Channel Catfishing Holy Grail *videos added*

[MinnesnowtaWild]

WOW that is a brute

[Carp-fisher]

Dtro,

Congrats on what looks to be a fishing trip of a lifetime. What was your hook up rate using those circle hooks? I've been experimenting with them this season and have a very low hooking percentage. I'm wondering if this has more to do with gar and small drum harassment than to channel cat misses....

[aanderud]

Hookup ratio was good (better than 75% I would say, including fish that took our bait or got off on the way to the boat), even though those were barbless hooks. If you aren't getting your fish to hook up, you may try moving to a smaller hook maybe? There are definitely a lot of gar around on the MN river, so those might be one of the biggest thorns in your side. Oh yeah, and don't forget turtles. You'll get a lot of misses that way too.

We probably wouldn't have had to actually "set" the hook on any of the fish, mostly they would pick up the bait and set it themselves. The fish that picked it up while the rod was in the holder, that was definitely the case. The ones where we were holding it, there was probably more of a sweep-type hookset involved, but methinks if one would have just held the rod steady like a rod holder would, they would have hooked themselves too.

[DTro]

Yep, what Brian said.

I think it was probably even better than 75%.

I like using circle hooks, especially for Channel Cats, but not so much for Flatheads. Just personal preference I guess.

Not having a barb on the hook like we were required in Manitoba was a trial and error thing mostly because of the bait falling off. We tried a few things, then Steve cut up a bunch of pieces of rubber band, which seemed to work really good as a bait holder. For that reason alone, I don’t think I would go the barbless route voluntarily. It WAS nice how easy the hook came out, but keeping bait on was kind of a pain.

We did get a nice tip from Marv to buy some cheap plastic worms and use those as bait holders.

Just remember when using circle hooks to try and use a slow action tip rod and let the fish hook themselves.

[rushing]

A chunk of Berkly Night crawler would work pretty darn good as a bait stop.

[Carp-fisher]

That's interesting info on the circle hooks.

[hanson]

Cat guys talkin' plastics?? Uh Oh!

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Once glitter hits the conversation then we're really in trouble

[Ed Carlson]

How often did you find the cutbait up on the leader, and than have to tussle to get that tough skin off the line? Sound kinda familiar guys?

Fresh cuts are very tough skinned. Folding the tip of the skin and inserting the circle hook parallel to the meat/cut will keep the bait on when fished barbless.

DTRO...."Marv"..as in Marvin Miller? Did you bump into him up North on the Red? Good friend Ol Marv...he has caught tons and tons and tons of sumo's up there.

[hanson]

Once glitter hits the conversation then we're really in trouble

LOL!

[DTro]

The key word is "fresh" Ed. 4 day old bait, is still 4 days old even in a 5 day cooler

Next time it's dry ice to keep it frozen.

Not only that, but those frogs sure seemed to work their way off much easier than the cut bait.

[DTro]

DTRO...."Marv"..as in Marvin Miller? Did you bump into him up North on the Red? Good friend Ol Marv...he has caught tons and tons and tons of sumo's up there.

Yep, Marv and his wife. They were cool and a couple of cards for sure.

Steve sent Marv home with a new Gamakatsu Lighted Cork to add to his arsenal.

[Ed Carlson]

Marvilious Marv...yup.. he is great....and his wife...she can kick most catmans %@% on the water....reads her book...catch a kitty..read a bit more..catch another kitty...on and on all day.

I have seen guys whine about being beat up by the cats...and side by side...she is outdoing them 2-1....LOL!

Ya them new Gami floats are great tools. Not easy to find at most retailers yet, but well worth ordering to have on hand.

Another good Styrofoam float is one used for Stripper fishing, shaped like a Dart with a nail wight in the bottom, and cupped on top to POP-n-Spit water Cats like that sound Eh ...cheap too...about $3 each. I was able to locate them at Sportsman Warehouse...I'll try to get the info on it for ya.

[Ed Carlson]

If anybody is still think'n fall cats...I highly recommend a trip up to see Stu at "Cats on the RED".

Numbers fall off, but in late Sept and Oct...they get huge!! The biggest of the year in fact.

Last fall they went well into October in the deeper channels down stream. Night and day, huge..huge fish.

