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Cattin the Chain 2012


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Was out last night, the cats have seemed to slow down. We got about 20 channels and 4 small walleyes. I did somehow manage to loose my ice red ice chisels, traced back my steps but it was not there.... Oh well even so, still worth the trip grin

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Was out last night, the cats have seemed to slow down. We got about 20 channels and 4 small walleyes. I did somehow manage to loose my ice red ice chisels, traced back my steps but it was not there.... Oh well even so, still worth the trip grin

Contact riverfishingmiss he found something out there. PM him and see if it is your chisel. check out his thread in this forum.

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Was out last night, the cats have seemed to slow down. We got about 20 channels and 4 small walleyes. I did somehow manage to loose my ice red ice chisels, traced back my steps but it was not there.... Oh well even so, still worth the trip grin

And man that is one nice chisel grin. I have it. Now we just have to figure out how to get it back to you.

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Wow, that took a whole 4 minutes?? I really really appreciate it RFM! Really great group of guys we have hear.. I'll be out next weekend on the chain if you happen to be there. We actually rented a cabin on cedar island for new years so I will be up Fri, Sat and Sun. If you happen to be up there let me know we can meet up. Beer is on me!

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How's the ice looking? Are these warm days having a negative effect on it? I still haven't put a foot on any ice this year.

On another note, how necessary is a flasher to having fishing success chasing ice kitties?

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How's the ice looking? Are these warm days having a negative effect on it? I still haven't put a foot on any ice this year.

On another note, how necessary is a flasher to having fishing success chasing ice kitties?

You need a flasher. the cats can be suspended anywhere in the water column just like crappies.

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if you're really on em you could get by without a flasher, but you'll catch WAAAAY more fish with one. if you don't have one, set your bobber 10 or so feet off bottom and glow every 10mins or so. jig your spoon for 5secs & let it rest for 15secs. you'll probably get enough to have a good time

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Wow, that took a whole 4 minutes?? I really really appreciate it RFM! Really great group of guys we have hear.. I'll be out next weekend on the chain if you happen to be there. We actually rented a cabin on cedar island for new years so I will be up Fri, Sat and Sun. If you happen to be up there let me know we can meet up. Beer is on me!

Roman_K, yes I sure will be on the water at least one but more like all three days next weekend. I will send you a pm later in the week and let you know my plans so we can get together.

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Very cool that Roman will get that back! This thread might pound the snot out of the community hole, but it sure is convenient for times like this. smile

I'm still in awe over that fish rfm! Man that must have been a great fight. I think I need to get out there really soon wink '

Is there still a dusting of snow on the lake?

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Very cool that Roman will get that back! This thread might pound the snot out of the community hole, but it sure is convenient for times like this. smile

I'm still in awe over that fish rfm! Man that must have been a great fight. I think I need to get out there really soon wink '

Is there still a dusting of snow on the lake?

The ol meth hole can take the pounding, at least for a while anyway. Fresh cats move through out that huge basin wink

Yea, that was one heck of a fight, took all of 7-8min and all on 4lb vanish grin I kept yelling for my buddie for help but he just laughed and yelled he had his own isues to deal with so I was on my own.

I have seen bigger ones off the dock and have heard the old spears tell tales but that is my p.b. for the chain. I only hope it is a sign of years to come smile

Yes, still a dusting out there but there are lots of ice patches too now . Sled would still work fine I think.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Awsome fish RFM and Sr!

A couple of real bruisers for sure!

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Well we got a good lesson in motivation (or lack thereof) tonight. The bite was dead and we just we not catching fish at all. We chalked it up to the weather and "one of those nights". We didn't feel too bad as there were others out there having a tough go of it as well, then we ran into someone fishing another area and he laid the bad news on us, "yep we pounded the snot out of em tonight"

Thanks Bro. madgrin

Lesson learned....

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hey dtro, i was wondering about that last time we were out there. we were marking TONS of fish but having a hard time finding takers and even lookers. have you tried relocating when finding unactive fish out there? usually if i'm on a crappie or gill lake and marking fish but they're in a neutral mood it seems they're neutral all over the lake. but my experience with cats is extremely limited so i wasn't sure if mood depended on the school of fish you're on

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Usually if we are on top of a big school of fish we don't have a hard time getting bites. It was just dead with activity in general tonight. A few fish moving through here and there, but not the normal 10ft of solid fish we are accustomed to.

As it turns out, we really wouldn't have had to move very far to find the school, but the wind kept us pinned in the house most of the night.

Time to start exploring some new areas I think.

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Thanks Bro. madgrin

Lesson learned....

gringrinwink. That happens man. After rubbing it in I kinda felt bad. I remember two years back I gave the worst report posible, I got skunked. That night and you and Brian hammered the heck out of them . So theese things do happen sometimes. Thats why there is a next time, For revenge wink.

Met up with Trapping addiction and his father and neighbor boy out there today. After a couple words of advice and a point in the right direction they were catching cats like old pros wink. Every time I looked over TA had either a fish on or was throwing one back. I know they have some good pics of a realy funky looking cat with lots of odd markings.

