Boat access

[fishuhalik]

I'm heading down to the Minnesota for the first time this friday (hopefully) with a buddy of mine. I've been following the flathead posts pretty closely and think I have a pretty good idea on gear & tactics, but I have no idea where to start. If you guys & gals could just let me know where to put the boat in, I'd appreciate it. I'll be coming from the north metro, so closer would be great, but if it means a better chance at tying into a 20lb+ flat, we'd be willing to travel quite a bit.

Also, we'll be going in a glass bassboat, should we be worried about deadheads?

And one last question, do you prefer bullheads over big suckers, or do you just like 'em cuz you can catch 'em for free?

[Lowblazah]

your picking a bad time of year to try and catch a cat. Spawn is underway and the bite is very finicky. Be prepared for slow to no action. (doesnt mean you wont catch anything, its always possible)

also I would not run a glass boat in this low of water right now unless you are going to launch out of bloomington as that stretch of river is dredged.

Bullheads do way better than suckers in this heat. So unless you have a good livewell with lots of aereation I would go with bullheads. That being said suckers work well too, just are a little more fragile this time of year.

GOOD LUCK!

[Gordie]

bullies are the ticket but suckers are great also as for where to put in at Hmmm lets see theres Jordan,Carver,BellePlaine,Shakoppee,Henderson,and host of other great landings to choose from. Yes to the deadhead question becareful and you should be fine

[fishuhalik]

So when does the spawn usually start coming to an end? 2-3 weeks? It seems like some of you guys were having a banner year up to a couple of weeks ago and we were hoping to get out then, but just weren't able to connect with each other

[Lowblazah]

thats a good question as some fish arent even showing signs of spawn yet, while others are pretty beat up. Typically everything is back to normal by August. I put out very little effort fishing for Flatheads in July.

I say go anyway and bring some cutbait, the channels are fun to catch too!

[Larry FlatCaster]

Even with a Glass boat in the dredged channels, keep a sharp eye peeled. There seems to be a fair number of floaters out there. More so than is normal..... I'm not sure why.

Its a slow time for chasing flats. Give it a shot, but hedge your bets with the channels. Things will start perking back up when we get into august.

[wastewaterguru]

Shakopee or 35W for ramp locations.

On the Minnesota river you always have to be careful for floaters......but once your out of the dredged channel, you are even more at risk from stuff thats connected to the bottom and just below the surface. Always putz around until you are familiar with a given stretch. Some spots with 20 plus feet of water have logs sticking all the way up near the surface.

Caution is always the name of the game until you can chalk up enough experience to know where you can run faster.

[fishuhalik]

Hmm...looks like I might have to postpone it for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the replies, guys!

[Scott K]

The fish are still biting, just a little slower on the big ones. As for a glass boat on the MN, I wouldn't put it in no farther south then Shakopee.