Shorefishing for Cats

[waxworm]

Anyone know of any decent public spots to shorefish along the Mississippi or the Sauk River, or any place for that matter, for some channels?

Made the decision that it wouldn't be worth it to bring the boat up to school here, and any info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[alwaysfishin]

I've seen people catching them on the east side of the st. cloud dam last week. I've also caught a few at the park where the sauk river goes into the mississippi.

[Tippman]

Or Wilson Park.

[JBMasterAngler]

Below the royalton dam is a good spot. If you fish it after the opener there's some nice walleyes to be had too.

[tjoutdoors]

When I was a kid (15 - 20 years ago) we used to fish them in the Sauk River in Cold Spring. Just parked at the public access there on MN 23 and fished from the shore. We didn't hammer them all the time but usually caught 10 - 20 in an afternoon.

[Borch]

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When I was a kid (15 - 20 years ago) we used to fish them in the Sauk River in Cold Spring. Just parked at the public access there on MN 23 and fished from the shore. We didn't hammer them all the time but usually caught 10 - 20 in an afternoon.

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You'll find fairly steady action here. A little better action if you fish below the dam off of mainstreet in Cold Spring.

[hoppe56307]

What kind of baits would you generly use if you were fishing below the dam in cold spring??

[Wallyeyes]

I only started fishing cats last year, but I had fairly decent success on the Mississippi below the St. Cloud dam on the west bank. Just toss a crawler/jig about two and a half feet under a float into the main channel and let it float downstream. Usually got 5 to 10 in an afternoon. Man, they are fun to catch. I do not eat catfish so all that I catch go back, to be caught another day.

[tjoutdoors]

Our baits of choice were chicken livers (you can usually buy little plastic tubs at local grocery stores) and crawlers. Often we dipped or soaked our crawlers in the blood from the chicken livers. We would slide on a nice sized slip sinker and tie a swivel with a good sized hook on a 1 ft snell and cast out into the channel. Cats can smell that blood from a mile away.

[big musk411]

I would start out with crawlers and then hopefully you can catch a redhorse sucker and cut that up for some cutbait. A slip sinker and a Circle hook should get the job done.

[Sartell Angler]

when it gets good and hot in the summertime, my bro (Flowage Tamer) and myself like to head to the local creek in the morning and seine net a few dozen shiners. Next, we put them in a black bucket and leave it sit in our parent's driveway during one of our afternoon amateur baseball games. After the game and once it is dark, nothing could possibly be as fun as cracking a few brews and pounding some cats, so we head to the 'Sip. We just use a big hook and sinker and hook the minnow real good and get ready! Last summer in mid-July we pounded out a solid 30 or so fish in just a couple hours of fishing...basically as fast as you could get the line in the water you'd have a fight on your hands. Look for slackwater areas adjacent to current and you're golden. Here is a pic of myself followed by Flowage with a couple nice channel cats. Oh and don't forget the pliars because those babies really inhale it! (all fish were released by the way).

Anyone with questions go ahead and ask--if you've seen these pics before that would make sense because I posted them last summer

[Borch]

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What kind of baits would you generly use if you were fishing below the dam in cold spring??

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I've done well on crawlers, leeches, suckers. Whatever you can get.

[hoppe56307]

Thanks for the help, i just might have to try this catfish thing once.

[Grant]

just be careful... once you go cats you can never go back!

[Mike Steckelberg]

i have found for me the best baits to use for cats are baits that are soft like chicken livers, blood and cheese balls, shiners or suckers that i fillet and put on the hook like a crawler, and of course crawlers