You always hear the occasional catfish strike on an artificial lure, but targeting them with an artificial lure can be a total challenge. I tried the good'ol inline spiner for them. Just a small one. #9 Panther Martin. Those channel cats were definitely on the prowl. It was a total mix between them and river small mouths. The smallies were a little closer to shore line. I had to get my casts a little further out to catch the catfish. A catfish strike was a hard hit that feels a lot like a snagged log in the river. Only then, it will swim away and you know you've got a fish instead of a snag.