Finally.....my first 'cats!!!

[bmc]

I finally broke the ice last night in my attempt to catch a channel cat! I fished the St. Louis river, near US Hwy 2 and ended up catching 4 'cats from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The first one darn near pulled the rod outta the "y" stick. LOL I rigged it up with a slip sinker, circle hook, and a piece of cut sucker minnow. I no sooner was washing my hands in the river and my rod was doing the "teeter totter" in the y stick. I ran up there and proceeded to land a 4lb channel. I was pumped! I then tried nightcrawlers and caught 2 little channel 10-12" that I threw back. I switched back to the cut sucker and caught another 4lb'er. What a great night. When I cleaned the 2 bigger 'cats, I saw they still had eggs in them. I was kinda' bummed, I figured they'd been done spawning. I'm wishing I woulda' released 'em now, but too late. If I email a pic to someone, could you post it here for me? I'm computer illiterate! LOL

Brian

[Skunked-Rookie]

Hey bmc what is a circle hook? Did you fish by the boat landing or bridge? I was thinking of trying by either Hwy 2 or around the boat landing in Brookston for cats. I noticed 4 campsites between Paupores & Brookston that looked good to try out , I don't know if you can access them without a boat though. Anyways that is good to hear that you did good, I might have to take a trip up there tonight now and try it out myself. It will be my 1st time for cats too.

[Lowe]

SR, send me an email and I'll give you a couple spots. kanderson at ascietl dot com

[Northlander]

Tom I can get ya on those spots. Thats where me and J fish cats. Your gear will work fine up there. You wont get them too big for med action walleye gear. 10-15 test line is more than enough.

[BD110]

bmc,
Good job I'm still looking forward to hooking up with you. I'm not set up for cats but I would like to see how it's done. Try my cell if you still have the number or drop me an e-mail.
Talk to you soon, BD110

[Lowe]

Congrats bmc, sounds like you had a good time. Most of the cats usually have spawned a month or more ago, but like other fish cold weather and high water can make them hold onto their eggs or actually reabsorb them. Don't worry, there are plenty of cats in the river. (LOTS of mercury in them too, be careful who eats them.)

SR, you're right, all of the campsites from Paupores down are on the north side of the river and only accessible by boat. One of them is actually almost straight across from my hunting shack. There are some nice fishing spots right in Brookston and a couple camping spots downriver, accessible by foot, that I could point you to if you want.

[bmc]

Thanks guys.
Hey Tom, I haven't forgot about ya'. Just been a bad month for me. My 6 year old just spent 5 days in St. Mary's for a dislocated c-1 and c-2 vertabre in her neck. Now she's wearing a halo with 8 pins for the next 6-8 weeks. That was only my second trip! If you want details in case you want to get out before we can hook up, let me know! I'm not sure when I'll be down that way again and able to fish, but as soon as I know, I'll drop you a line.

Brian

[Skunked-Rookie]

Lowe that would be great if you could point me in a direction to a campsite by foot. Do you need my E-mail addy?

[Lowe]

Skunked Rookie, sorry I gave you the wrong email addy. kanderson at ascicorp dot com

[beaverlakeman]

the cat spawn here in fargo/moorehead isnt till now through the beggining of july. I dont know about cats spawning a month ago or more.. id recheck where ya heard that from.
Anyhooskie, I caught a 17lb and 12lb cats this past sunday on a med. action walleye rod with 8lb test. Thats plenty enough for these kitties if your in a spot with few snags.
The heavier stuff is no fun in my books, I like to fight the fight, not yank em out like the pro bass fisherpeople..(30lb test for a 5 lb fish) lol..

I have a pic of the fish if someone wants to post them.. image station dont treat me good and dont show some pics sometimes.

Later all, and gl fishin

[cweinkauf]

Do cats up north bite on chicken liver like down south?

[Lowe]

beaverlakeman, you must be talking about flatheads. Channel cats usually spawn in mid to late May in this area. Every spring when the cowslips (marsh marigolds) start blooming, the big female cats are spawning. No flatheads around here but I know they spawn later, late June into July.

Chicken liver works just fine. The only real difference between "northern" cats is on a whole is they are smaller than southern kitties.

[Steve Foss]

Channel cats don't spawn early like pike and walleyes. They spawn gradually, after the water warms, and they don't all spawn in a bunch like most other species.

June is the most likely spawning time in this northern part of their range. Because they spawn a few at a time, fishing for channels never shuts down all the way during the spawn.

Don't worry about taking a couple females with eggs in them. Cats get so little pressure from the general public on the St. L that it's not an issue.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Northlander]

Stfcatfish how was Basswood?
The cats are either spawned or at the late stages on the St.Louis River. The ones I caught yesterday were very agressive and were hitting a jig and leech with a vengeance. Jig and minnow as well. Upper river is in the 60's but harbor is still in the mid 50's.
They are getting easier to find and seem to be putting the post spawn feedbags on.

[beaverlakeman]

There are no flatheads in the red. So im told by a guide, only channels.. And the same person also told me that the majority of spawn happens in june into july..

[Lowe]

Northlander, how's the size on cats in the lower part of the river? I managed one over ten last year on the upper stretches but most are under 7#.

I suppose the catfish spawn will vary from river to river depending on how quickly the water warms. I know I've caught a ton of cats in May over the past twenty years, and the big females where I fish are almost always spawned out by the end of May. There are a lot of wide, shallow creeks where I am that can be very good fishing in the spring, the water may be warm enough in them for the cats to spawn a little earlier.

[Northlander]

Most Im catching are smaller 2-4 pounders. I think if I was using cut bait I may do better on biggins but Im jigging for eyes and catch them. This usually means they are post spawn and feeding hard. Leeches are working on everything in the river right now. Eyes to Crappie.