What's working for cats now.

[Fergus Mor McErc]

Cut up sucker minnow.

[Grant]

the ever-popular chicken parts- channels in monti are plenty agressive. didn't have a scale, but a couple of them were pulling line set at ~ 10-11 pounds without really effort at all.... just wish livers were a little more durable- does anyone have any advise?

[nitefisher]

wrap them in a hair net or panty hose, then put on your hook, works good for me when i use liver.

[Grant]

thanks! (now to raid my wife's dresser!)

[NorthWoodsGuy]

Great videos Dark! Except it makes we want to wet-a-line right NOW!

[Gordie]

age old question what they biting on, I'll be down in the St. Peter area and was wondering if anyone is doing well. I just caught a bunch of bullies and was thinking that I should probly have some creek chubs too. What bait stores in St. Peter or Lesurer carrys them . not sure if I got the time to catch them myself.

[DARK30]

They have chubs and suckers at the Dam Store at Rapidan Dam south of Mankato. Good fresh bait and a great burger! course you can't leave without a piece of Jenny's homemade pie either!

[honky kong]

the dam burger followed by the dam pie is top notch. they're good people out there. i used to live across the way in a cabin on the reservoir and hit up the dam store every day.

[walleyejim]

Ya just stopped there and ate yesterday. I guess I'd have to say the food was DAM good! The pie is definately a must if you stop in, and the food is quite reasonably priced. So, is anyone going out fishing this weekend???

[mplspug]

Any advice for me? I have an area in mind that has a lot of different depths between wing dams. Shallow sandy areas? Deep holes? Timber? Looking for channel cats of course.

[Grant]

been having luck with chicken livers around Monti for channels- I was thinking of sitting the bank down by Black Dog and 35W and trying the same- am I on the right track?

[mplspug]

If you have luck down at Blackdog with chicken livers, please let me know. I have been hitting it hard along the shore from 35W downstream to the 2nd spillway with cutbait. Haven't had much luck personally, but I may be doing something wrong.

[Grant]

sure thing... if you'd like to compare notes- I'll be there around 4-ish on thursday, I was thinking of that little park area just on the east side of 35W at the spillway.

[Wiskers]

Believe it or not, I was out on the Red LakeRiver yesterday and fishing for some Eyes and Saugers and I came across some fellas from out of the area and they were fishing for cats.. I thought they were crazy but they told me that they caught two cats, one 15 AND 8 POUND CATS.. .. What in the world was that.. I have never caught cats up here after the water got in the 40s. it was 36 degrees.. I was shocked... Of course they were fishing a part of the river I have never fished, way over between EGF and Fisher.. Goes to show ya, you never know every thing.. I have been studying the cats and rivers here for over 10 years and just have not been able to find where the cats go when it gets cold like this... I guess they go a long ways.. That is about 45 milse by river from where I fish.. cool..

[Grant]

well, I didn't land one, but there were definitely fish at Blackdog and 35W- they were just so stinking timid I couldnt really do anything with it. I had to leave to get to the youngster's conferences, but I'd bet that if I would have been able to stay longer I would have had more luck- first nibbles started coming just about 20 minutes before I had to leave. I'll have to try it out about mid July, when they're more agressive in the warmer water. last night the pickups could barely be felt on spiderwire... didn't have any lead on either. In all likelyhood i'll be waiting for hard water now, anyone have any advise on channels thru the ice? I figure heck, the fishies still gotta eat right?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Channels through the ice?

I did it once last year, and it is a ton of fun! I can't wait to try it again.

In my limited experience, they are not nearly as aggressive, but when you hook one, you're in for a battle. Last year there was a gathering on Horseshoe Lake near Richmond, which is where I cut my teeth. We fished in ~30 FOW with small jigging spoons tipped with a half of a fathead or crappie minnow.

[Flaco651]

I read about guys ice fishing channels in Illinois and Iowa and wanted to give it a shot here. There is a bunch of spots in and around the metro where they are stocked. I have only had limited success on these lakes during open water. Lake Rebecca in Hastings has produced the best for me around the metro. We've caught them up to 10lbs in there. Best trip on Rebecca we caught 20 channels in about 3 to 4 hours. The horseshoe chain of lakes near Cold Spring has always been productive for me during open water, probably most productive as far as numbers of channels. A buddy of mine's grandparents have a cabin on the chain. We would go up there and Bass fish other area lakes during the morning and then fish afternoon til late into the night on the chain. There is a lot of channel cats on the chain so finding them through the ice hopefully won't be too difficult. As far as through the ice goes, jigging spoons with cut minnows like Ralph said or even tipped with whole minnows should work.

[hanson]

I could probably write a small book on channel cat fishing through the ice but there are a few key points to remember.

- Electronics. You almost have to fish channel cats with a flasher because they suspend most of the time. In 30' of water, they can be 2' off the bottom or 10' off the bottom.

- They "normally" bite light and can be very, very finicky. My guess is that is what you are running into down at black dog. Downsize your hooks, line, bait, etc.

The 2 methods I usually use are a jigging rod & a deadstick rod.

On my jigging rod, I'll fish a 1/8oz jigging spoon such as the Scenic Tackle Go-Devil. For some reason, the chain cats really like red or glow red. I'll tip the spoon with a smashed up minnow head. Now the trick to jigging is to get the lure at the same level as the fish and slowly "shake" the lure. As soon as you feel a bump or no weight, set the hook.

Deadstick rod is pretty simple. Plain hook, small fillet of sucker or golden shiner, split shot about 1' up the line, and an ice buster bobber that is trimmed down so the bobber sits flush with the top of the ice. If the bobber happens to pull down 1/8 of an inch, set the hook. They bite that light through the ice.

Sometimes, you'll hit them on a good day, and they'll pull the bobber down and it'll keep going. Most of the time, it is a very subtle bite requiring finesse tactics.

[mplspug]

I fished Blackdog a lot at the end of the season here and I just assumed those "bites" were bait fish and yearling cats pecking my bait. I've really been snakebit down there and it's been frustrating. I am thinking early in the year it might be fun though to fish the spillways.

[Matt Johnson]

Had to go small this past weekend for the kitties. Went to a 1/16oz chartreuse jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head. Also used the Thorne Bros Perch Sweetheart with their 1/8oz spring bobber and 4lb line. The spring bobber really helped with the finicky biters.

Cutbait on a plain hook also took several fish.

The fish were not real willing to chase a lot of baits...

[Ralph Wiggum]

Good advice, Matt. I assume you were lighting up the Horseshoe Chain? I have not been out there in a few weeks. I've found the spring bobber to be invaluable for cats on the ice, along with some type of sonar.

It always amazes me that these things take huge hunks of cut bait and can nearly rip an 8' rod out of a holder in the summer, yet I have to finesse the whiskers off of them in the winter.

[Grant]

livers on a smallish circle hook, just enough lead to hold it in place on a current break.

kitties are still a bit sluggish however.

give it a month or so and it should start getting fun eh?

[Flaco651]

These kitties fell for some cut shad a few nights ago in the rain. Got out around 6:30 or 7 and fished until just after midnight. Here is a few of 'em...

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

[xHCxOutdoorsman]

about how deep should you fish for them in the winter and early spring

[Flaco651]

We've been catching them in 10-20 FOW. Spots with little to no current have been the most productive for us so far. We have pulled a few out of deeper water with stronger current also. Finding spots with warmer water temps should increase the overall productivity. I hope this helps.