"Aw man," said Montgomery, "it's not that big a deal in the summer. Besides, the tugs are your friend. When they come by, the droning of their engines sparks a catfish bite. You best be ready for it."

LAKE CALLING PANTHER
It took less than six months for this new 500-acre state lake near Crystal Springs to become a popular catfish destination.

"We thought it was going to be the big bass lake," said Garavelli. "It probably will be one day, but right off the bat, catfish have been king."

With catfish growing to 7 and 8 pounds in just three years, Calling Panther produced a lot of action for fishermen willing to bait up with night crawlers or goldfish.

"We first came here to bream fish and were using night crawlers we dug ourselves," said Jimmy Walker of Jackson. "We did OK with the bluegill, caught some big ones, too, but mostly we were catching catfish. We couldn't get on the bream steady for the catfish.

"So the next time we came, we brought bigger gear and bigger worms and we really worked them over. We took home our limit, and we didn't have but one under 5 pounds. That was 30 fish at an average of 6 or 7 pounds. That's a load."

Walker's secret for catching that 10 fish per angler limit? "There's not one. The lake is full of catfish," he pointed out. "You just keep fishing around and you'll find them. Shallow in the spring and summer, deep in the winter."

LAKE GEIGER
PAUL B. JOHNSON STATE PARK
Just south of Hattiesburg off State Route 49, Paul B. Johnson State Park provides a scenic retreat for campers and fishermen -- and lots of catfish, too.

"I really wish you wouldn't write about it," said Gerald Green of Hattiesburg. "It's pretty much been a secret hot spot for the few of us who have stumbled on it."

Green said his discovery of Geiger's prolific fishery for cats was accidental.

"I was here bass fishing and on two of my first 10 casts with a spinnerbait, I caught catfish," he said. "I was fishing the edge of lily pads and I caught a 5-pounder right off the bat, on my first cast. Not more than five minutes later, I hooked a 7-pounder about 20 yards away.

"I figured, if they'd take a spinnerbait, what could I do with night crawlers or minnows. My next trip down, I found out. Awesome, man, awesome."

Green suggested fishing the east side of the lake away from the campground and picnic areas.

"They just seem to like the quiet side best in 6 to 10 feet of water," he offered.

LAKE TOM BAILEY
Reopened in the fall of 2005, Tom Bailey hasn't become the prolific catfish hole that it was back in the 1990s when it was producing new state records for channel cats every few years. But we list it based on Ron Garavelli's reasoning.

"You have to, just based on its history," he suggested. "What made it a great catfish hole once is still there. It will just take a few years for the fish to become giants."

In the meantime, the ample stocking of channel cats has filled the 230-acre lake with fishing opportunity.

"You take night crawlers and a sinker and go out around the creek channel in July and you'll get all the action you want," said biologist Clay Ready. "We're managing this lake to be a trophy bream lake, and what that does is also promote good catfishing. There's plenty of keeper catfish now, and in the years to come, I bet the giants return."