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2015 Red River Fishing Reports At Grand Forks Report


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Happy Spring

 

The Red at Grand Forks is super low right now and we could use some rain to bring it up this early in the year. The ice came off over the weekend in this area and at last look the water temp was 37 degrees. Have heard of a couple people out fishing even one decent catfish report. I suspect it will be a bit more before the real pre-spawn bite gets rolling.

 

More reports to come throughout the season.

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All ice has been off for about a week and the water temps are flirting with 50 degrees. The water is extremely low for this time of year which should make fishing good and getting around in some areas difficult.

Cats should be in the prespawn and picking up as the days and weeks go on.

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  • 2 weeks later...

ITS TIME! The warmer weather of the past week is just what the doctor ordered to kick the catfish into high gear. The fish are starting to move in the main currents and along the current seams to the main channel. Of course don't forget about structure as that holds nice catfish this time of year also. Fresh cut sucker was the bait of choice but I did not try anything else either. I expect the bite to get better and better over the next couple weeks.

All area ramps are open and in good shape. Be sure to exercise caution when boating below the area dams as the water is low for this time of year and there are some shallow spots to deal with. Be careful and you will be fine.

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The prespawn bite is spectacular. We are catching fish in every section of river that we fish. Water temps in the low to mid 60s right now. The pattern has been fishing the heads of holes or near structure with a good current near it. Lower currents and clear water have allowed the fish to feed in the mid river areas. Cut sucker is the bait of choice but all others are working. Stay on the move to keep finding active catfish and you will be rewarded.

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The bite remains awesome with many trophy fish coming in. We have had a huge cool down with some rain over the past days and the water temps have fallen a lot but the need to feed remains. The rain is very welcomed to help the low water situation. The good news is this cool off is extending the pre spawn bite a few weeks longer. Best baits have been fresh cut sucker or goldeye. The best locations have been outside bends along the drop offs. The faster current areas seem to be the best areas.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Heading to Drayton mid next week. How is the river looking, spawn started yet?

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Heading to Drayton mid next week. How is the river looking, spawn started yet?

​River should be settling down.  I am guessing the Drayton ramp below the dam is still closed after the rise in water last week.  Spawn is not on yet. I figure 2 weeks left before that happens.

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5-28-15

Catfishing on the Red is SPECTACULAR!  The pattern and bait right now is anglers choice.  Everything seems to be working right now.  After last week and all the conditions being messed up, everything has leveled out and as predicted it is game on. 

The best patterns for me have been working the deeper faster drop offs using suckers for bait.  I have been sitting on spots 15-20 minutes, even if I catch a fish or two I have been moving on to the next spot.  This tactic adds up in numbers of fish and bigger fish.  With 64 degree water temps the feedbags are on and this should last at least a couple more weeks.

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Catfishing on the Red River continues to be great.  Lots of big fish to be caught right now.  The river is up again this week causing lots of grass and other debris in the water.  The best locations to find fish are areas with a faster current on a drop off but away from big amounts of debris.  This does pose a challenge but once you find the locations you find the fish.

All baits seem to be working but I have only been using suckers again this week with good success.  Stick to a 15-20 minute sit on a spot with no fish. Stay on the move and you will stay on the catfish.
 

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Water was way over the dam in Drayton, in fact we drove the boat around the dam!!! Tried all the hole's, wood, fast water, 90% of the fish came from 4-8 foot of slow back water.

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Catfishing on the Red River remains great.  As the debris in the water finally settled out the catfish moved back to the break lines off the main channel.  Deeper water near structure seems to be the best.  The water temperature has reached the low 70s so expect the bite to change a bit in the next days as the cats start moving toward the nest for spawning.  This might change the bite to more slow water and tight structure. 
 

I have only been using sucker but am sure that other baits are working as well.
 

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The spawn is on and fishing is tough. The pattern right now is fish spots looking for active fish and hope something bites. The faster water seems to be working well in the morning and evening but during the day it is a crap shoot as to where you find active fish. It seems that a 20 minute sit putting baits tight in wood or along the cut banks or just off the drop to deeper water. Sucker has been the bait of choice by far. Goldeye simply is not consistent. There are still great fish to be caught but be patient.

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The catfish spawn continues on the Red River making everything a bit more challenging.  The good news is some post spawn fish are starting to show up.  The key to catching fish is work the shallows along the cutbanks and structure looking for nesting fish and along the current edges looking for active fish.  Stay on the move give each spots a solid 20-25 minutes before moving.  All baits are working but better strikes are still coming on cut sucker.
 

