ANY HARDCORE CAT FISHERMAN HERD OF ANY CATS OVER 25LB BEING CAUGHT AROUND HERE

[hotscrape]

I CAUGHT A 39" 25LB CAT 2 WEEKENDS AGO,GREW UP FISHING THE RED IT WAS MY BIGGEST CAT YET. JUST WANDERING IF ANYBODY HAS HERD OF MANY THAT SIZE AROUND HERE,I KNOW FURTHER NORTH TOWARDS DRAYTON U HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT ONE THAT SIZE JUST LOOKING TO SEE IF MANY HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AROUND HERE.THANKS FOR INFO

[Little Stewie]

Where is around here?

[CatManLee]

I think it was last year or the year before, but either way I was fishing north of Grand Forks about 8-10 miles and landed a Catfish that weighed 27lbs. I weighed it on my electronic scale that is "usually" pretty accurate, and it read 27-something. It was an absolute football of a fish and there is no way it could have been any fatter. As far as the length goes, I couldn't get an accurate reading on the length...my ruler only goes to 32", but it was a good ways beyond that. I am fairly positive that it wasn't longer than 39" inches.

Under "normal" weight conditions, I would have to guess my fish would have been a 22lb-24lb maybe? My fish was a right time-right place kind of fish.

I do believe though, that there is a ND State Record Cat swiming somewhere on the Red River in the U.S. I have caught too many 20lb+ fish for there not to be...???

Like mentioned above I usually catch atleast a couple 20lb Cats in and around Grand Forks, but most of my 20lb++ Cats have been caught up around Pembina in the fall.

So yah, occasionally they are caught, but it's something to be proud of...it doesn't happen too often. Congratulations.

I'm hoping to catch a couple of those this weekend. Talk to ya'll later.

[hotscrape]

LITTLE STEWIE THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND

[hotscrape]

FARGO MOOREHEAD AREA

[Ray1]

Nice cat Hotscrape. Hope i can get one that big.

[ibwhnt]

One of my trips this year we landed five cats over 20 pounds. 21,22,25,26,27 pounds. The biggest this year is a 27 1/2 pounder which happened during my first triple of the year. 27 1/2, a 22 and a 10 pounder all North of Grand Forks

[Little Stewie]

That is a huge cat for down south. I havent heard of any bigger coming from your area. What do you usually use for bait.

[hanson]

I agree. 25lbs is a huge channel cat anywhere this side of the Canadian border, from Fargo-Moorhead, thats absolutely incredible. She must have been lost.

[Scoot]

Yep, them's big fish! In case there are doubters out there, I can attest to the accuracy of ibwhnt's report- he's not BSing and he's spot on with the weights (weighed with digital scale that is accurate).

My biggest in Fargo is 23. Seems they run a little bigger as you move North. GF has produced some really big fish the last few years, compared to past years.

25 lbs is big- I don't care where you are!!!

[fiskyknut]

All my fishing is from Drayton and N to the border and I see a few each year that'll for sure go past the 25 pound mark. I don't hang them on hooks for a weight guesstimate on a handscale but have a pretty good idea what they'll weigh once I get measurements.

2 years ago in mid August a 35+ pounder was taken near the GG access so there are some record class fish swimming here in the states!

39 incher is a whale of a Catfish man, good going!

fiskyknut

[Bassman55]

I have taken one that was 21 pounds in Wahpeton. That was by far the biggest though. 10-12 pounds is more the norm for the biggest of the day.

[Ed Carlson]

32# near Fargo, 31# near Whap in 97. Seen many in the hi 20's all over the upper and central Red.

#30's, yup they are around in greater numbers that most cat's think.

[skies_and_eyes]

I caught and released a 36.5 inch cat (no scale) when I was going to school up there. There is some pretty good fishing right in town there, I caught a few over 30 in in the four years I was up there.

[fishuhalik]

What is it about the red that grows 'em so big, especially up in canada? Down here in the metro, a 20lb cat is a lifetime fish

[DTro]

 Originally Posted By: fishuhalik

What is it about the red that grows 'em so big, especially up in canada? Down here in the metro, a 20lb cat is a lifetime fish

I think its a combination of forage, lack of predators, and strict restrictions.

[Scoot]

Yep, dtro hit the nail on the head. The density and diversity of forage is unbelievable in the system- one or two species of forage have a bad year (or decade) and the slack is picked up by other species. Keeps them kitties full of food!

[fishuhalik]

If that's the case, I would think other predators-walleyes, pike, etc.-would be huge as well. Is the fishing for these species just as good? I haven't heard much about those "other" species

[hanson]

 Originally Posted By: fishuhalik

If that's the case, I would think other predators-walleyes, pike, etc.-would be huge as well. Is the fishing for these species just as good?

Yes!

Unlike lake walleyes, river walleyes definitely have a time of year where the bite is "on". Spring and fall are no doubt these two periods of time. During the Cat's Incredible Tourny 3 years ago, my partner boated a 29" eye that was pushing 10lbs easy on cut sucker. There were a bunch of other big eyes caught during the tourney that year as well. While prefishing the tourny last year, I stumbled upon a bunch of nice "eater" 16-18" eyes and tucked a few in the cutbait cooler for dinner later. There are eyes in that 12-13lb range swimming on the US side of the Red. Everyone knows about the terrific walleye (Greenback) fishery & catfishery on the Candadian side that I think the US side remains overlooked still.

The river is also full of carp, sheepshead, suckers, and goldeyes as well.

Its a pretty amazing fishery in my opinion.

[Scoot]

OK, ignore what hanson said! All the walleyes on the US side of the Red are small and there aren't many of them. Definitely not a fishable population for sure.

It's a definite fish factory. Spring and Fall are great times for big walleyes on the Southern stretches of the Red. In the summer the eyes become pretty nomadic and it's really tough to target them. That's when kitty chasin' time comes...

[fishuhalik]

Ah, I've seen pictures of the "greenbacks" before, I didn't connect the dots that this was the same red that the greenbacks came outta. Man, those are some beautiful fish, and from what I've read some of the best ice walleye fishing in the world

[CANOPY SAM]

Actually, Fishuhalik, you should try spending a little time on the Minnesota River. There are scary big Flathead cats in there, and spring and fall channel catfishing can produce some girls pushing easily into the twenties.

The Minnesota River reminds me a lot of the Red River of the North, only it's a little cleaner than the Red. They both have biomass that's unbelievable so the fish grow fast. Check out the forum on the Minnesota River. There are amazing walleyes, saugers and catfish to be had almost everywhere in there.

The Mississippi both south and north of the Twin Cities also has great number of big cats, both flathead and channel.

[CANOPY SAM]

Oops, I almost forgot about the Crow River just a few miles west of the cities. That's another great fishery for big cats.

You'll catch numbers of smaller, 2-6 lb. fish, but there are some fat old pigs swimming in there as well.