"When the Allen Plant is producing the warmwater discharge, it also creates a good current and that is a prime place to set up and fish for blue catfish," Taylor said. "When I pull in to the mouth of the river and I can see the steam coming off the water, that means the warm water is being discharged. Plus, it means current is flowing though the South Fork River area. When conditions are like that, I'm going to fish there.

"I like to anchor in 10 to 20 feet of water and fan-cast all around the boat, including into the deeper water areas," Taylor said. "When conditions are right, it usually doesn't take too long to get a bite. It's not unusual to catch one or more 15- to 35-pound blues on a decent day. Plus, I know of some much larger ones that have been caught."

Melhorn is one of the anglers who have caught much larger blues in Lake Wylie. He caught a 55-pound blue in 2006.

"There are some huge blue catfish in the lake; however, there are a lot of blue catfish in the 12- to 20-pound class, and that's certainly a good-sized fish," Melhorn said. "There's a very realistic hope for hooking much larger fish as well.

"I certainly will fish the hot water discharge area," he said. "But much of my fishing is up the Catawba River, simply because I've got so much area to work with. The channel ledges are where I find most of the blues during the winter.

"I look for underwater bends, slight turns in an otherwise fairly straight stretch of the river, to help me pinpoint potentially productive areas," Melhorn said. "However, some places that have a steep slope to the channel wall are very good too."

Both Tailor and Melhorn agree that the best way to catch blues on Wylie during the winter is to anchor, especially for big fish.

"Through a lot of trial and error, I have found anchoring works much better for me on Wylie," Melhorn said. "I feel that patience is a real key to success, especially during the winter months. I'll typically give a spot an hour-and-a-half at least to produce. Sometimes I'll see fishermen hopping from one place to another after only giving it a few minutes to produce. Typically during the winter, that's not long enough."

Melhorn added that much of the time, the best depth will be in the 16-to 20-foot range on this upper portion of Lake Wylie. Some of the deep holes he'll anchor may be adjacent to a 30-foot-deep or deeper channel, but most of the blues will be caught along the edges of the drop.

"I feel the best fishing here really begins in December and goes right on through March," Melhorn said. "The techniques remain basically the same for the entire period."

These lakes along the Catawba River offer sensation wintertime opportunities to target big blue catfish. Use the tips from these anglers, or hire one as a guide, and enjoy some red-hot cold weather catfishing action.

For information on maps and access points, you can get detailed information online at the Duke Web site at www.duke-energy.com/lakes/levels.asp, and go to the lake facts and map for detailed information on all three of these lakes.