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Cattin the Chain '11


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This was a scary scene we came across yesterday and probably took 2 hrs of ice time from us:

Part of Interstate Highway 94 near St. Augusta was closed for almost three hours after a three-car collision that included a State Patrol car blocked traffic Saturday afternoon.

According to the patrol, the westbound squad car driven by trooper Richard Kitzmiller, 51, was rear-ended just before noon by a 2005 Mercury Sable driven by Tammy Jo Schultz-Lemmer, 41, of Hatley, Wis. The collision pushed the squad car into another vehicle, driven by 36-year-old Godfey Tadeo of Fargo, N.D.

Three people involved in the accident — Schultz-Lemmer, her passenger, 17-year-old Benjamin Lemmer, and Kitzmiller — suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

The incident report notes icy road conditions, but State Patrol couldn’t verify that ice contributed to the crash.

The squad car is a total loss, according to authorities.

Schultz-Lemmer was treated and released from St. Cloud Hospital. Lemmer and Kitzmiller were in fair condition Saturday night.

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How deep was you fishing Dtro? Any presentation worked better than the other. Thanks for any tips..........Kirk

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Before dark, any jig and minnow head worked fine, after dark we used the bobbers as the bite turned light. Using a splitshot might make the difference between seeing/not seeing the bite. Use only the jig, no splitshot.

Here's a little tip: You will get a little better hookup ratio with a jig/spoon that has a small treble, but because their mouths are so tough, I prefer to go with a single hook just because I'd rather spend time fishing than unhooking. smile A lot of times you will get all three hooks of a treble buried in the thick lips and unable to open the mouth of their strong jaws. It makes for a time consuming unhook and a lot of times you end up destroying your lure in the process.

The Technni Glo Frostee is a good option, or any other similar glowing single hook jig.

full-105-3965-frosteesl012.jpg

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I am gonna head out there this weekend with a buddy, I love fighting those cats through the ice. Dtro how far did u have to walk, I am not sure i will have my sled with me.

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It's a 1/2 mile walk to where we fished. I'm sure there are some spots you could find a closer walk though.

I'm pretty sore today. grin

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Dtro, what did you lose?Today there was a few people where you were yesterday. I was back in the same area today and did about the same as last evening with just a few more small ones mixed in. I am glad we had a trail blazed from yesterday to follow but it was still rough goin. I am kinda fortunate to have found a place to park that I only have to walk a couple hundred yards to my fishing hole smile I think that the snow is what is keeping the masses of fisherman off the best spots.

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Riverfishing and DTRO, are you guys still fishing eyes or have you switched gears and targeting cats now? Never fished Horseshoe or Cedar Island until this fall. Would love to get back out there but would like some local knowledge w/ all the surprises those lakes have.

This week is crazy busy so it looks like Friday might be my only ice day. Been hitting some lakes east of the homestead w/ some good success.

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Just got back from the chain took the 3 wheeler out and crossed the very tip of the island nice trail DTRO and really nice spot. When we got there someone was fishing in that spot and it was fishinbuddy I think thats his name anyway him and his girlfriend were on them and the boys and I couldnt buy a bite anywhere elese then fishinbuddy came over and asked how we weree doing told him we were marking a few and caught one rockbass he was leaving and said they were stacked up so we moved over and pounded 20 or so cats most of them were 19-24 inches with only a few smaller ones.

Gotta love the action and the pole bendin both boys caught fish and I managed a few nice ones

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Elwood,

I am glad you guys got on them too. My wife and I ended up icing about 20-25 before we left. It was nice to meet you and come on over and say hi any time you see me on the ice.

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Fishing buddy, did I meet you out there last year? I think so but I can't remember. Glad you guys all got into some this weekend, I'd say the bite is on. The earlier, the better up there. Elwood, did Joey outfish you as per the usual?

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I met a couple of guys out there last year. I don't remember for sure if I met you or not. It is a good possibility.

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Dtro, what did you lose?

An Otter Cover somewhere along East bound 23.

Looking forward to gettting up there again soon.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

The Cool Cats is set for the first Ssaturday in March. There's info at the top of the St Cloud forum. Would be happy to have you and there'll be a lot fo info in this thread to help you out.

