Red River Fishing Reports

[JediTrav]

Just went out on the red and caught a couple cats, its definitely heating up. I tried fishing below a dam for some walleyes and all I got was mooneyes. Do the walleyes hang out below the dams on the Red?

[Scoot]

Yup, they sure do. They'll hand out at all traditional Springtime spots. Some years some of the dams never seem to produce fish. Most years, there's at least one small window at all of them, but sometimes it's short. Sometimes it's not and you have more time...

[JediTrav]

Ok, thanks for the info it sounds like you have to hit it often in order to get on the bite, I will have to try it again soon.

[Scoot]

Yep, that's a good approach. I also like to hit several spots, in hopes of catching a run. Different spots seem to turn on and off at different times. If one is going, I'll fish it until it dries up. Then, I'm off bouncing between spots until I find another bite...

Good luck!

[JediTrav]

Tried it again tonight and caught about a 7 or 8 pound northern, surprised the heck out of me! Also snagged into a huge redhorse! No walleyes to be found however.

[Scoot]

Yep, the numbers of pike aren't too great, but when you get one, it's usually a pretty good one. I've caught some dang nice pike while chasing walleyes on the Red and its tribs. My only suggestion is keep on moving- below dams, where any trib or feeder creek comes into the river, the confluence of any two waterways can be good this time of year. Look for classic Spring walleye spots and if they're not at the spot, start working backwards to the likely locations they might be. Good luck!

[TylerS]

Hey Scoot! Whatcha doing this weekend? The little woman works nights and I'm free to play all day. We should meet up and hit the Red/Sheyenne. I'm in desperate need of a fishing guru to show me the ropes...

[Scoot]

Oh man, where were you last weekend?!? I was free then, but booked up for the next couple weekends. I'm headed to the Cities today at noon and have Rainy River/Easter next weekend. If I was around, I'd gladly join you. I've got a combo of a bunch of things going on right now, so I'm busier than heck. Sadly, I haven't fished once this Spring and to make matters worse, I've got a half dozen good spots within ten minutes of my house. Frustrating!!!

Good luck if you get out!

[kfk]

Nice cats have been biting in GF for the last two weeks. No other boats out and it's been great having the river to ourselves.

[Scoot]

Thanks for the report, kfk. Catchin' them on cutbait? Cut sucker or goldeye?

[kfk]

Small chunks of sucker and in the trees on sharp breaks near the main current.

[Scoot]

Thanks kfk! I haven't dug my boat out of storage yet, but as soon as I do I'm going to get it in the Red asap!

[TylerS]

Scoot,

It's all good. I wound up taking advantage of the nice weather and getting house/yard work done...yay.

I did make it out to the north dam Sunday to work my pup a bit on line retrieves, and there were the usual dozen or so fishermen down there. Saw a couple younger kids slink out from the woods with a rather hefty stringer of fish they were trying to keep low/hidden (not insinuating they were over the limit; more so that they probably didn't want to give away their honey hole). I saw enough of a couple of the fish to pick out that they were either eyes or saugers, but unsure of the rest. After that, I finished up with the pup and we went down to the river near the dam just to watch for a while. There were six guys fishing shoulder to shoulder from the "landing" north, and they didn't catch a single fish in the half hour I sat there. Also was a guy fishing on the Moorhead side, and he, too, went fishless in that span.

[Scoot]

Tyler, I witnessed one of the funniest things I've ever seen right where you were. I was on the MN side fishing and a guy on the ND side had a nice fish on. Another guy came ever with a net to try net the fish for him. The water was low, so there was a small "cliff" that dropped straight down into the water. They'd been hoysting smaller fish up this 8' drop with no problem, but this fish was too big for that. The net man leaned down and stretched out as far as he could, trying to net the fish. He stretched... stretched... stretched... almost got it... stretch... Meanwhile, being the sadistic bugger I am, I started thinking "fall, fall, fall..." Just when the net man was tickling the back of the fish, he leaned a little too far and down he went! He landed face first in the water/mud below! He stuck there for a 1/2 second- head in the mud and feet pointed towards the sky, then his feet flopped out into the river. He sprung up and scrambled back to shore while moving 1000 mph! He couldn't get back up the "cliff" by himself and the guys on shore wouldn't help him up until he grabbed the net and netted the fish. Once he did this, two guys pulled him, his net, and the fish up onto dry ground. I bet I laughed out loud for five straight minutes and I still chuckle when I think of it...

[TylerS]

Tyler, I witnessed one of the funniest things I've ever seen right where you were. I was on the MN side fishing and a guy on the ND side had a nice fish on. Another guy came ever with a net to try net the fish for him. The water was low, so there was a small "cliff" that dropped straight down into the water. They'd been hoysting smaller fish up this 8' drop with no problem, but this fish was too big for that. The net man leaned down and stretched out as far as he could, trying to net the fish. He stretched... stretched... stretched... almost got it... stretch... Meanwhile, being the sadistic bugger I am, I started thinking "fall, fall, fall..." Just when the net man was tickling the back of the fish, he leaned a little too far and down he went! He landed face first in the water/mud below! He stuck there for a 1/2 second- head in the mud and feet pointed towards the sky, then his feet flopped out into the river. He sprung up and scrambled back to shore while moving 1000 mph! He couldn't get back up the "cliff" by himself and the guys on shore wouldn't help him up until he grabbed the net and netted the fish. Once he did this, two guys pulled him, his net, and the fish up onto dry ground. I bet I laughed out loud for five straight minutes and I still chuckle when I think of it...

That....is AWESOME!!!!

[rockyhook]

Great story -- too funny.

