Fishing in Fargo

[Flick]

Hey I'm just wondering what the fishing is like within a half hour of Fargo, I'm going to school at NDSU and have never fished the river before. I'd like to head down there and learn it a little. Any information would be helpful, catfish or eyes I dont care, I just want to catch a few fish. I release everything I catch. Thanks for any info.

[Wiskers]

Well this is not a good time to start fishing the rivers.. The ice is getting pretty soft and dangerous.. Your better off reading for now and wait till it opens up then hit it hard.. These rivers are awesome once you get the hang of them.. study the water surface to get a feel of what it is doing and look for slack water and timber.. Fish will be there.. If your looking for bass then look for long straight stretches and work the banks.. Hope to see you on the water when its warm.

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Wiskers Guiding Service
Red River & Minnesota River,for Channel Cats, Flatheads & Walleyes
Crookston, MN
[email protected]

218-280-0442

[Scoot]

I totally agree with Wiskers. Right now can produce fish, but in a few weeks with nicer weather you'll have a much better shot at fish. You can fish the dams for eyes at the middle-end of this month through April and the same areas for cats to follow. Lots of spots for both species, but that'll be a good start.
As for bass, I wouldn't spend too much time on them here in Fargo. There are definitely some in the river here, but not in the numbers that Wiskers has in Crox. That's a hoot catching them on the Red Lake River- an excellent fishery in some spots.

[Flick]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm definetely bringing a rod up when I come back from spring break, that and the 12ga. to kill some snows. Do you get many eyes on plastics in the spring? Is the pre-spawn bite pretty good when they run into rivers, I'm not looking to keep any fish so I'm not going to be there filling up a bucket or anything. It'll take me a while to learn whats all going on down there. What might be an average april eve. on the river as far as numbers go. I'll be strictly shore fishing. thanks for any comments

[Scoot]

Plastics on a jig and cranks seem to produce the best for me. Particularly when the water's colder, I'd tip the jig with a minnow. As we get later into the spring run you might consider forgetting the minnow, but I usually choose to tip mine.
As for a typical night, it can range from no fish and no bites to a many fish, some of which are big. I don't consider it a numbers game, just a potential for great quality. Put in your time and hit spots that'll warm first- quiet water that warms from the sun will produce before anything else. However, I think we're still a couple weeks off before things get kicked off pretty good around here.
There's one other thing I should mention- if you really want to increase your learning curve, give Ed Carlson (in Horace) a call and hire him for a day or a half-day. He's a great guide for walleyes and cats and he really knows his stuff. It'd be the best money you could possibly invest if you're really interested in catching spring and fall eyes or summertime cats (I've even seen him get into the wintertime cats too).

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Scoot

So I got dat goin’ for me… which is nice.

[This message has been edited by Scoot (edited 03-02-2004).]

[Flick]

Scoot-Thanks for the information, really helps, looking forward to hitting the river in a little while. Talk to you later