Calling Dtro or Dennis or anyone

[Fishin4Life]

Just a few names I remembered from talking with Joel at the seminar this past monday up in forest lake. Mr. Nelson thought I would enjoy doing some cat fishing and he mentioned that you guys are all generally in the southern area of our beautiful state and are good guys to learn from. I have absolutely NO cat gear, nor any knowledge of cat fishing. I am mainly a bass guy. But would like to learn. I have about $100 I could swing for some gear to try her out. I go back to the Mankato area this fall (actually end august, beg sept.) Would any of you guys want to hook up and show me some tricks about catching these monsters? Let me know what you think. My boat or yours, or shoreline I don't care really. I have a 14ft with short shaft (joel said that might make me some friends, did it work? hehe)

[Mr Special]

1st Off Welcome to the Darkside

I'm no Expert, but have fished/and learned from some of the best. Dennis, ThatGuy, I Da Man, WWG I've pick their brains pretty well.

Work schedule has kept me off the water for about a month now, but that should change soon. When I do get chance to get out I'll give ya a buzz.

As for Cat gear I think you should tag along and test out some different rods/reel combos before purchasing one. many of us cat guys have multiple setup you can use 1st. The best combo I know of is the Cabela's KatKing Rod and Saltstriker reel for only $65. Or you might want to stop at Moore's Bait on 58th and Lyndale in South Mpls.

Later

[Fishin4Life]

Sounds good, thanks for the tip. BTW here is my email for contact. Forgot to leave it before

william dot titus at mnsu dot edu

[DTro]

Make sure to save a little money to buy some patience. You can never have enough for this type of fishing.

The Cabelas rig posted above would also be my recommendation for $100.

Might I also suggest reading past threads on this forum. Believe it or not I think I may have read every single post, in fact I think I contributed to the original thread....anyways, many good things to be learned in those threads, mixed in with a bunch of nonsensical shilly shally.

A lot of people have there own theories on fishing for these Flats. Most of which works at one point or another. I really think the best advice is to just fish. The more you fish the more you learn. Even if you might be doing the wrong thing.

There are plenty of good places to fish around the Mankato area, most of which are pretty much given in detail somewhere in this forum.

You must be very careful though, because slight success and sometimes even no success at all leads to a condition called CCR or better known as "Chronic Catfish Rabies".

If you snoop around here you will see a strange look in most of our eyes.......yep, we got it.

Good Luck and update us when your in Mankato (State School I presume) maybe we can hook up.

[MachineHead]

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I am mainly a bass guy.

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The sound of Lurch in the background....

Anyway, you can even find stout and affordable reels/rods at Wal-Mart these days. Though if you get bit by the catfish bug they would most likely end up as backups. Still, for the cost, it isn't that big of a deal.

Never could figure out why most would think that catfishing is hard to learn? I basically threw a crawler out for channels years ago and went from there. Flatheads are a bit more picky, perhaps, but still not like trying to grapple with some deep sea monster in the middle of the ocean. It's a large predatory fish with an appetite to match most of the time. Toss something the size of your hand out and wait.

That's the hard part.

[DARK30]

Most anyone on here would be happy to take you out...you just might have to bring your own bass

[Dennis Steele]

THere is a wealth of knowledge all wrapped up in all the guys who visit this forum. Darn good catmen!

My weekends have been getting kind of busy as of late, but I get out at least once during the week for a "four hour tour".I can always use an "extra rod".

[hanson]

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I have a 14ft with short shaft (joel said that might make me some friends, did it work? hehe)

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We don't normally mention having a "short shaft" around here. Oh, you are talking about your boat motor! Yeah, that might make you some friends!

But one of the great things about cattin' is you can do very well from shore, and sometimes its a lot easier as well. At least you don't have to worry about beaching on a sandbar, shearing a pin, or getting lost in the thick fog at night which will should soon be becoming a major issue when the nighttime air temps drop.

[Fishin4Life]

Sounds good guys I will drop a line here when I schedule free's up a bit. Probably more toward mid - late august.

Can;t wait to hook into the biggen

[Guest]

I spend a lot of time on the river and there is always room for an extra line also. There is a wealth of knowlegde on this site. DTRO pegged it, everyone is a little different when it comes to the pursuit of these fish.. but if you get enough time on the water it refines into tecniques that will work for yourself.

The gear is simple.. and can be economical, or a bit more on the expensive side if you start drowning bullheads regularly and want to upgrade your equipment. It comes down to heavy gear, heavy line, a good chunk of lead and a big hook with a lively bait... Thats the easy part. Where to place the bait is the never ending question.

The next thing you know you will forget about those *other fish*, your boat will be equipped with at least 6 rod holders, electrical wires will be running everywhere for all the extra lights and you will become a fire hazard. You will have no less than 2 different kinds of bug spray on the boat at all times, your boat will lose performance and you will later realize its because of the 100 pounds of weights on board and the extra batteries to power all the lights so you can see going down the river, there will be a strange odor coming from your boat that comes from the chunk of cutbait or bullhead that dissapeared somewhere in your boat that is hidden so well even the bee's cant find it in your driveway(but they try), and you will end up with 3 different bait coolers and aireation systems for keeping your hard to aquire bait alive for extended periods of time.. you will start with a small cooler and forget about it for a couple days and you will open it to find bullhead wine... that is the day you learn to add ice and change the water regularly.. I always tend to forget once a year(twice this year).

Are you sure you know what your getting into?

[rushing]

That Guy

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I spend a lot of time on the river and there is always room for an extra line also. There is a wealth of knowlegde on this site. DTRO pegged it, everyone is a little different when it comes to the pursuit of these fish.. but if you get enough time on the water it refines into tecniques that will work for yourself.

The gear is simple.. and can be economical, or a bit more on the expensive side if you start drowning bullheads regularly and want to upgrade your equipment. It comes down to heavy gear, heavy line, a good chunk of lead and a big hook with a lively bait... Thats the easy part. Where to place the bait is the never ending question.

The next thing you know you will forget about those *other fish*, your boat will be equipped with at least 6 rod holders, electrical wires will be running everywhere for all the extra lights and you will become a fire hazard. You will have no less than 2 different kinds of bug spray on the boat at all times, your boat will lose performance and you will later realize its because of the 100 pounds of weights on board and the extra batteries to power all the lights so you can see going down the river, there will be a strange odor coming from your boat that comes from the chunk of cutbait or bullhead that dissapeared somewhere in your boat that is hidden so well even the bee's cant find it in your driveway(but they try), and you will end up with 3 different bait coolers and aireation systems for keeping your hard to aquire bait alive for extended periods of time.. you will start with a small cooler and forget about it for a couple days and you will open it to find bullhead wine... that is the day you learn to add ice and change the water regularly.. I always tend to forget once a year(twice this year).

Are you sure you know what your getting into?

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So True, Great Post!

Fishin4Life

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Can;t wait to hook into the biggen

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It all comes down to getting some gear and putting in the time on the river.