Cattin the Chain 2012

[SR_FishOn]

I know that we still have a lot of ice left but can anyone answer this? Once the lakes on the chain open up, what is the best time of year to fish for cats? Is the time between ice out and June worth targeting them or would it be better in the summer or late summer? My 10 year old wants to go catfishing but is not much of a fan of ice fishing so I want to get him out in the boat and I want to make sure that he has the best chance possible.

Any input is appreciated.

[Rick G]

They realy become active when the water hits the 60 degree mark but you can have great days from ice out till ice up. No need to be out in the cold months, June, July and Aug are all good months to do a little catting. You will get some decent daytime action durring the summer but they realy turn on at night in the softwater months.

[Brad B]

I know that we still have a lot of ice left but can anyone answer this? Once the lakes on the chain open up, what is the best time of year to fish for cats? Is the time between ice out and June worth targeting them or would it be better in the summer or late summer? My 10 year old wants to go catfishing but is not much of a fan of ice fishing so I want to get him out in the boat and I want to make sure that he has the best chance possible.

Any input is appreciated.

I know you are wanting to take your son out in the boat but there is also good shore fishing spots if you check out the mississippi river also. the sauk river/ horseshoe chain of lakes is the one place where fishing cats from a boat can give you a better chance at success. If you and your son have never fished catfish before I have a offer for both of you. I have good shore spots starting at Becker and going all the way to Elk River on the Mississippi. my two favorite spots are in Becker and Otsego. I am willing to meet you two someplace and then we can head to the river. I even have a couple spare cat rods if you would need them. I start fishing cats on the river as of April 1st and continue until the first week of October. I am willing to supply everything so you two can experience what it is like to catch a cat. I find that the end of may is my best time. I do get a few in April. the one big variable is the water level. some springs the river is running fast and is high(near flood stage) and then there are years where the water level is below normal for spring time. I got this feeling the mississippi will be running at a lower level and speed this spring if we don't get snow or rain soon. Hope this doesn't have a negative affect on the fishing this spring.

If you're interested in setting something up in April or May just PM me and we can figure something out. one other thing to keep in the back of your mind is that there is/ will be a springtime mississippi north catfish get together in the end of april. it is still in the planning stage, will make a annoucement in the events forum once a date and time are set(look for it around mid to the end of March).

Brad

[Rick G]

Brad, great advice as always. That is one heck of an offer you made.

SR_FishOn, I would take Brad up on his offer, he knows what hes doing and will most definatly get you started in the right direction. Btw it's like getting a guided trip for free. Man, if I was only so lucky

Made it out for a few late night hours Thu night 8pm-1am. Got 2 but we missed a whole mess of them and had a few come off on the way up. Lots of fish down there and lots of bites but just couldnt do anything right . I think I might head back tomorrow evening after I get off work , stay out there Sat and Sun for one last weekend then be done with the cats till spring.

Access on 22 is still holding up just fine despite the warm weather we have had for the last few days and the ice on the lake is doing good too.

[mncountryboy92]

river come spring we should hit up the chain just i dont have a boat but maybe we could go sometime and yea brad said the same to me never really fished cats on the miss in minnesota did alot when i was in bama on the tenn and man or those cats big

[mncountryboy92]

fishon come spring pm me i cat the chain all year now ice and open water all from shore in the summer fish in cold spring on off the bridges around the area and do very well

[Brad B]

Brad, great advice as always. That is one heck of an offer you made.

SR_FishOn, I would take Brad up on his offer, he knows what hes doing and will most definatly get you started in the right direction. Btw it's like getting a guided trip for free. Man, if I was only so lucky

hey river I told you about that catfishing trip I am taking in the end of june. if you can get that monday, tuesday, & wednesday off from work you are more then welcome to come with. it would only cost you your own hotel room for the two nights. the guided part of that trip is covered no matter if I go myself or some one comes with me. I only did the guided option because I have never been on this river before and wanted help learning it.

[Brad B]

river come spring we should hit up the chain just i dont have a boat but maybe we could go sometime and yea brad said the same to me never really fished cats on the miss in minnesota did alot when i was in bama on the tenn and man or those cats big

I come up with my boat a few times during the summer. I always have a open seat. feel free to fill the open seat when you want. I can PM you this summer a few days before I decide to come up so we can plan it.

[mncountryboy92]

got 2 cats in 3horus but had to head home before i could get settled headin back out soon tonight again i missed a few others there on the feed heading back out in about a hour for a good 6 hours of fishing probaly be out all night and tomorrow mourning

[JBMasterAngler]

Well, my 1st ever cat adventure was quite forgetable. Marked some fish here and there, but didn't catch anything. Fished 17 to 32 ft. Used glow red and glow green, and deadsticked some minnows too. Didn't fish the meth hole, so maybe that was the problem.

[DTro]

y'all need to find some time in Dec to chase these kitties.