So..it's far from over up North. Personally from experience..the best ><,sUMo,> action of the year is yet to come.

And...there is always them sumo Greenbacks in Oct...that's another story.

[Gordie]

heres a bobber idea for ya if you put a light stick in a clear plastic pop bottle and use a bit of water for balast then a rubber band and a swivel for a slide on the line. havent tried it but been thinking of it. cheap big bobber

[pureinsanity]

where the frogs being tossed off? or where they able to pull themselves off the hook? Sometimes I pith my frogs so they can not crawl around or up my line.

[pureinsanity]

Pithing them will not kill them, however they will be paralyzed and possibly brain dead but will usually stay a live as they primarily breathe through their skin rather than lungs.

[DTro]

The frogs we used were frozen and weren't moving around a whole lot.

[audemp]

Holy cow that looks fun! I was just thinking of a way to get myself and a few guys up there and you all beat me too it!

Darren, How did you go about getting bait? Did you get the frogs up there?

Great job and great vids guys!

[DTro]

Thanks Marc, we were fortunate enough to have a few nice friends here that opened up their frog grounds to us for a couple of days. We collected about 250 for the trip.

From what I heard though that you can find frogs up there. We thought it was better to spend time fishing up there though.

[Lowblazah]

Can you bring the frogs across the border?

[DTro]

yes, but they must be frozen

[aanderud]

I've heard that the official rule is that frogs aren't allowed into Canada, dead or alive.

However, everyone I've talked to, including regulars who go across the border several times per year, say that getting them through is generally NOT a problem, especially if frozen. I even talked with fisheries personnel up in Manitoba over the phone several times about various regulations, and when I asked them about frogs, they said there shouldn't be a problem with frozen ones...but, she left the caveat that the border patrol, customs, and immigration officials always have the final say.

Edit: As pointed out by Ed below, the law clearly states that frogs are not legal, so bringing them across is not advised. Thanks for the clarification, Ed.

[Ed Carlson]

Although reports of the enforcement being inconsistent is apparently true, this is the way the laws read straight from the books in MB Canada.

BAIT

Night crawlers and earthworms may be used as bait in all Fishing Divisions in Manitoba. They may be imported to Manitoba in a sterile medium such as paper mulch, but not in soil.

Leeches, frogs and salamanders (water dogs) may also be used as bait in all Divisions. However, they may not be imported.

Possession of crayfish is prohibited.

Offal (fish cleaning remains) may be used as bait in all Divisions.

Frozen or preserved bait fish may be imported and used in all Divisions.

No angler may have in possession more than 4 litres of bait fish of which no more than 15 dozen can be live bait fish (excluding suckers and tullibee, which have no limit).

Yellow perch, goldeye, and mooneye, that have been caught by

angling may also be used as bait and may be used as live bait fish where use of live bait fish is allowed.

Anglers may only possess a legal limit of these species. Carp, goldfish, and rainbow smelt, except for purchased frozen smelt, may not be used as bait.

***************

Note* Technically to be able to bring in Goldeye/Mooneye dead or alive you first must have a current MB fishing license in your possession and be within the daily and possession bag limits....as they are considered a game fish in MB Canada.

I know the CO's up there on the Red very well, have for many years, we fish together often, and when I asked them directly if frogs dead or alive are allowed in for import, he said no. It has been this way for 2 seasons now. I was advised to stop bringing them in spring of "08" to be compliant with the new regulations.

I would also add if turned away from one port of entry, and you attempt to enter another...that will not go well...expect to be caught. All kinds of bad scenarios will pop up...trust me on that. I seen this happen to friends who were supposed to meet me up there, and they held them for 36 hours and then turned them over to the US border patrol for more fun and games...and they are now on a "List". You don't want to be on a list.

So I would not trust in the thinking that the worst that can happen is they send you back, it can get much worse.

The frog bite on the Canadian end is about over, and almost overnight the cats will flip like a switch to suckers and especially to tullibee in Sept and ignore frogs...so I would personally concentrate on getting a supply of suckers and tullibee and skip the Kermit's from now on up North.

[DTro]

I guess I was advised wrong, thanks for the clarification Ed. I will add that we were quite upfront that we had a bunch of frozen frogs and they didn't seem too concerned about them.

But the law is the law, and you certainly cannot argue with that.