Mississippi between 694 and 610

[Flying_Fort]

I have never catfished before and am going to give it a try this weekend. We are going to be going between where Rice Creek dumps into the Miss and probably north of there. We are fishing from shore. What kind of baits should we use and how has the fishing been?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

[EBass]

Cut sucker minnow, crawlers, shrimp, or even chicken gizzards.

Get some 3-4oz no roll sinkers, heavy duty swivel and some circle hooks. You'll get cats, carp, sheepies, and on the crawler maybe bass and/or and walleye.

Biggest kitty I've seen in that stretch was around 8lbs. Lots of eater size cats if you're into that.

Good luck and post a report when you get back.

[Flying_Fort]

Thanks for the info. An 8lb cat would be my biggest fish ever caught. It would top my 6.5lb walleye. Thats why I want to give cats a try.

What size circle hooks do you use?

[audemp]

4/0 circle or 3/0 kahle style

there are some great cat waters up there but its real shallow in too many spots.

You should just drive up to fargo!!

[Surreal Deal]

The Rice Creek/'Sip confluence has been a bust for me in three outings this spring. Hardly a rock skip upstream from 610 is the Coon Rapids Dam, you may want to give that a shot. I hear that people have good luck there and I'm seriously considering trying it next. You have to pay to get into the park if you go in on the East bank but if you enter the park from the west bank it appears to be free (Word of mouth disclaimers apply).

What the other guys said re: tackle, bait and species to expect are dead on.

[EBass]

Get some different size hooks. In that section I go a lil smaller just because the majority of the fish run smaller in that stretch. Lot's of em, just smaller for the most part. But its nice to have different sizes as sometimes they want a big hunk of sucker minnow to chew on, and a lil hook and a big hunk of minnow doesn't work to well on the hooking percentage. Experiement and see what they want. No bites in 15 mins - move.

[mplspug]

There's a creek inlet that you might want to give a try in the Coon Rapids dam park. That's where I usually fish. It can be hit and miss. If you hit that spot either cast out into the main river current or make a long cast across the creek mouth as there is a riffle over there. You can also walk to the other side of the creek mouth across the bridge and fish below the riffle. There was a down tree right by there the last time I was there you could also try.

Let us know how you do wherever you go. I have to go up that way on Wednesdays and sometimes like to try the river. There is a park on the West side of the river I have been meaning to try too. There is a park and I went there during low water. There was an area that seemed to be a deeper pool the way it looked.

[Surreal Deal]

By the way since nobody has mentioned it, welcome to the river and welcome to catfishing, FF!

The nice thing about the river is that even though you may not always catch any fish, you will always come away with something.

I was fishing the Rice Creek/'Sip confluence early last Saturday morning when I was approached by an interesting character who babbled on at length and eventually began boasting that when he was a kid he caught a 50# flathead on a lazy Ike while casting for Smallmouths down by the powerplant near some riprap. While not impossible his claim seemed highly improbable, yet I managed to stop myself from replying that he may have caught that fish on the very same day I saw bigfoot piloting Amelia Earhart's plane! Instead I humored him, mumbling something about it being possible that a flathead could have gotten past the falls by swimming through the lock. Eventually he wandered off and suddenly the river was all mine again (The noise from the 694 bridge not withstanding).

You never know who you're going to meet on the river but everyone I have met so far has been mostly harmless!

[Flying_Fort]

Thanks. I am not entirely unfamiliar with river fishing, just cats. I used to fish over near Menomonie, WI, while in college for walleyes just below the Lake Tainter Dam. It was a great time.

My buddy lives within walking distance of the 'Sip in Fridley. His neighbor fishes that stretch fairly often and has said he has caught a bunch of "decent" sized cats there over the last month or so.

The plan is to give it a go Saturday night. Hopefully we'll catch a few.

We found a busted up canoe floating in the river last weekend. It looked like it had gone over the Coon Rapids Dam and got bent in half. Rivers are interesting places, for sure.

Where is a good spot to buy catfishing gear in the north metro? Went to Gander in Blaine and they didn't have a great selection of catfish sized hooks.

[EBass]

FF, there's Bass Pro Shop Outlet store, and Thorne Bros, and maybe Vado's Bait. Also, might have some at Fleet Farm.

[Surreal Deal]

Bupkiss, bupkiss and more bupkiss. The closest one on any of those is MFF - they have swivels and hooks, but hardly anything for sinkers. Your best bet in the North Metro is Joes in Roseville or Cabelas (if you can make it out to Rogers).

The best local supplier I have seen is Moores Bait & Tackle down in South Minneapolis. It's a better spent trip than driving out to Rogers (IMO). They cater to cat fisherman - you can get everything you need between the palm of your hand and the fish's mouth!

[Flying_Fort]

I am working in South Minneapolis and have driven past Moores Bait & Tackle. I have said that they are in a strange location for a tackle store. I now have a good reason to stop in there. Thanks, I'll stop in tonight if I have a chance.

