Catfish-ing?

[Guest]

Does anyone know of any decent waters where to catch some cats? I would like to try my hand at catching some this year. Never caught any here in MInnesota... any pointers? Thanks!

[Dennis Steele]

Hey Rookie
Any of the rivers around town have good populations of cats in them.Check out any of the river forums or the catfish forum for more info.

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Minnesota River Guided Fishing
"fishhead"
[email protected]
www.mnriverguidedfishing.com

[Guest]

The Minnesota River is a good choice. I spend a lot time down in Mankato for college and there are some areas off of 169 that are accessible for fishing. A few buddies of mine and I have caught some cats down there in the past. The Mississippi is another choice. Dennis knows his stuff and so does the rest of the Staff so don't be afraid to ask some questions, they'll lend you a hand.

Good Fishin, Matt.

Fishing Reports from MJ5 and Fishing Minnesota...
http://frida.blc.edu/~mjohnson/mj5.html

[This message has been edited by MJ5 (edited 04-28-2003).]

[wounded minnow]

Has anyone had any success catching cats on the Mississippi above the Coon Rapids Dam? I have tried it a few times, but with no luck. I wonder if I am using the right kind of bait. Any suggestions?

[Fish-n-Freak]

There are many good holes for cats between Coon Rapids and Elk River, I use crawlers and catch Cats, Walleyes and Smallmouth from the same spots.

Good Luck.
Steve

[deadeye]

I spend 97% of my time fishing the section below the coon rapids dam (specifically i fish the river about five miles on either side of the 694 bridge) and there are a ton of good spots for catfishing. I have also fished directly above the dam with good luck. I also have to say that the minnesota river is a awesome place to fish if the conditions are right. there are also a few lakes in the metro that are stocked with channel cats, one of them is long lake in new brighton. they can be good as well but night fishing is usually the most productive time. overall I think we are lucky, we have some really good fishing for cats in the metro area.
><>deadeye

[Lunker]

A buddy and I are gonna hit the mississippi under the ford dam tommorrow. Rip rap bank with deep, slow moving water right under the dam, does this sound good for cats? I am new to the game of catfishing, and tommorrow is really the first time I'll have gone after them exclusively. I'll report here how I do, to give rookie an idea of where to start if I'm successful(if one rookie catter can do it, maybe another will)

[Aquaman01]

Smiling, I am Mr. Lunker!

Dennis' advice was to look for 1 mph current flowing under a log-jam or lay-down of some kind.

What I learned/observed was use enough weight to hold location, shade near sun (I think the sun warms the water and the shade under the log hides them nicely), short leader for cast-control and a good swivel.

Since these spots are born of the shore, they can be accessed from shore, if a guy wants to hike the banks. (I know you have a boat, Lunker, but I don't know about Rookie)

Good luck ya'll! I'm heading up to Kabetogama for a week to see if I know squat about walleye.

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[Dennis Steele]

Theres more to catching a cat than finding an area with shade.Matter of fact I don't target areas with shade.I target areas with ample food and a break from the current.These fish have no reason to "hide".When hunting channels you must first remember that they are "channel" cats.They use current to their advantage,waiting in or along current for a meal to be delivered to them.They may hold in fast current or slow current.It all depends on the conditions of the river at that time.In cooler water you may find them in slow current but that is not to say that they are always found there.At this time of year I will look for areas where there is moderate to slow current washing food out of the main current or from other sources such as a creek mouth or point where bait fish will be holding.They are looking for easy meals to be delivered to them like injured or disoriented bait fish.There are many areas in fast current this time of year where they may hold.The back side of a point,the bottom or tail out of a hole,and of course a rip rap shoreline.The first thing to think about is there food available to them there and is it easy for them to get at with out using alot of energy.

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Minnesota River Guided Fishing
"fishhead"
[email protected]
www.mnriverguidedfishing.com

[Lunker]

Well, I had my first catfising excursion today. Went under the ford dam on the rip rap shoreline under the dam with deep, slower moving water. Caught a 24" inch channel within 2 minutes, and a 22" channel a while later. My buddy caught a 25" later. Got mine on cut chub and cut bullhead, the other on powerbait catfish dough. We were there for about 2 hours, so not bad for the first time! Dennis, from a catmaster, how much do u think those cats weighed?

[Kidd]

ROOKIE, I stumbled onto a nice Cat spot, quite by accident, a number of years ago. I haven't fished it in about 5 years but I would imagine it's still good. The bridge going from Mn to Osceola Wi (sp?) has a nice public landing and picnic area. At the far southern tip of the picnic area you can fish from shore. The conditions are much like Dennis pointed out, with the main current being interrupted by a wing dam just enough to slow, but not stop, the current. A bonus to this spot is if you can eat them if you so choose, unlike fish taken from the Mississippi. Give it a shot.

[This message has been edited by Kidd (edited 05-24-2003).]