Cattin' the Chain '10

[catfreak]

Hey everybody. I started this post early last winter and it seemed to get a lot of feedback. There was a lot of info traded over the post throughout the season and I learned a lot from some of you guys. I need to say thanks again to Dtro for helping me catch my first cat through the ice. I figured I'd start it again this year in the hopes that everyone would get as involved as they did last year. Hope to hear from all of you again.

Thanks,

Chris

[DTro]

alright catfreak, now your talking!

Let see those kitties

I hope to share my own report sooner than later

[Rick G]

Most of the chain has a good solid 4-6in of clear ice. I did find a couple spots that had less than two in and some open water in other areas. I have been out chasing walleyes for the last few days but might try the shoe either Sat or Sun for some kittys. Chris the bay you fished last winter is good to go 4-5in all the way across to where my house was.

[catfreak]

Nice. I'm gonna try to get out there next week. Probably Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Or all of them if the fishin's good.

[firejumper]

im hopping to get down to horseshoe soon to try for some cats. they have been tough on me the last couple years but i hope this season my luck will change

[DTro]

Almost sounds like it time to start thinking of dragging the sled up there.

Walking isn't much fun.

[DTro]

We did pretty well today out there. I was very surprised as to how few people we seen.

Found the majority of fish suspended in 20FOW in a 30' hole. No real preference in bait choice. They were eating Suckers, Shiners, and Fatheads

When the sun went down, it was bobber time, and Aanderud has quite the knack in detecting the super light biters. It's truly amazing how little they will bite. A simple little twitch of the bobber could mean "fish on".

The bobber lines were outfishing the jigs 10-1 or maybe even more.

We finally decided to fish 4 bobbers instead.

[waysanders]

I was on the chain last night and this morning and had similiar luck as you in your video, a bunch of 14 inch walleyes and twice as many cats and my 13 year old son would much rather catch the cats(so would I) !!!!! I caught mine in 20 feet of water on the biggest whole fatheads I could find in my bucket, great way to start the year !!

[aanderud]

Plenty of ice. We had 7 inches or so on the spots without snow, maybe 5 inches under the snowdrifts. There was one spot on the walk out that was somewhat less, and actually cracked a bit when we were scooting over (we were within 10 feet of shore and were not worried). On the way back to shore later, some water had seeped up through the crack and puddled a bit on top of the ice, but no worries, it's probably frozen by now.

Fish are biting great. If I lived closer, I would have been back out today. I love it up there. After dark you only have a limited time it seems, they shut off like a lightbulb at 6:30 pm. I suppose it's possible that they'd turn on again and come through in waves, but by the time a guy packs up, walks back to shore, and drives back to SW metro, it's late enough anyway without waiting for the 10 pm bite.

[kingfisherpat]

where where you on the chain of lakes i like to know so can get after some walleyes and crappies sunfish mybe catfish too

kingfisherpat email me back on where you where on the chain of lakes

[catfreak]

I was wondering if anybody that's fished the krons bay area on horseshoe could help me a bit. My flasher is in the cities right now so I'm gonna have to do without it for a bit. I'm gonna be going after cats, so I'm gonna be working the holes on the east side of Krons bay. I was just wondering if I should be setting up over the deepest parts of the holes and just starting from bottom working my way up a ways, or if I should set up in the transition of the holes somewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I was also wondering if the ice is safe all over the area near the public access. Thanks.

[Brad B]

I have never been to the chain and would like to try it this year but I need some info on horseshoe lake. When I looked at the dnr lake map I noticed the access is on the river it self. when the ice gets thick enough to drive out on horseshoe with a truck where would a person drive on at. I have to believe the river doesn't freeze thick enough to drive from the access. please correct me if my guess is wrong like I stated I have never been up there before. as for a place to walk out from where would a person go to? what is the best area of horseshoe to find the cats. also how is the cat numbers and size in cedar island lake and where would a person look for cats there. Also what is the prefered bait for the cats on the chain.

Thank for any info who may have.

[DTro]

To bring up an old favorite quote, “It’s not NASA”

There is a TON of info floating around here on FM. Some in the Ice fishing forum, some in the Catfish forum, and some in the St Cloud forum. I would suggest trying to mess with the search function. Lots of archived stuff.

The Sauk chain is plump full of kittys. There are some community spots that people will use, but there are SO many spots out there to catch them (every lake in the chain has them). Look for the deeper basins. Start by punching holes in the sections with the sharpest break and then move around the hole till you find them.

We drilled a big X pattern on the hole we fished on Sat and found a definite hot spot where the fish were a little more concentrated and then set up there for the evening.

Aanderud really needs to explain his bobber technique because it’s amazing how good he is at it. Even witnessing it, I was still dumbfounded sometimes how he would say, “there’s a fish on my line” and then set the hook and be fighting a fish when I never would see a thing.

As far as driving on the lake, the only thing I can suggest is that only do it when other people are. Lots of current out there and scary spots that stay thin all year long. I wouldn’t be blazing trails with a full size vehicle, that’s for sure.

[Alex = #1]

Anyone have suggestions as to where to park to access Horseshoe? Looks like the only public access is quite a hike from the fishable spots.. Is there any good places on 22 to park?