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Great thread! I have fished my whole life but only ice fished a handful of times because I never had the gear. This past summer I inherited a complete ice fishing set up from a good friend that moved to LA due to work and he was generous enough to outfit me from top to bottom. I like all fish, but I don't really get overly excited about panfish (although fun, I like em a bit bigger) and have always wanted to chase cats through the ice.

There are a lot of great tips in this thread! What else can anyone tell a greenhorn about what I need? What type and size line do you use? I see the jig recommendation from Dtro above but what else could I get to have some variation? I see the bait recommendations – are you getting live bait and just ripping the heads off? What are other bait options? What length/size of rod? The set up I was given came with 5 rods, just trying to see which ones will be best.

Sorry for so many questions…I’m chomping at the bit to get out there but the schedule has been tight…hoping to make it out next weekend for the first time this year. Thx to all.

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Shoot2kill,

bait options would include fatheads like dtro said or cut up sucker minnows, or chicken liver.

rods : you would want a medium action if it was a rod for cats only. any of the walleye rods work too.

line size : 4 or 6 lb micro ice is what I use.

to sum it up : if one of the 5 rods you have is a walleye set up I would use that.

one last note about cats on ice : you may want to get some ice buster bobbers. the cats are known to bite light later in the season and this is when the bobber shines.

also if you are not busy the first saturday in march come out to horseshoe to the cool cats event. there is alot of people there that have a bunch of knowledge when it comes to icing cats. check out the thread on cool cats.

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It’s kind of a catch 22, they fight hard enough for med to med/heavy gear, but bite light enough to warrant smaller gear. smile

Personally I use Jason Mitchell Perch rods spooled with 4lb mono. Make sure your drag is set good, because they DO put up a fight! If you are good with a spring bobber that works too, but Aanderud convinced me last year that regular Ice buster bobbers work great, so we usually just toss out 4 bobbers when the sun goes down and spend the night watching em like hawks. There are days when they just smoke the bait and other where they do a lot of nosing or mouthing the bait.

I honestly don’t think the jig type makes too big of a difference. Since you are fishing in like 25-30 FOW I like something streamlined and heavy enough to get back down there quick when the bite is on. Like I said before, we have found after dark that glowing the lures does make a difference too. Usually pieces of fatheads (head or tail) and when the bite gets really tough, we switch over to chicken livers.

Other types of minnows work well too, mostly a preference towards cheapness and availability of fatheads. smile

It’s a lot of fun, and there are plenty of times when we had all 4 lines out of the water, multiple fish flopping around, lines getting tangled and us laughing like little boys. grin

I like to think of this cat bite kind of in the same light as the URL crappie boom. I realize that the species and interest is totally different, but I seen how fast that went away, and if by any chance the same thing ever happens with these cats, I can safely say that I got to experience a good part of it. Plus I don’t have to drive 6 hours to experience it. smile

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I dont think we have to worrie about the cat boom going bellie up like the crappie bite did on red any time in the near future. Not as many people catching and keeping them and they seem to be doing real well as far as natural reproduction goes.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

My favorite jigging spoon is the 1/16 or 1/8 oz Lindy Rattlin Flyer spoon in glow red. I like to fish it with a perch sweetheart or other perch weight rod, a Jason mitchell meat stick or a St Croix Legend spring bobber rod with 4-6 lb pline.

It's always good to use the ice buster or venom bobbers that are very sensitive to the lighter bite. The glow frostie jigs from Lindy work great.

I use a lot of cut sucker, fatheads and use chicken livers as a last resort as they are messy but work great at times.

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This looks like fun. I am going to head up there with some buddies on Monday. Is there a bait shop in the area?

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  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN

Southside has bait as so does Channel Marine right in Richmond.

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We always stop at the Shell station in Cold Spring for bait. It's nice to fill the tank and grab some eats while the bait bucket is getting filled.

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Oh....Dtro, if you are here. You helped me get the navionics app on my phone, what lake name is the horseshoe chain under in that app?

Thx.

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It's under Horseshoe. grin Except there are about 73 of those in MN. Try the one in Stearns Co

Either that or just drag the map around until you hit St Cloud and look for the big body of water.

Good Luck, let us know how you do.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
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