2013 HSO Mississippi North Catfish & Sucker Round Up

[Brad B]

this event was formerly known as the HSO Mississippi North Catfish Get Togetehr.

this will be a 2 part event this year.

the part 1 will be at St Cloud,MN

the part 2 will be at Otsego, MN

here is the info for the St Cloud event :

When : Sat April 20

Where : Riverside park, St. Cloud

Time : 2pm-8pm

Here is the info for the Otsego event :

When : Sat April 27th

Where : Otsego County Park, Otsego

Time 2pm-8pm

If you are free and want to have a fun time doing some shore fishing on the river come check these events out.

Let's use this thread as a way to know who is coming to these events. please post if you are going to come and to which one or both events

[Rick G]

Thanks Brad for getting the Otsego event on track and for helping me with the St. Cloud portion.

I will be giving updates on the condition of the river as the event draws closer.

Now if we could just get some warm weather to help things thaw a bit

[Brad B]

I went out and check the river both in Monticello and Otsego. as of right now the river is extremely low. there is a lot of shelf ice on the sherburn county side of the river at Montissippi Park. At Ellison Park the shore line is right to the waters edge and this is the best area if a person wants to fish the river now. At the county park in Otsgeo the river is low and really doesn't have any areas to fish right now with the snow cover and the ice under it. once the snow and ice melts the river level might start to come up and it will cover the area that we could use to fish from for the event in April. for those that were there last year the area where we fished has changed alittle. the stump that is at the top of the slope down to the river is almost out of the dirt. it looks like it was either erosion or some one dug the dirt away from the stump. the path down to the waters edge is now wider and should be easier to get down there is the water doesn't cover that area as the snow and ice melts. there was a set of deer track going up and down it. It will be interesting to see what the next 5 weeks before the event will bring. I will post more updates later.

[my4x4yj]

That has been my thought while reading this event devellope is where are the water levels going to be. The average high for today is 41 and the long range after today doesn't have it getting much above 32 anytime in the next 10 days at which time the average high is close to 54. This year may be similar to 2008 when the ice went out only days before the opener.

[Guest]

I will be at the one in st. cloud!!!

[Rick G]

I sure hope we get some warm weather pretty quick

[Brad B]

I sure hope we get some warm weather pretty quick

I agree, but on the flip side I hope it doesn't warm up to fast and cause flooding. I see they are talking 45 degrees for next Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the spring weather unfolds this year. Hope it will be warm for both of the G2G's and not raining. I think I will try to get to otsego and check the river and the park out this week. I might even remember the camera this time.

[CrowRiverRat83]

I would like to attend the Otsego event this year. I live just blocks from the park. But I guess it just depends on the river conditions at the time.

[Brad B]

I went out and check the Otsego Park this afternoon and checked conditions and took some pics. as of now the river is still really low but it does appear to be picking up speed based on how fast the ice pieces are floating by the spot I was at.

Here are some of the pics as of today :

this was the first spot we went past on the way to the spot where we fished last year.

Here is the area we fished last year :

Notice how low the water is. I hope this area doesn't flood over as the snow melts.

[Rick G]

Had a chance to make a couple stops along the St. Cloud section of river while on lunch today. Ice in town is realy taking a beating, had a large sheet below the dam at 11am, when I came back by at 1pm it had busted up and floated down river. South of town is a little different, once you get to the new access the river is just about locked up tight yet. There are signs of thawing though, the ice was grey/green and not looking very solid anymore. I would be willing to bet it will go out sometime early next week. Now we just need some nice warm rain to get the water temp up into the 40s

[Brad B]

the water temps in the 40's won't be a issue once the ice hits the Monticello area. the water is 50 degrees in the winter and spring due to the nuke plank discharge. the river has went up alittle but is still fishable at ellison park. the ice that is coming past monti is not that big of pieces yet. I think we will be fine by both events. I will try to get out on monday or tusday and get some updated pics from the Otsego Park.

[JeremyCampbell]

Huh,I was on the st cloud river too around 2:00.I went over to a crappie spot on 5th ave on the river,then drove up to the water treatment.Open water along many areas by the shore.Lots of garbage like plastic bottles and chip bags flowing down the river too.Well I think ice fishing is done for the river but there's much slush to travel in on the lake for now. Laterz !

[pushbutton]

Hey, I remember that stump. Almost lost my rod resting on it from a nice red. A little further south is Rick's secret bullhead spot

[Brad B]

was this the red you almost lost it on :

Here's Rick's famous bullhead :

[Rick G]

Water temp below the dam here in town was 35 today. Still have lots of ice above the dam yet.

[JeremyCampbell]

I was wrong then,I only saw a few miles of the river.

[Rick G]

I was wrong then,I only saw a few miles of the river.

I take it you were loking North from the water treatment plant? I was looking north from the greenhouse, there is a huge sheet of ice right above the big dam.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

Just got a look at my schedule and looks like I will be attending the event in St. Cloud. Is there any backup plan if the water happens to rise to an unfishable level in St. Cloud?

[Rick G]

Um, aren't you the weather man Look at the ten day forcast, do you see anything in there that will cause the river to rise much?

I'm not real worried about the water level so much as the water temp, anything under mid 40s and the bite will be super slow at best.

[Brad B]

Rick,

do you have any idea what the water temp is at right now at st cloud. I will be going to check otsego again on wednesday after work. I think the water is warmer at otsego do to the nuke plant in monti. I have heard the water temp around monti runs in the 50's until it starts to get warmer out. I don't think the temp would drop that much in about 8 miles but I could be wrong.

[Rick G]

Haven't been down in a couple days, I would guess 35-37. I will stop down in the morning if I have some free time for a reeding.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I see quite a bit of precipitation in the forecast, and lets not forget it is April. If we do miraculously scrape together some sunshine before the 20th, snow will melt, and there is plenty of that north of St. Cloud. Just Sayin'

[Rick G]

We have 37 for a water temp this morning.

[Rick G]

Due to the cold water conditions and winter still holing on, Brad and I have decided To cancel both the St. Cloud and Otsego events . We will however have a make up day for this, as of right now we are looking at June 1 for a possible date, and June 15th as an alternate date.

More info will be avalible as the date nears

Rick

[Brad B]

Thanks Rick for posting this. I think the fishing will be better in June any ways.

[JeremyCampbell]

Any info on the round up Rick or Brad?

[Rick G]

We have been kicking around dates and location, still haven't got things toataly worked out yet. Don't worrie, we haven't forgotten about this

[Brad B]

what Rick said. A lot of the waiting is to see if the weather will ever stabilize. useless people don't mind fishing in the rain or wind. We will do something but we need to talk about it. was thinking maybe August unless we do something in July. I am open to any Saturday with a little notice. this Saturday won't work because it is tomorrow and most people would already have plans. next Saturday could work but it is kind of short notice. The 22nd of June might work if I can get grandma to stay with the kids for awhile. the 29th is my birthday and I plan to spend that up on Mille Lacs for part of the day and then spend the rest of the day with my kids for my birthday. this now brings us into July as of now any Saturday in July would work. I could plan accordingly.

[JeremyCampbell]

Yeah useless people fish in the rain.lol

[Rick G]

useless people don't mind fishing in the rain or wind.

Sorry Brad, this was too funny to let slide