[JediTrav]

caught an eelpout on the red today near grand forks, what next a trout?

[kfk]

Eel pout aren't uncommon on the Red in colder water times of the year.

[Scoot]

Yep, I've caught a few "eel trout" in the Red. Not a common occurance, but I've got enough so that I'm not surprised when I get one.

[Nico]

Hello,

I'm happy to read that couple fish can be catch from the red river now.

I will try to fish the red in fargo this week for the first time of my life... I hope I will enjoy this future moment !

[Scoot]

Hi Nico,

Welcome to Fargo and to the Red River forum of HSO! Are there any particular species of fish you'd like to target? Walleye fishing can be good for the next few weeks or month. After that, they spread out all over the river system and are generally tough to pattern. However, we've got a wonderful catfish fishery here and there's dozens of other species in the water. I know the catfish reports are starting to roll in and that will only get better until the catfish spawn, which shouldn't be for a while. If there are particular species you'd like to target, we can give you some advice on what techniques typcially work for us. If you'd just like to catch anything, I've got a suggestion for that too. Let us know what you're looking for and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

[Nico]

Hello scoot,

Thank you for your welcome.

In my dream I would to fish smallies, because I never caught one. But I know that is really difficult to see a smallmouth in the fargo area...

Otherwise I only like fishing with lures. I caught numerous pike and zander (walleye cousin in France) and of course I prefer pike because it's a better fighter.

But my goal it's to catch something for the beginning ! I don't really know if a lot of people fish with lures in the red ?

thank you again.

[Scoot]

Nico,

The next couple weeks is likely the time to use cranks on the Red and its tribs. I've had some great days fishing wide wobble stick baits below dams in the FM area. My favorit crank is a shallow diving Reef Runner and I prefer bright colors and light/dark patterns (e.g., white bottom, black top). I cast them parallel to shore and fish the first ten feet of shore. What I mean by that is this- cast down stream relatively short casts. Make sure your cast is within ten feet of shore or so and slowly retrieve the crankbait. Often, the slower the better, as long as it stays down. If you feel it hit on bottom or a snag, drop your rod tip back and it'll usually come out without a problem.

I know you said you're not a live bait fan, but you can fish two rods on the ND side. If you throw out a slip rig with a minnow on it you can watch that rod while you cast the crankbait. Give it a try...

Regarding smallies, that's a very tall order here in Fargo. There are some good areas to try within an hour's drive of here, but not right here in town. The bass season in MN doesn't open until mid to late May, so you'll have to wait to chase them in MN for a while. You will occasionally catch smallies on the Red and its tribs locally, but it's pretty few and far between. Interestingly, I'll probably catch six or so a year and sometimes I'll catch all six in the same day! They seem to move into an area in tiny schools and are often only there for a short window of time. At least that's been my experience.

Good luck if you get out and please report back to us!

[BrianLucky13]

Caught a few walleyes south of fargo on Sunday. Nothing crazy but some nice males. The tribs have been better than the main river!!!!

[Bran32]

Hey guys I live here in Hawley and have never fished the Red! Just wondering where these dams are that you guys talk about and are they fishable from the MN side? Would love to fish for some eyes' without waiting for opener every year! Maybe you could give me an idea of where some of the tribs are too!! Would love to get the old lady on some river fishing action!! You can email me if you would rather this be private! [email protected] thanks alot for any info

Brandon

[Scoot]

Hi Bran,

Here in town the primary dams fished are the North Dam (just N of 12th Ave N), the mid-town Dam (near Prarie Psychiatric just S of Main Ave), and the S dam (straight [roughly] E of 32nd Ave S. To the South of Fargo there are some great spots too- the Oxbow, Christine, and Hickson dams. Also, Spring spots aren't just limited to dams- if you can find a spot where significant water comes into a river, you've got a possibility. This can mean a trib coming into the Red (the confluence of these two water ways is a good spot for many species at many times of the year), a creek or county ditch coming into the Red, or a creek or county ditch coming into a trib. The tribs we're referring to are any of the rivers around the area that eventually dump into the Red: Wild Rice, Buffalo, Sheyenne, Maple (which connects to the Red via the Sheyenne), etc.

Be warned that you can not fish walleyes on any of the tribs on the MN side and you can't fish any water from beyoned the mouth of the waterway where it meets the Red (for water coming out of MN). Beyond that though, have at it! Grab your gal and have at it.

Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like any other info or would like more specific questions answered. scootsfishing - at - yahoo

[Bran32]

Hey Scoot

Thanks for all the info!! The wife and I hit a couple of the dams today with just some shallow cranks and I ended up catching a couple of Northens!! Both live on to fight another day but it sure felt good to have a tight line again!! Thanks again and maybe I'll hit you up for a few more secrets!

[Scoot]

Fire away if you want to e-mail me- I'll do my best to help.

Reports have the local river temps at 54 degrees. The walleye spawn will soon be a memory with temps like that! Fish should stick around their spawning areas for a week or two, but will dispurse from there and become nomadic. Once that happens, it's a dump shoot to try pinpoint them! Catfishing, however, should get good over the next couple weeks, depending upon how much of a splash Mother Nature gives us in the next couple days. The ground around here could sure use a drink, so I hope we get an inch or two.

[kfk]

The cats are aggressively biting on the Red up north. We fished between GF and Oslo on Saturday and without exception, every spot we fished gave us a few cats and some held many. No giants but some up in the teens. They were holding in shallow snags. The warmest water we found was 48-49 degrees.

[kfk]

Aggresive bite again today. Lots of cats. Many in the slot with one over 20#, several in the teens and a bunch under 24" as well as sauger and eel pout. Sucker was working for us today.