Northern valley report

[fiskyknut]

Tis the time of season....Shorefishing for BIG Channel Catfish late summer and fall on the Red River of the North. A bit of a later start for me on the Red this summer as the BIG Walleye on the LOTW were quite cooperative this summer for me and it was hard to put the trolling gear away!!!

I've made 2 trips to the Red the past week, water is a bit on the low side and was slowly falling but pretty good results were had each trip, making me think that once again this fall the fishing will be fantastic.

Sunday N of Drayton saw 7 fish between 30 and 36 inches. Only had 5 frogs that day and I was unable to catch any Goldeye so I pulled the plug early!

My buddy Keith, aka 'dirtball' and I got out Tuesday over near the Golden Grain access. Frogs are hard to come by this year on my usual stomping grounds and we only had 2, but we managed to get some Goldeye. I got 6 kitties, 1 about 22 inches, another about 30 or so, and the other 4 went 34-35 inches. Keith got 1, a nice 34.5 inch Fatty to kick off his Cattin' season. The first couple Cats did'nt come till twilight, the rest after dark. Frogs took 2 the rest came off the Cuts. Another week or 2 of cooler nites and the frogs will shine a bit better and the fish should be snappin' during the afternoon/evening hours better too......Fun, fun, fun!

Plenty of BIG Catfish and not another angler in site as is the norm up here in the northern valley. The fishing will just get better and better as we move into September. Iffin you have'nt fished the Red up around and north of Drayton you should give it a whirl as this stretch of river here in the US is just teeming with BIG Catfish this time of year and they are darn easy to locate and catch. Try it you'll like it!!!!

Regards......fiskyknut

[CatManLee]

Thanks for the report...it's good to hear the bigguns are biting. I'm taking a couple of anglers to Pembina in September for a guided trip they won during a benefit this past month here in Thief River Falls. I'm really looking forward to it, man I love this time of year.

Has anyone been to Pembina to see how the launch looks and if the dock is in and set up?

[fiskyknut]

The ramp is good to go and the dock is in place. Water is quite low but not waaaay low like it was 3 years ago.

Looks like a couple of good rain dumps hit the southern end so we'll see a fresh flush of water up this way soon and the fish should go mad when the water starts rising. I'll be watching the usgs guaging stations and when the crest arrives I'll be out there.

[CatManLee]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure it's pretty low, just as long as there's enough water to float my boat I'm gonna keep my plans. Glad to hear the dock is in, I can't wait to get up there.

I'm not sure on the exact weekend I'm heading up, but will let you know when the date is decided. (I told this guy, it'll be the trip of a lifetime, Plus he paid alot of money for this, so....I want to try and time it right!) Know what I mean???

I'll talk to you later.

[hanson]

Here's a couple photos of Dirtball's fish.

[Dan Thiem]

Man that part of the country can really grow a channel cat! Why is it they get so big there? C&R? Or less pressure maybe? Who knows? Nice pictures!

[CatManLee]

There's something in the water! No really...I think it has alot to do with the river system itself. The large amount of forage/food they have has alot to do with it. I also believe the high numbers have alot to do with it. There are so many Catfish in the system, a bunch are bound to survive to adult hood and grow large.

That's just my theory...

[Wiskers]

Plus it helps to be top of the food chain and eating machines. Once these cats get growing, they pretty much run the river. The only thing I believe can give them a threat are the big snapping turtles.

[fiskyknut]

Dan, like Catman said, and I'd guess too... It's mostly the high quality and numbers of forage fish in the river. Over 80 species of fish have been documented in the watershed. Virtually no one fishing the better part of the river can only help. Fish near the cities and bridges you will see folks but away from the beaten path areas you for the most part don't see another soul. The 1 over 24 certainly helps, and most fishers release all their big fish.

I've been out Cattin a couple more times this past week with okay results, getting some Whales each trip anyhow. Numbers are a bit down and I gots to blame it on the low water and flow which seems to have thrown a monkey on the wrench when compared to the past 2 seasons when the flows were better at this timeframe. So far the bite is better than 3 years back when the water was even lower, a good thing as that was a tough year. Frogs have ruled the past couple trips, last time all fish were taken on frogs, none on the cuts.

This low water might be a good thing up this way a bit later in the fall when it comes to catching Walleyes, time will tell on that.

fiskyknut

[fiskyknut]

A couple of interesting trips last week.....

Keith and I made another run to the Red on Tuesday. Cats were a bit fickle this evening, kinda just nibblin. We caught our share anyhows with 9 landed, these were all kind of averagey fish going 28-30 inches or so. Did'nt have but a few frogs or we probably would've gotten more Catfishes. I pulled a quite large Sheephead on a chunk of cut bait. High point of the nite was when Keith said he had something large and in charge on his line which was baited with a chunk of cutbait.....Turned out to be one of those funny jade coloured Walleyes, near 31 inches and plain fat and massive, had to go all of 11lbs and then some, oof-da-maters! So it looks like the low water is/was a good thing Walleyewise as I mentioned prior. Might just have to make a few more trips than usual out there that way come October and November this fall season as conditions should be good for catching them Walleyes on a coupla spots anyhow.

Friday saw major Catfish action at this same spot, with some BIG ones landed. Found the motherload of frogs the evening before so we had the bait ticket that nite. Rain started up hard and heavy about an hour after dark so we had to pull the plug early in order to get off the riverbank.

Catfish season soon winding down, about time for the switchup to jig, jig, jiggin them Eyes on the Rainy. Still a bit of time for some great Catfish action yet though, with maybe another Horselike Walleye or 3 thrown in!!!

fiskyknut