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Cattin the Chain 2012


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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I learned something new at the ice show. They are called party crappies.

grin

Yes they are... laugh

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  • Rick G

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I caught what might have been a state record rock bass this summer but the state was shut down and I couldn't get it weighed. Wait...no what was somebody else.

I got myself a snowmobile last night. Now I just have to get a few accessories....cover, helmet, battery, trailer, trail passes, safety certificate, MN registration, low-altitude jets and clutch weights, etc... and I'll be able to test it out, hopefully on the shoe.

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Carb weights huh? wink Do they sell those with the headlight fluid?

LOL

You got a great deal on a nice sled!

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I was on the Shoe and Cedar this afternoon. Still some spots that have around 2in or less yet but most places I checked out had 3-4 and a few spots with 5+in.

It was so nice out I left the house at home and just pulled my small otter sled. Problem is that I forgot my tackle box in the house I used last Sun for walleyescry so I was stuck with what I still had riged up and that was a pair of perch color jigin raps and lucky me I had a 1/8 orange buckshot with so I was not totaly s.o.l.

Even though I did not have near what I realy had wanted to use with I still managed to get 18-20 decent size cats and a few runts and some bonus fish too grin. I ended up fishing a deep water area with a shallow bar close by. Best depth by far was 24ft, Fish moved in thick around 4:30 and the bite died off a little after 7.

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Thinking about heading that way tomorrow morning sometime. Where's the best spot to walk out from. Anyone else heading that way?

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Thinking about heading that way tomorrow morning sometime. Where's the best spot to walk out from. Anyone else heading that way?

There are still a few spots along 22 after the bridge that you can park without getting hastled wink. The Coldspring/Richmond pd as well as some of the local deputys started asking people not to park on some sections of the road shoulder around the end of last season.

I have to check on a rumored hot walleye bite tomorrow but will be out there Sun chasing the cats for sure grin

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RFM, we'll see you out there Sunday I'm sure. Nice weather forecast. Might as well check it out. Give a shout if you see us.

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Can I park along hwy22? will cops give me any problems or tickets..

thanks.

Soft...

They will ticket you if you park in the no parking zone. Got a Warning last night.

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I made it out for a few hours yesterday and still haven't iced a cat. I did manage about a dozen walleyes and a few perch. Kept a meal for my parents and the rest went back in. I was in 22-28 fow with most coming in about 24. Consistently marked fish just off the bottom. The bigger eyes that I caught came thru higher up 6-8 feet off the bottom. Nice day and the ice sure was making some noise.

I parked a little north of the winter access where there is no sign and walked out from there. No warning on my truck when I was done. Good luck !

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  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN

Should be some reports comeing in for cats noticed around 5 guys this afternoon at the old meth hole! Let the fun begin!

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Aanderud and DTro ,it was good to see you guys again. My predictions of a 30 fish day for me came up a little shy laugh. I think I got in the mid 20's and my buddie got in the mid to high teens.

The mid day bite was a bit off but still got a few but realy had to work for them . I thought the bite was done by 5:30 then the clouds rolled in and gusty wind turned to gail force shocked. Well the cats went crazy for about a good hour or so. One of the cats I hooked around 6:30 felt big but didnt seem quite right. I got it up to the hole only to see a fat 26in walleye that was tucked right in with the school of cats shockedgrin. Got a few quick photos and back she went to get bigger.

Fished from 28-35 ft and found quite a few fish stacked up from 32-35 with fish suspending 20ft down all the way to the bottom. We got fish on a few diff. spoons but had best luck with the 1/16 northland forage minnow red in color tiped with a minnow head.

Ice is still a bit funny so be carefull out there. I found from 1.5-9in just in one bay with some open water in spots that normaly dont have isues.

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Well, our first ice outing on the chain was a success! Not only was it easy to get around without any snow (with cleats of course) the fish cooperated too. We found anywhere from 5-7” with some sketchy stuff around the meth hole. Matter of fact the meth hole is wide open so if you venture out there keep that in mind. Also the area just West of 22 near the bridge has open water, so getting out to the community hole is an adventure in itself. Right now, I would say the biggest hurdle in fishing the meth hole area is getting there. There simply are not very many options for parking and walking out. A friend of ours actually parked at the winter access and walked from there. crazy I sure would like to find a decent spot to park to hop on the lake in that area. My sled is not really an option without any snow.

As with most trips up there, the bite was slow until about 4 or 5pm, and then we started catching a fish here and there, 6 rolled around and we started catching them quite a bit more, but then slowed down just a little bit around 7. This is normally when we pack up and go as the bite usually shuts off about then. But… a strange thing happened. The fish went bonkers from 8-9 and we probably caught around 20 or 25 in the last hour. We even had a few triples! It slowed down a bit when we left at 9, but we were still catching right up until we packed up to go.

Total for the night was probably somewhere in the 40-45 range. Average size was decent as we had several in the mid 20” range. As always, a bobber with red glow was the ticket. Keeping that bobber right above the water line and the jig glowed up was key. Nothing special about bait, just pinched fatheads.

Very few people out on the ice yesterday. We ran into RFM and it sounded like he was catching fish over in his area too.

Just a great day out on the ice though, and it was a pretty cool experience with the solid clear ice and no snow. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced that. I have a bunch of pics and some vids I took and will try to get those put together sometime tonight.

Good times!