I think I ended the night with somewhere in the high 30s. As a group of the four of us I dont enen want to guess how many but I beT we broke tripple didgets on cats and quite a few bonus fish too.

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I lost a monster yesterday before noon. Ripped the rod outta my hand after the hookset. Picked it up, got a couple cranks, then it came off. It was slow, but I wasn't hitting the evening bite either. Felt good to finally get on the ice!

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Well it was our second worst outing as far as catching goes -- 1 cat for 2 guys. I had a personal skunk (not even a rock bass). But that's why there's next time. Luckily for us I don't get discouraged easily and I'll be back. Nice outing RFM.

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Here is that picture of that odd looking catfish riverfishingmiss was speaking of. IMAG0300.jpg This was also our biggest one of the night, which I am guessing was 28-29 inches (we are planning on bringing a something to measure them with next time to be sure) grin We had a great first trip out there for icing cats, and hope to be back as much as possible this winter! We ended up with about 20-25 cats, 3 walleyes, and 5-6 crappies.

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Yep, thats the one I was talkin about crazy. It was good to meet you guys grin. Not too bad for your first time after the winter cats. Give it a little time and you guys will be as seasoned as the crew I had with whistle.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Well 11 inches is looking better. We need some cold weather soon and it doesn't look like it's coming...

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Hey guys, I'm heading up tomorrow night (super pumped). Me and the gf are going on a mini ice fishing trip as a Christmas present to ourselves.

Anyways, I have the general idea down (fish like walleyes higher in the water column). The one thing I need help with is where in the heck do I park?! Also, just so the girlfriend doesn't kill me, are there any bad spots to be wary of besides the meth-hole?

Thanks for the help, DTro your videos have been awesome. I don't plan on keeping any, but I want the girlfriend to hook into a few fish! If you see an orange/black team wild otter out there, stop by and say hi!

Brian-

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ice thickness should be good. theres a winter access off 22 on the southeast part of the lake. its a good walk (over a mile) but pretty easy with the lack of snow. someone that fishes the lake more often might have a better option for ya. hope you get into em & let us know how you do, i might be going up friday if the bite picks up

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Unfortunately the biggest issue is parking right now. It's quite a walk from most everywhere to get to the meth hole area. But with the lack of snow, it isn't a hard walk at all, just takes time more than anything.

Good luck up there!

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Thanks guys. I might try a few spots between the hole and the access, I will let you know what I find! She is more excited than me, I hope it works out!

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As Icehawk and I said in many posts now, try knocking on some doors wink. Most of the people that live out there are very nice grin The worst they can say is no frown But I'm willing to bet most say go ahead.

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Dtro, props on the videos! Love them. I hear you're quite the catter. I've never caught one throught the ice. Your videos have gotten me itching to get up there sometime this season. I've got a 2-1/2 hr drive up and was wondering if you got any suggestions on which lake on the chain I can try, where I can just be able to walk around to get to spots, since I don't have a sled or 4 wheeler.

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Thanks Fishman, but all I do is hit the record button and share some catches. Most of the times, they are quite easy to catch, not much skill involved.

As far as which lake? Well if you take a peek at the DNR Lakefinder/Survey data, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html you can get a small idea of how the population density and size varies from lake to lake on the chain. You can catch them on just about every connected lake, however it seems like the lakes nearest to the main channel of the Sauk River has the best bite. We prefer horseshoe mostly because it offers both the high number of cats, and also quality size. There are a couple of holes on other lakes where we have caught them hand over fist, but only 12-13"ers.

As far as parking goes on other Lakes. Google Maps are your best friend.

Good Luck

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Got a late start this afternoon, checked out a new area of the lake just to see if it had activity. It did grin. Set up in a small hole that bottoms out around 32ft and found fish stacked up from 22ft all the way down. Glow red was still hot and the smaller jigs were a must again. Did not catch any crappies or eyes tonight but between the two of us I think we got 30-35 cats but average size was down.

There is no snow left on the lake and it was starting to rain when we hit town so it should be a skating rink again by the weekend smile. What others have said about 11in in is right on the money for 95% of the lake right now. Still some areas to use caution around wink

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made my maiden voyage to the chain today! think i saw brian and his girlfriend from a distance but too far to say hi. interested in his report. also saw and fished with maverickoutdoors-very nice to meet you man!

i walked on from 22/winter access area. hand-drilled 25-30 holes around the bay and island without marking (m)any fish-although this was late morning/early afternoon which might not be the best time. decided since the walking was easy i would try my luck up at the ole meth hole. that's where i ran into mav and his buddies.

set up in among the healing swiss cheese in about 35-37 FOW. a few stray fish but no fish tornados-most blips/blobs were very tight lipped. one flurry at about 5pm when i picked up 2 small walleye, a party crappie (biggun!) and my first 2 kitties thru the ice! both on the small side at about 16" a piece-but lost one after a long battle who was definitely a much larger fish-doh! probably should have moved around more but i wasn't sure what to expect. all in all a very good day on the ice!

look forward to doing it again!

Rich aka tg

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