New to SoMD - Where can I find some big Cats?

[Haastriker]

Originally posted to Main Forum but figured I may have more luck here...

I moved to SoMD back in April and haven't gotten out as much as I would like, so I want to make the most of my time when I do. I'm from the Mattawoman Creek area and enjoy seeing the large number of kayak anglers there, but its mostly bass and snakehead. Catfish are more my speed. Bait the hook, toss and relax on the water and wait for a good fight. I've caught a bunch in Mattawoman but maybe only 1 was of any noteable size. Best Catfishing Ive done is around the DC area near Teddy Roosevelt Island. I'm open to suggestions on some fun places to find big catfish and wouldn't mind switching it up to something similar. And no worries, I catch and release so I wont be raiding your favorite spot. Thanks in advance!

[Redfish12]

The 301 bridge area holds some monsters. On the Power Plant side there is a second discharge (be careful around the main one as it is DANGEROUS) that boats can’t easily get into and it’s a good spot to drop live or chunked spot / perch / menhaden. I used to fish it a lot when I lived in Arlington for Stripers and you had to weed through a lot of big cats to find a striper.

This is going to sound over the top, but I’d recommend at least an 80lb leader for fishing that discharge as the cats immediately go back into the structure and break you off. You’ll need some stout gear and tricks to win some of those battles.