Not going to convert , just curios.

[Random guy]

Ok, I have been chasing muskies and pike since I was old enough sneak the boat out when I was supposed to be mowing the grass and I put the musky blinders on young. I never really looked into these monsters you guys call Catfish. This is something I’m going to have to try!

I’m not looking for secret spots or anybody to divulge anything they feel could be sensitive, I’m just looking to get pointed in the right direction, maybe book a guide trip to learn the ropes. Maybe a body of water that a beginner could possibly figure out without crashing the boat? ( I like to run into things; rocks, trees, small islands, large islands etc.)

P.S. Lets keep this between us, if my muskie buddies find out I’m looking into catfish and this level of contempt to the toothy fish gods I’ll be hung at the next tourney.

[catman71]

if you want a "monster" you want flathead fishing. The MN River is a good place to start, if you are in the East Metro there are some opportunities in the St. Croix and Mississippi but I couldn't help you with that area. If you just want to drink beer and catch numbers of fish the Chain of Lakes in Cold Spring cannot be beat. Those would be all Channel Cats though. That I can help you with as I go almost every week. I suffer like you will, the walleye guys give me a hard time but i prefer to sit back and drink beer than jig rock piles with one hand on the rod and one on the motor.

[hanson]

Its OK Jon, let it out. You'll feel alot better once you've accepted the almighty Catfish into your life. No reason to hide anymore.

I really got turned on to catfishing about a year ago. I have a feeling that once you hook into a decent sized cat, you'll look at muskies a different way in the future. Cats are one of the hardest fighting fish I've ever battled on the other end of my rod. They live their lives battling current so they are very strong and will keep pulling, unlike the muskie which gives you a short fight and then comes floating into the boat.

Since you are a muskie fisherman, you should already be equipped to tackle the big cats. If you have any Abu's with a bait clicker (like a 6500 C3 or C4), you should be set.

There are some decent spots in the metro area for catfishing. I also really like the Horseshoe Chain/Sauk River for cats. Lots of nice eater size channel cats up there.

Did I mention that cats are really tasty also.

[Dennis Steele]

Carefull now!

You hook a 30, and your done!

I was an 'eye and 'ski guy myself quite a few years ago and scoffed at those dang bottom feeders. I ended up moving very near the MN river and was tired of the lines at the boat launches so I figured I'd try the MN River. The water was sooo nasty I couldn't beleive anything could live in it. But I kept seeing these huge pictures of fish in the baitshops.

Curiosity got the best of me and I gave it a try.

After I landed my first flathead at 31 lbs, It was all over.

I've been a die hard catman ever since and a lot like catman71 now. Kick back, then work your butt off to get that big cat in the boat!

If you want a good chance at a big flathead, its the MN River. Your welcome to give me call. Heck we can even share musky stories!

Lots of good flathead guys on these forums as well, who just love sharing the sport.

If you want a big channel its the Red River of the North. Cats on the Red at Lockport Manitoba is a gaurantee at a 20 or 20+.

[kais24]

I'm a musky/walleye fisherman mainly but occasionally I take my boat down to the St. Croix to reel up all kinds of species. I just love fighting fish. Once I caught a 5lb channel, I was hooked. If you think muskies fight hard, just wait... I kept trying for bigger and bigger cats and finally connected with a 50lber last August. I took a lot of heat from my "walleye" friends but after that I heard some "Let me know next time you go." I didn't have anyone telling me/helping me on where to go, I just started by reading magazines and watching videos. I applied that info to the St. Croix and felt pretty good after catching a few. One thing you have going for you is that if you're a musky fisherman, you have the patience and the know how to locate 'em. I look for deep holes around shallower waters and log jams (if they're around.) I like the St. Croix cuz you can fish with two lines. I usually fish around the Stillwater area and south from there. I do my best in July and August which sometimes can be tougher months for musky and walleye. I generally use cut bait on one line and a live sucker on the other (circle hooks on all of 'em.) Stay tuned to this HSOforum...it has really helped me. Good luck and hang your head high when you reel in a giant. Show your musky buddies the photos and you'll be suprised who wants to join you on your next outing. Good luck!!!

[Random guy]

Did somebody say 50lbs? Thats it I gotta try this catfish bit. This weekend I have musky trips next weekend I go to RED then I believe I will be putting in on a river?!

[Fisher Dave]

Dont outrule pool 3 for flatheads too.. there are lots of them down there.. and lots of big fish(40+).

There are a few decent spots on pool 2.. but its usually more of a chore figuring out where you can launch and leave your truck after 10pm.

The Minnesota river is a much smaller river and easier to fish... less water. There are most definitely some monsters in there.. but dont be fooled.. its not the only river with flatheads in this state.

The St Croix is tough.. they are in there, but they are by far the most difficult flatties I have tried to find.

Stick to pools 2-4, or join the crowd at the Minnesota.

BTW.. I used to be a hard core musky guy.. still pull one out of the lakes on a regular basis.. but muskies dont fight.. a big flathead and you will lose a lot of respect for muskies... fair warning.

[barnyard]

I used to be a die hard muskie guy. Last year I went after muskies 3 times, have not been out this year yet. My enthusiasm for muskies shrinks with every cat I catch.

We don't have flats near St Cloud, so we do channels on the river. A 10 lb channel will outfight a 20 lb muskie.