[Surreal Deal]

So FF, How did you do?

[Shack]

You have to pay to get into the park if you go in on the East bank but if you enter the park from the west bank it appears to be free (Word of mouth disclaimers apply).

Are you talking about the parking lot with The Banfill-Locke Inn in it? That is Manomin County Park or Locke Park. It is a county park but I have never paid (or bought a sticker) and used to fish that area of Rice creek all the time with out ever being asked or ticketed. Have had some family picnics down their also. As a matter of fact I have some old video of a nice channel being caught at night down their from about 10 years ago Forgot about that. I might have to just to dig that up and convert that over.

I fished for the first time in years the 694 launch area couple weeks back and did not get any runs or pulls on a bullhead. The DNR says flats are found all the way up to the Coon Rapids dam though. Before they changed their Flathead web page in the area where it described the areas/waters they could be found it said this.

Gives a guy hope but the drive to the MN or down stream to St. Paul is worth it IMO for targeting flatheads. But I know nice channels are up this way in abundance.

[Surreal Deal]

Are you talking about the parking lot with The Banfill-Locke Inn in it? That is Manomin County Park or Locke Park. It is a county park but I have never paid (or bought a sticker) and used to fish that area of Rice creek all the time with out ever being asked or ticketed.

[Shack]

Yep you are right SD. Locke Park is that area up the ice arena on University and runs over to 65. I was thinking of Locke lake.

About the area having flats I think most do like I have in the past. Fish it once and move on to better waters. I wonder if a cat guy targeted this area above Pool 1 and the CR dam for one whole season in a boat and with flathead baits what would happen?

It would be nice to see even a small one be caught from this area. I wonder if a guy talked to the people at Vado’s to see if they have ever heard of anything? They get up in Pool 1 some how. Why could they not go above pool 1

[Surreal Deal]

Yep you are right SD. Locke Park is that area up the ice arena on University and runs over to 65. I was thinking of Locke lake.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Originally Posted By: shackbash

They get up in Pool 1 some how. Why could they not go above pool 1

There's no Lock at the CR Dam so I don't think that they can go any further without an accomplice.

Pool 1 runs from Saint Anthony Falls to the Ford Dam (I'm about 99% sure), so the stretch from the CR Dam to Saint Anthony Falls is upstream from Pool 1, yet flatheads would still be able to access it through the lock. There is no question in my mind that there are flatheads in that stretch, but I don't think the population is large, and I'd rather spend my time chasing them in waters with a better abundance. I'd love for someone to prove me wrong, because I would enjoy being able to fish a bit closer to home!

[Shack]

Yep Ralph is right.

Pool 1 is between the Ford dam and upper St Anthony falls lock. If you lock threw the upper St. Anthony Falls lock you are just in the regular old Miss at that point.

Pool 1 extends from Lock & Dam 1 located near St. Paul, Minnesota, upstream to St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[Surreal Deal]

OK guys,

I was thinking that pool 1 stared at the CR Dam and that pool 2 started at the falls... Thanks for helping me pull my head out of my kiester.

[Ralph Wiggum]

OK guys,

I was thinking that pool 1 stared at the CR Dam and that pool 2 started at the falls... Thanks for helping me pull my head out of my kiester.

No problem I used to be confused by it, too!

[mplspug]

Hey, I was raised in Fridley too! Sorry, I have just tainted you on this board...

I was first exposed to catfishing under the 694 bridge with my brother. Even though we never caught any over 3#s, if I remember correctly, I learned how even the little guys are strong fighters. You can catch much bigger ones if you fish NE Mpls on either side of the river. We had a spot behind some business that I don't know if we were trespassing or not. I suspect the habitat above the falls once you get past say the Broadway bridge, is not friendly to big cats, especially ones interested in spawning.

[beatuplund]

Supposedly the sections above Pool 1 are called Pool A and Pool B. "A" runs from the Coon Rapids dam to the first lock, "B" is between the locks (think Stone Arch Bridge), and Pool 1 starts after the lower lock.

A DNR survey showed flatheads up through Pool B. None were sampled from "A". Cool report if you want to find where different species are:

State Wildlife Grant Final Report

Status and critical habitat of rare fish species in the

Mississippi River from the Coon Rapids Dam to the Iowa border

Konrad Schmidt (Nongame Fish Program)

Nick Proulx (Bio-criteria Development Program)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Division of Ecological Resources

9 March 2009

[Flying_Fort]

Well, not so good. I got called into work on Saturday and couldn't make it. I'll be donating a couple of hours tonight if it is not raining. The area we are planning on fishing is the east bank north of Locke Park. It is easy access from the county trail system. I stopped by Moore's on Friday night and picked up some hooks.

[Surreal Deal]

Small world, mplspug! What year did you graduate?

Good luck FF, and please be sure to let us know how you do. From word of mouth it sounds like right below the 694 bridge may be a good place to try. (Get there from the trail system at Islands of Peace park) I've never fished there myself but may try it, since I've not done so well fishing out of Manomin park.