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  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN

Glad 2 see it went well for you guys! cool Figured it was you guys. There definately is some funky ice areas out there this yr! As for access stop by a few houses on hammers point thats the point the meth hole area is in front of, you probably could find a spot there.

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Nice to see you again RFM. I am glad you guys were on them too. I was also happy that the bite didn't shut off at 7 like it normally does. I like the fishing to be longer-lasting than the drive up and back.

The bite was on and I was glad to see a good mix of small and medium fish out there. I'll be back lots of times this winter.

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As always more great video footage of you guys smokin the cats . That sure is a sweet new house aanderud got this year wink.

It was real wet and slipery tonight. As good as the bite was last night it was just as good or maybe even a little better this warm evening. Never had to drill any holes because the ones we used yesterday were still wide open. I think we ended the evening well into the high30s or low 40s for numbers with a good mix of sizes too. We got a few on a glow blue and glow green frostees but the Glow red was by far the best again after dark.

I think I might have to wait till the weekend to make it back again :(k Sounds like its going to be warm the next couple days too.

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Would really like to go out and catch some cats but havent really done it before, not sure where to try or what ice conditions are like on the chain or where to look out for, if anybody going out would be willing to show a new guy what to do or just help me out or even let me tag with, i have all my own equipment, not looking to take anybodys spot just looking to catch a few

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Would really like to go out and catch some cats but havent really done it before, not sure where to try or what ice conditions are like on the chain or where to look out for, if anybody going out would be willing to show a new guy what to do or just help me out or even let me tag with, i have all my own equipment, not looking to take anybodys spot just looking to catch a few

I plan to head up there the day after christmas as long as the ice is still safe to be on. hoping for some colder weather soon. I also will be attending the cool cats event on January 14th. since I am from monticello also and if you want to go up there sometime feel free to join me. just email me at the address in my signature line and we can set something up.

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Joker,

Welcome to the forum. If you look at the cattin the chain 2011 and 2010 threads you'll find plenty of info on how to catch these cats. Check the cool cats threads out, there are maps to some of the community holes that hold plenty of fish. They're finicky, and usually bite very light. It's normally not anything like the summer when they take the rod out of your rod holder darn near (though a guy this weekend lost a whole pole down the hole to an aggressive kitty). If you go out near the "meth hole" as it's called, get out there during the daylight hours so you can see the open water spot. If you stay shallower than 40 feet you should be OK, but you want to have an eye on it and remember where it is so you don't walk across it in the dark :-)

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Hey im new to cold spring and seen everyone posts about catching cats. I have caught one before thru the ice below sartell d a m and thought it was the sweetest thing ever. I was going to head out to horseshoe tomorrow try to catch some walleyes and cats where is a good spot to start? and also see you guys have a big event you put on if you need any help i would love to help and i could probably get something donated for prizes if you guys do that... imbig in the industry and have a lot of hook up for gear and clothing and could get some stuff donated to give away at the event..

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maverickoutdoors welcome to hso! as far as spots, you'll get all the cats you'll want in the meth hole. there's a map somewhere on the site that shows where its at. bring some small frostee jigging spoons in a few different colors, a spring bobber or icebuster cut down so its barely floating, fatheads (all you need is the head), & a flasher. it's a ton of fun & i'm always surprised that lake isn't fished harder than it is. if there's a few 12" crappies or 9" sunnies to be caught you won't find space to drill a hole but no one wants to catch 20-40 14"-28" cats on light tackle?

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Maverick, as said the meth hole is a good starting point, but you can really catch them throughout the chain. I personally have success off the drops in a little bit deeper water, anywhere from 20-40 ft. Sometimes you have to bounce around a little bit to find them.

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hey thanks for the tips. anyone going out there this weekend? and anyone know how the ice is if it is good enough to walk from winter access towards the meth hole?

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Welcome to FM/HSO mavericoutdoors. As usaual I will be there at least one day of the weekend. Yes you could walk out from the winter access but it's gota be more than a mile from there tired. Ice was still in decent shape yesterday although it's a little gray looking and wet now. just be carefull as there are still some thin spots out there.

Like others have said the Meth hole is good but there are soooo many places to find them just on Horeshoe and Cedar alone. I would hang around the the Meth hole this weekend and get to know some of your fellow catfisherman. Most of the anglers out there targeting the cats are decent guys and dont mind showing and sharing the how to's of catting to a new guy grin.

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anyone gonna be out on monday? carmike & i are heading out there & would love to hook up with someone else

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This refreeze has me thinking I need to wet a line. Can't be for certain if I'll be out there or not, but if you see a black or blue camo otter, stop by and chat. We'll try to share some tips that work for us.

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Hey everyone! Last year was my first expierence catchin cats through the ice. I can honestly say I am hooked. I grew up my whole life around the sauk river and targeted them often during the summer months. I found this site while lookin for some more info on better tactics to catch them through the ice. After reading through the old posts on here I think I have a better idea now. Thanks for all the great tips. I will hopefully be out there this weekend as well.

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Welcome to the forums Bowfishing_Nut, tons of great info on here.

You gus see a purple otter and a green otter about 1/3 mile south of the meth hole over by where crappie town sets up that would be me. Come say hi and I will try and point you in the right direction grin.

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ill bee out this weekend in either a little 2 man clam thermal or the new artic sheild grey and black hub sytle fish house.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
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