Fish for cats long enough and you'll catch a carp. There's another powerful fish. They don't hit hard like a muskie, but they don't know when to quit.

The other thing that really makes carp and cattin fun is the lack of pressure. We have spots on the river that churn out 20 lb carp like there's no tommorrow, generally, we have that spot to ourselves. It is very enjoyable to spend a day when you don't have to worry about being cut off or crowded off a spot.

Tom B

[catman71]

hey barnyard, what kind of spot do you look for when you target mid-summer carp? My river spot (mouth of a little river) is great in the spring but then dies off the end of may.

[JJB]

Pool 3 was the ticket for me last year. I spent 2 weeks to really see how big of a fish I could catch and ended up with a 25 and a 40 along with quite a few smaller ones. All were caught during daylight off shore witch made it real easy to do during weekdays with work. Ill pm you a pic and you can get a good idea where and what was working for me.

[Random guy]

Pools, inlets, cuts, bends you guys got this stuff down. Tell me about foreign object damage. If it’s on the water I will crash into it! Is there lots of goodies to crush or should I just quit worrying about it?

[barnyard]

I think most people "over worry" about the river. Go slow till you know it. You will find more unpressured big fish on the river than any other part of the state. After a few trips, you will feel more comfortable on the river than on many lakes.

We try to fish flats off the main river channel for mid summer carp. Our big fish spot should be turning on in the next week or so. Usually, our big fish spot will yeild a coupld of 20+ lb fish and lots of +15s in a day. It's a great spot.

Other good spots are anywhere a creek or another river flows in. We've also done well above riffles. We also bait an area up (ringing the dinner bell). We cook up a stock pot of field corn with suger and kool aid and throw out a couple of handfuls every 15 minutes or so.

And, typical of most river spots, we can crank in fish after fish and almost never have any competition for the spot. Course, when people see we're catching carp, they usually vammoose anyways.

For channel cats, we catch them in the river in lots of spots that are also good walleye spots (they eat alot of the same things, actually, really big cats eat walleyes.)

Have fun!

Tom B

[federline]

Hey Jon,

I learned ton from these threads about boating the upper mississippi, you might be able to adapt the advice:

How to boat on the river??

Conversion of duck boat to river bass boat

As far as goodies to hit with the boat, think "lower unit protection", "cheap props", and extra shear pins along if your motor uses them. Or, if you got the scratch, a RiverPro jet boat or Go-Devil surface drive would be king. Just take it slow and measured, and get to know small areas at a time, accidents happen and equipment gets ruined when exploring too much too fast. I'd recommend a PFD, that stuff can 'tchrow ya.

(Personally, I start breaking stuff when I'm packing up to get off the water, open water or ice, it's my trademark. )

[Random guy]

Quote:

---

As far as goodies to hit with the boat, think "lower unit protection", "cheap props",

---

Great I just installed a $640 prop.

Also; thank you all for the info,it has been most useful. I'm planning on going out with one of the pros here on the forums, even though I'm the smartest guy I know I might learn something about these cats.

[Random guy]

Well it's done I went on my first Cat outing, definetley a different way to fish, I was able to pull in a small flathead and watch a nice channel cat come in. Definetley a different fight to these fish, they just plain dig in and pull, kinda like trying to land small tractor. The action was a little slow but thats fishing, all in all I have to say I will definetley be going on more cat outings.I just need to get over my fear of the bait.

[DTro]

you're playing with fire here

hook into one big one and it's muskie fever all over again, next comes the rods and reels, river boat, secretive bait catching honey holes, sleepless summer nights.

Just warning ya

[Random guy]

I want one of those river boats, there like the Sherman tank of the water.Just think of the stuff I could run over!

[hanson]

They have many other good uses Jon.

Just ask Rusty Miller about the wall of water he sent over the bow of my 14' Lund the other day. Thank you Rusty! It cooled me off alright.

[Random guy]

I still want to run stuff over, can't do that in my glass boat.

[Dennis Steele]

Had I known you wanted to run over stuff, I would have hit everything not higher than the gunnels!

I had a good time Jon. Your always welcome in my boat. We'll get a biggy next time!

Guess who showed up SUNDAY at 6:00 ready to go fishing!?!?

[Random guy]

I also learned that sitting in the front is not good for items higher then the gunnels.

So the old boy showed, just a day late. You would think a man of such technical skills would have some form of a calender or or maybe a cell phone with the date on it.

[wastewaterguru]

Jon,

Nice meeting ya on Saturday. Would have been nice to get something with a little more meat on it, but it is nice to see those little ones swimming around in there too.

I have been over dry land, boulders, tree trunks, sunken cars, and a few other things while being a passenger in that boat......and have been over a few things while driving it as well. Not one time have I felt like I was in any danger of being injured.....yet. With the driving stories you were tellin......it sounds like you need one of them RP's

When we going after some ski's??

[Random guy]

Soon as the rocket ship is prepaired for take off. I just had another bout with the outboard company. Soon as the pieces are assembled and I give it a test run it is off to lake X for sum dem der mooskies!

[mistermom]

Cattin' is definetly fun. Fisher Dave helped me catch a 20 lb flat on pool 2 a while back. And I keep thinking if a 20 lb flat fights that hard what is a 40 lb like? I hope to find out!

And "Howdy!" to Dennis. Still need to hook up with you sir and soon!

mm