a piece of line. Tie that line to the main trot line, one-quarter of the distance between the anchor spot and the end of the line. The float line should be of sufficient length so the hooks are suspended a foot or two off the bottom.
- 5). Move across the river until the float and all of the hooks are in the water. Attach a two-foot piece of rope to an anchor -- cinder blocks work well, as do regular boat anchors. Attach that rope to the end of the trot line and drop it to the bottom.
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