Big Otter Creek: Catfish 101, and other species?

[tweedwolfscream]

So my friend acquired a trailer in a campground on Big Otter Creek between Port Burwell and Vienna. He's not really an angler but has a license and wants to try, with my help. I'm going there for the first time this weekend. So I have a two-part question:

#1, if anyone knows, what species are abundant there? I've gathered there are trout/salmon runs during the spawn, and resident catfish (channels I'm assuming?) that stay all summer? Any other game fishes?

#2, assuming I'm right about the channel cats, that's probably what we'll be trying for this weekend. And I have absolutely zero experience even trying for them, so I need a little Catfish 101. I've seen a lot of contradictory info online about best techniques, but I know there are people on this forum who target channel cats from shore in moderately-flowing southwestern Ontario rivers, which is exactly what we're doing, so I'm hoping for tips on how to do it (with light, fairly generalized spinning gear). Should I thread the line through a bell sinker and let it sit on bottom? Or better to cast and let it drift under a bobber? What time of day is best? What river/bank features am I looking for? And what are the most reliable baits that don't involve complicated recipes or obscure products?

I'm thinking of using worms, chicken livers, store-bought frozen smelt, could also use salted minnows though I haven't heard of that as kitty bait.