[catfreak]

Brad B and Alex, you can park on 22 just down a mile or so from the summer access, right between horseshoe(krons bay) and cedar island. There is also an access to drive on to both lakes there as soon as the lake is drivable. If the conditions are right you can drive out on the river access later in winter, but you need to be extremely careful. Dtro is right, I would not try blazin my own trail in that area.

[nater]

Isn't there an access point off of Fruitwood Rd on the NW side of Horseshoe? I know there were tracks coming from that way last winter when I drove over there from 22. Or is that a drive in only and not a parking area. I'd like to walk out from here if possible.

I personally wouldn't drive down the river access to Horseshoe, I only go to Becker this way and driving over the river section when there was more then a couple feet of ice was scary enough.

[soft]

Catfreak, are those No Parking signs still there along hwy22 by the winter access?

They were there last year, i saw no one parked there, some one told me i could parked there but did not wanted to take a chance to get a ticket from the cops.

[miller27]

I am always intrigued reading the posts about Cattin' the Chain. Have not been fishing for cats... in fact never really heard of people doing it as I grew up fishing for pan fish, walleyes, and northerns. One question I have is.... Is this a catch and release type of fishing or are these edible fish? Do you typically eat them? Sounds like you all have a blast... Maybe I'll try something new this winter!

[Borch]

It's up the the fisherman Miller27.

They are pretty good eating especially thru the ice.

Make sure you check out Cool Cats later this winter. It's a HSO gathering on one of the community catfish holes. It's usually a great time.

[pushbutton]

miller,

you really should give it a try, we live in a state where walleyes are supreme, but land a mere 5 lb kitten sometime and you will see why these people have so much fun. while a 10 lb eye is bragging rights, but a seriously lame fight. a 10 lb channel on the other hand....as far as table fare, they are not bad at all, especially in the winter when cleaned properly.

[BrdHunter01]

while a 10 lb eye is bragging rights, but a seriously lame fight.

Hmmmmm.... Have you ever caught one? Obviously not!

[river rat316]

A 10lb eye is equivalent to a 5lb cat, 4lb smallie, 6 or 7lb pike, 4lb carp. And yes I have caught them, in current even, and they don't fight

[DTro]

From a guy who has caught plenty large fish of each species, there is no comparison fight wise.

They are very different. A walleye will really smack an aggressively jigged bait and give you a couple good headshakes before coming up, while the cats will take some finessing and will nose the bait and gently eat it, but then look out because they do everything they can to not come up that hole.

Cattin isn’t for everyone, especially in the winter, they can be very frustrating.

[JimBuck]

Hey guys, I'm heading up to the chain to chase some cats for the first time this weekend. I was wondering what ice conditions are like and where to park? I'm going to be on foot and mobile. Cheers.

[pushbutton]

birdhunter, you are right, i have never caught a 10 lb eye, actually my largest was a little over 11 lbs. pound for pound i have found the smaller eyes even fight harder than the larger ones, not knocking the fish just think large walleyes dont fight that hard. also have found other fish that fight harder than catfish, thats ok too, not trying badmouth the catfish either.

[catfreak]

To Nater, there is an access on the nw side of horseshoe and the street you said sounds correct. I parked there last year, because a drive a mustang which sucks in the winter, and I had a real rough time getting outta there. I wouldn't park on the west side of the street because there are cat-tails there that make the shoulder look much wider than it is. I personally try to park on the other side down the road a bit so my car doesn't get in anybodys way.

And Soft, I'm not sure about the no parking signs. I don't remember them being there last winter. That could be because everytime I parked there, there were a bunch of cars parked there and I didn't even notice them. I did notice them there this summer when trying to shore fish those weeds. I think they might just be down near the access point and you are allowed to park farther down the road, but if anyone knows better than me I would appreciate some info on this too.

[DTro]

There is limited parking along 22 and even then, I’m not sure if it’s legal or not. There are several “No Parking” signs just south of the bridge. I found enough ice out there last time that I plan not to be walking the next time I head up.

[firejumper]

heading down their in the next couple hours to see if we can ice some cats this afternoon. never even noticed those sighns before. kind of hope their is enough ice were we can park along shore down on the ice today. They are driving on alot of areas up here.

[JimBuck]

Let us know how it goes for parking firejumper. I'm heading to that area on Sunday and would hate to drive that far and have no place to park.

[so haaad]

There are a couple of spots along Hwy 22 to park, but like Dtro said there are "No Parking" signs along some of it. Hwy 22 also gets a lot of traffic, so it's a little dangerous parking along it where there are no signs. As for other options, some of the local roads were posted with "No Parking" signs and the township started ticketing violators (including on weekends) a couple winters ago. There is another drive-on access but I'm not going to point it out for a couple reasons. One, it can be pretty dangerous for those who don't know the lake because it's located near an area that has current and thin ice (sometimes open water). Also, it's more of a local access and I personally believe that we need to respect the locals and neighbors by not posting such information on here for the masses.

If this weather continues, we will be able to drive out from the winter access on Hwy 22, or snowmobile/wheeler out from the summer access soon enough.