Just sayin

[Twins Guy]

sorry you had such a tough time jb! i fished the meth hole a bunch in janruary then found some fish elsewhere earlier this month. been after em 5 or 6 times now and the last two times-including last night things have definitely slowed down. we got maybe about a dozen small guys between 6 and 7 maybe before they turned off completely.

look forward to joining dtro out there next december for some early ice kitties! they got me hooked-thinking about changing my screename to the "whisker whisperer" or "[me] control" in honor of prince:)

tg

(JB-if you have any freetime wednesday or thursday of this week i would be happy to help you ice one or two (hopefully more))

[mncountryboy92]

head back out tonight be until friday probaly until i hit the ice again working 48 hours a week for 4 days makes it's a little hard now to get out on the ice everyday

[Rick G]

y'all need to find some time in Dec to chase these kitties.

Just sayin

But then what in the world would we do Jan and Feb? .

I was out Fri, Sat and today. Didnt fish for cats the whole time but I sure did put in some hours . Fri was decent, got 14 between two of us with a couple in the 20in range. Sat was real good, got 18 myself but they were all under 18in. Today was pretty tough, got maybe 40-50 cats but there was more than a dozen in my group today so you do the math . The only saving grace is that one of the near by lakes has crappies that are almost jumping out the holes, just have to do a lot of sorting if a meal is wanted.

I think I will be doing one more weekend after the cats then Im done with my whiskered friends till open water.

Ice is still holding up fine. Access on 22 is taking a beating due to all the dirt from the road easment.

[mncountryboy92]

yea river i picked up few cats tonight and lost a few and got one nice 18inch eye got my biggest ice cat this weekend was almost 30inchs was a fight thats for sure sorry i didn't take pics of it before i cleaned them up river got to see the cat was a nice one in my book for a winter cat

[silverbulletguy]

mncountry-try using a period or any punctuation for that matter.

[thebigeye31]

Has anyone been catching the crappies in the 30 ft hole off the island on the south end of the lake?

[JBMasterAngler]

Thanks for the offer, but I won't have the chance to make it back up there this season. Maybe I'll just have to wait until december. Gives me plenty of time to get in shape to walk

[Rick G]

Jb, wise choice on waiting till next year.Just watch for the reports in the 2013 Cattin the Chain thread for ice condition updates. Dec and early Jan is by far the best time to get into numbers and some of the biggest fish in the system. 20-40 fish each are not uncommon, imo its one thing that should be on every cat hunters bucket list.

[gixxer01]

Has anyone been catching the crappies in the 30 ft hole off the island on the south end of the lake?

I've been keeping an eye on the guys over there, and they don't seem to be doing well. Lots of shacks get dropped and moved soon after.

[thebigeye31]

alright thanks for the update gixxer01 do you know where they have been getting any walleye or crappies on horseshoe i was hoping to make a trip out there this weekend for the last weekend of walleye anything would be helpful thanks.

[mncountryboy92]

hows the ice look idk if it's still safe for trucks

[Rick G]

Yes ,driving out is still an option. I was there last night and while the ice is still good the bite was not . Back out to try again today.

[Brad B]

RFM,

you pulling the houses off this weekend or are you waiting until the last day then pulling them. I'd come up for one more go round this winter but I decided to stay close to home and try spearing for the first time ever at a lake that is like 3 miles from my house. even thou I didn't catch great numbers this winter I still had some first for me. the cat and the walleye through the ice. like I have said in the past, I have caught many of both during the summer but these were the first in the winter for me. as much as I like ice fishing I am ready to bring out the boat again.

[Rick G]

Brad

I think we will be taking them off on either Sun or Mon. I too am counting the days to get the boat back out

It's the dead sea out there right now . In the last two evenings we got two walleyes, two cats and a crappie.Plenty of fish on the graph, just not at all intrested in anything I could think of trying. I think I will do one more night out there then I'm done with the cats. Time to start hitting the sunfish, crappies, perch and maybe even a whitefish trip .

[Brad B]

Brad

I think we will be taking them off on either Sun or Mon. I too am counting the days to get the boat back out

It's the dead sea out there right now . In the last two evenings we got two walleyes, two cats and a crappie.Plenty of fish on the graph, just not at all intrested in anything I could think of trying. I think I will do one more night out there then I'm done with the cats. Time to start hitting the sunfish, crappies, perch and maybe even a whitefish trip .

I could go for one last ice trip for sunnies and crappies. still planning to hit that one place

[mncountryboy92]

head ou in a few k will be driving out for one of the lasttimes this year

[Brad B]

head ou in a few k will be driving out for one of the lasttimes this year

have any luck tonight. once open water season is here feel free to jump in & take the open seat if you want to. I can PM a few days before I come up this summer. RFM you have the same offer if you want to join me also (may be put me on a few nice spots if you would be so kind). I plan to check out that one place you told me about for eyes.

[DTro]

Pretty tough to drive up there for for a couple of fish when the crappies have been so cooperative around here lately. 2hrs each way for 2 fish, or 20 min for 75 fish?

[mncountryboy92]

i iced about 7 cats tonight i missed more fish then i caught i was not in the zone was thinking about stuff goin on in my personal life which aint my norm and iced 2 eyes goin back out at 5am since it's gonna be nicer tomorrow ice is still good to drive on i'll be out cattin tomorrow and fishing eyes for the last time until openers if anyone has a open spot or 2 for fishin openers and is hittin up the chain would be nice since i dont have a boat at home i'll even pay for gas and bait.