Red Lake River Cats

[bucksbud]

Hi all....new to this site, from the Park Rapids area....Usually make a couple runs to Crookston for cats every year, but been disapointed the past few trips and was looking for some tips on any dams, or other areas on the river north of there where a guy could find a few cats....any help would be appreciated...I can swap some good info on the ice bite and walleye bite in this area.... Thanx bunches....

[ivegottabite]

bucksbud- i would recommend going a bit further west and hit the grand forks area. the kitties always seem to be willing to play over there and your chance at a 15-20 lb fish can be fairly good if you fish the area correctly.

ice spots in the park rapids area seem to be worth gold from what i hear. drop me a line and maybe we can work something out -- motorhead327 at hotmail (Contact Us Please)

[Ihateriversnags]

I wouldn't go quite that far just yet. It appears that the bite has been disappointing for a LOT of folks in this area both in Grand Forks and Crookston. Not sure if the spawn has been all screwed up or if there are other factors. I have seen some smaller cats down at the dam lately but not by any numbers and from what I hear, catfish league over in GF had a lot of boats with not a fish either.

[bucksbud]

Many Thanx for the input...From the sounds of it the cats are getting off to a slow start after the spawn. Heard from a freind that they had done pretty fair up in the Oslo area two weeks ago. Just need to look for some access points. They had three in the 15-20 class. Going to be in the Fargo area with the better half as her mom is in rehab due to an illness, and figure since they'll be visiting I may take a little tackle and give that a shot...Maybe the Buffalo River. Things been a bit slow around here lately fish wise. SOme good eyes coming off Big Sand, mostly slot fish tho, 20-28 inchers. 16-20 feet , rigging, dragging crawlers...Pike bite is off right now....small fish being the norm. Blame it on the unstable weather. More later.....going to head out and try a few casts...

[Wiskers]

Well Crookston has picked up a bit now. I was out yesterday and boated 5 cats over 15# and several smaller ones. I had to go down river but I found them.

[bucksbud]

Thanx for the input wiskers....Seen your boat on the river a time or two, usually because I'm under the bridge in town,(being a lowly bank fisherman)...LOL....DOn't generally haul my boat up there, but have been thinking it might be a good plan. A bit unsure because I'm not familiar with the water, and would hate to pile it up on the rocks. I know how shallow it can be in spots.

[Wiskers]

Well heck, just flag me down next time you see me.. we can go for a dig...

the river is getting very low now.. I was even hitting rocks the last time I was out..

[BigWadeS]

I was home last weekend, in Grand Forks, and fished the mighty north flowing red. We did pretty good a few decent size around 18-20 pounders and a lot of the 5-8 pound range...good luck guys

[Catfishunter]

Make sure you were your life jacket when riding with whiskers i've seen that boat in action.

[Wiskers]

Yeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa