Catfishing in Montana

[Rick]

How is the catfishing and where are some of the better River systems for cats?

[BigSkyCatMan]

There are many river systems worth noting. The Yellowstone River is your best bet for a handfull of Channel Cats between six and ten pounds. The Missouri River produces large ctas, but are sometimes hard to locate. The Musselshell and Milk Rivers are also very good options. A dozen cats averaging about 2 lbs. is common on the Milk. Fort Peck Reservoir in the North-East corner of the state is the best lake for cats, State Records can be pulled here!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Gib sky- what is the state record there?

[Matt Johnson]

Aren't there gar (or weren't there gar) in the Yellowstone at one point? Or is/was it paddlefish? If I recall, I remember one of my friends from Montana telling me about the large paddlefish they would catch in the river when he was a boy. It might not have been the Yellowstone either, but that rang a bell for some reason.

He was also an avid trout angler and I've seen some pretty impressive pictures of him and some monster Montana trout!

[BigSkyCatMan]

Deitz- The state record Channel Catfish is 27 lbs. 2.72 oz.

I would say this is within reach of the avid angler.

Matt- Yes, there are big paddlefish caught every year at the Intake Diversion Dam near Glendive, MT on the Yellowstone River. (very popular spot)

[Rick]

Hey BigSkyCatMan,

do you have flatheads and how is the channel catfishing?

[BigSkyCatMan]

No Flatheads here in the Big Sky country. Only Channel Cats and Bullheads. Haven't went out and tried the cats through the ice at all this winter. Should be another good spring though!

[Rick]

Big Sky,

What would you say is the average Channel Cat size where you fish?

[BigSkyCatMan]

Rick,

Depends on what body of water I am on. The Milk River, which runs through Glasgow, averages about 2.5 lbs, but offers a high catch rate. (a 12.4 lb. was caught during the Milk River Catfish Classic last summer)

The Musselshell River is between 5 to 6 lbs. on average, and the Yellowstone River is about a 6 to 8 lb. cat. (Numerous Catfish in the low teens come out of this body of water every spring.)

[Rick]

It would be fun to get over your way and do some catfishing

[hanson]

I've got to say, that is a pretty decent average size channel cat on those rivers. I would say that compares pretty well with our rivers in Minnesota, excluding the Red River of the North where the average size channel has got to be in the 10-15 pound range. Its unreal!

[BigSkyCatMan]

Yes I have fished that area quite a few times. I am always penciling in a few dates on the calender every year to go fish the Grand Forks area. I will always be there for the annual Cats Incredible!

[hanson]

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I will always be there for the annual Cats Incredible!

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Do you fish the tournament? I've been contemplating whether or not to register this year. I don't know the Grand Forks stretch of the Red River very well but plan on fishing it a number of times this summer, water levels & flow permitting.

I believe the GF/EGF Chamber of Commerce is taking applications right now. I've probably missed the registration window and will end up on the waiting list. Ah well.

[BigSkyCatMan]

Hanson-

Yes I have fished the tournament the past two years. The registration date was last Tuesday, chances are you won't be getting in this year. You will have to keep it in mind for future years though, it is very well ran and a top-notch catfish tournament.

[Rick]

BigSky,

will you be fishing it this year?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Big Sky, or anyone?---We are fishing cats this weekend here in Minnesota at the Cool Cats Ice fishing get togeather... This is a very fun event.. Have you ever tried to ice fish for cats out there?

[BigSkyCatMan]

Rick,

Yes I have entered my name in the drawing for this years Cats Incredible, now I just have to wait patiently and see if we get in or not.

Dietz,

I have tried fishing cats through the ice on the Milk River a handfull of times, but have never had any luck. It is still a high priority of mine though.

[Wiskers]

I too am sitng with my fingers crossed for the Cats Incredible drawing. pant pant.. That is the BOMB of tournaments I have ever been to yet.

Any Blue cats out in that neck of the woods? Them Blues are one that I have not yet tangled with. I tried a littel when I was down in MO last summer but not enough time or luck to hook into one.

Someday I hope to find a good spot to try and the time to get there for some Blues.

[BigSkyCatMan]

Whats up Wiskers! There isn't any Blues in Montana, just some big Channels. I need to get a trip planned for down south to fish some big blues.

Me and my brothers are still planning on getting a River Pro one of these days, just have to figure out the best time to pull the trigger. Hope yours is running great, and ready for another yeasr of Cats Incredible!

[Wiskers]

Hey the RP is doing just great... Anxiously waiting in the back yeard under snow...

I just spoke with River Pro the other day. They are busy as all get out.. hard keeping up with orders. I asked about you guys but they have not heard from ya.. I hope you can make it work for ya. You will never regret it, and then you will be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner LOL LOL..

Looking forward to seeing ya at the Cats.

[Big Cat Dad]

Rusty....When you get your next River Pro are you going to get the 176 HiPro XT or just the regular 176. Thanks for the info. I did contact them about the River Pro last fall but things came up. It's that time of the year to start thinking about it again. I can't wait until I get one of those in my garage.

[hanson]

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I can't wait until I get one of those in my garage.

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You ain't the only one!

I've fished out of 4 or 5 different RiverPro HiPro's now and there is no doubt what I want to get. The problem is RiverPro doesn't make a HiPro with a forward center console anymore. A couple of the guys that run the Minnesota River have a couple of the early RiverPro's that have the waaaayyy forward console (its right at the front deck) which opens up the entire boat for fishing space. Very nice!

BTW- Rusty's current boat is quite the ride!

[Big Cat Dad]

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The problem is RiverPro doesn't make a HiPro with a forward center console anymore.

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Are you sure they don't make them to the consumers specs. I thought Rusty told me last summer that Kevin likes the console to the front(his model) and if the purchaser wanted that style I thought they could get that?

[hanson]

Hmmm... Maybe.

I've just heard through the grapevine that they aren't available that way. If enough people start bugging him about that, maybe we'll see it moved up front standard.

What I heard is it alters the handling of the boat with the center of gravity shifted forward. Don't know whether that is true of not, I'm not an owner of an RP yet. Not trying to spread a rumor either.

I just really like that configuration with the console at the front deck.

[Wiskers]

Well lets just say that you can have the RP made any way your check book will allow you to have it done.

As for my next RP.. I love the one I got. I did like the high sided one just for the visual appearance. It looked much bigger, this one looks so much smaller for some reason. I would also get it double striked on the bottom. i use mine all over the place. LOW to the Red Lake River. The taller one seemed to handle the bigger water a bit better but this one seems to be smoother and less splash up in big waves. I would love to have a Lo Pro in my back yard just for lake events and keep the Hi pro for rivers. Best idea would be to have a Deep V Hi Pro for lakes. now that would be the ticket. No props to take out plus you can head into rivers as long as you did not want to go in the major shallows like the RPs do now. A regular 19 foot Deep V with outboard still needs at least 4 feet of safe water to run in... Deep V RP would need maybe a foot or two... Im sold on the idea... Ok who started me on the RP.. some one shut me up... now I got the fever real bad... gonna have to go hook up the garden hose and fire it up to hear it purrrrrrrrrrrrr........

Any way, where was I going.. .lol... As for the council moved forward.. I would not like that. I like mine to the back for driving but it sure would give more room in the back for fishing. With mine to the rear I seem to be able to feel where the back end will slide to when manovering so I do not hit rocks and stuff... being in the front it would seem pretty odd with all that back end sliding around behind you. Your nose weight might end up plowing too then???

Bigskycatman... We made the Cats lottery and I see you did too... awesome.. game on... call if you come up prefishing....