This weekend is the Scheels Boundary Battle in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.  Stop by the weigh in between two and three pm each day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My channel, 33.5x20! caught Sunday 28th June north of town.  Released so that he can grow up a bit more!IMG_4862.thumb.JPG.7a0a03270d10d927dcd9a

IMG_4863.JPG

IMG_4863.JPG

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not sure why (1) my pics are huge, (2) my cousin's stonecat was posted twice... and (3) the label for his photo didn't take, but there you go. B^)

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Done some bank fishing below the dam in Drayton yesterday. Bite was a little slow, caught some that were spawned out and some not, actually seen fishing staying close to the concrete slabs and boulders, sure they are still spawning.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back at Drayton this weekend, fish are hitting good. One on cut bait everything else on frogs.

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Catfishing on the Red continues to improve from the spawn.  Bigger fish are becoming much more common again.  Best locations are mid-river holes and drop offs on the outside edges of bends.  Goldeye is the bait of choice for sure.  Sucker is working and there are reports of a frog bite taking off too.
 

Water temperature is around 80 degrees.  There is definitely a morning and evenig bite going on.  20-30 minutes sits on a spot seems to be the best.  With fairly stable weather in the forecast one can expect this bite to hold on for quite some time.

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Is there a lot of debris in the river again from the storms in the past week? Thinking about going out tomorrow morning. I'm a couple hrs south of GF

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Is there a lot of debris in the river again from the storms in the past week? Thinking about going out tomorrow morning. I'm a couple hrs south of GF

not really.  Nothing to out of the ordinary.

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Catfishing is really good right now. The fish are spread out some but not all that hard to find if you stay on the move. 15-20 minutes sits on a spot.  The best spots seem to be the heads of holes or near fast water.  The drop offs of outside bends are also good.  Goldeye has been the bait of choice again this week but sucker is still working.  I hear frogs are working but have not had success on them myself.
 

The river went up a little early in the week.  This mixed with fairly stable weather has the Red shaping up for a great August.

 

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Catfishing remains good on the Red River.  There are many bigger fish to be caught.  The best areas to look are deeper water near structure or heads of holes. It seems a 20-25 minute sit on each spot is working out well.  Bait this week is anglers choice it seems.  I have been doing best on suckers and frogs while others are saying goldeye is king.  With that, use what you are comfortable with and be prepared with everything.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A huge cool off has hit the area offering relief from the scorching heat but it has also caused the water temps to drop very quickly putting the catfish into a funk. The fish have moved out of the main river feeding areas and are sulking in the shallows and off current areas. We have offer bait up to them longer and be more patient but great things are still happening. (I wrote about this at great length in Cracking the Channel Catfish Code) The bait seems to have changed back to suckers but frogs are still working.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Catfishing on the Red is really good right now.  The fall bite has commenced and the fish are feeding hard.  The best spots to fish are front of holes or break lines with current on them.  Also the outer edges of snags.  For the most part a 15 minutes sit without fish is sufficient before moving on.  The best bite has been on frog and goldeye but sucker has been working as well.  We are coming down the stretch of the 2015 catfish season and it looks like it should end with a blast.

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Catfishing on the Red is really good right now.  The fall bite has commenced and the fish are feeding hard.  The best spots to fish are front of holes or break lines with current on them.  Also the outer edges of snags.  For the most part a 15 minutes sit without fish is sufficient before moving on.  The best bite has been on frog and goldeye but sucker has been working as well.  We are coming down the stretch of the 2015 catfish season and it looks like it should end with a blast.

Hey, Proguide. Thanks for all the reports over the years. It's been helpful! Heading to GF tomorrow AM (can't fish until Sun-Mon though). Is there a local source for frogs or do you catch your own? Scheels, Cabelas, for suckers? And about how much weight to get down right now? Thank you!

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Catfishing on the Red is really good right now.  The fall bite has commenced and the fish are feeding hard.  The best spots to fish are front of holes or break lines with current on them.  Also the outer edges of snags.  For the most part a 15 minutes sit without fish is sufficient before moving on.  The best bite has been on frog and goldeye but sucker has been working as well.  We are coming down the stretch of the 2015 catfish season and it looks like it should end with a blast.

Hey, Proguide. Thanks for all the reports over the years. It's been helpful! Heading to GF tomorrow AM (can't fish until Sun-Mon though). Is there a local source for frogs or do you catch your own? Scheels, Cabelas, for suckers? And about how much weight to get down right now? Thank you!

Sorry I was out of town.  Scheels has frogs.  There are suckers around most of the time right now.  You can use 2oz in most places.  If you have the time I would consider Drayton too.  Been on some great fishing all over.

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Dang! We checked Scheels last year and they were out so we didn't bother checking this time...guess we should have! We did okay. Not a lot of fish, but some quality fish on cut suckers. Biggest was 34.5" with three fish over 33" for the day. We've done better, but we've done worse. Weather was great!

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