Lockport Cats!

[vern]

We just took another trip up to Cats on the Red in Lockport, Manitoba & once again we had a blast! If you haven’t made the trip to Lockport for those monster channel cats, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s about a 7-8 hour drive from Mpls., but well worth it. We caught lots of 32-36” fish with a few even bigger. Those are huge cats! You’ll be amazed by the size & power of these big fish when you first hook one. We started with cut sucker that we brought with us, but goldeye was the key. Lucky for us the goldeye were biting very well off of Stu’s dock. A piece of crawler or power nibble on a small jig did the trick. Catching goldeye is almost as much fun as the cats. We caught most of our cats below the dam, but picked up a few at spots downriver. At night we set up a couple lawn chairs on the dock & managed 7 or 8 more big cats in a couple hours. We’d just set the clickers, kick back in our chairs & it wasn’t long before we’d get a zipping run. On Saturday we actually had a big fireworks display from Selkirk right in front of us while I landed a 20 lber. That would have made a great photo, but I didn’t have a camera with me. Thanks to the Illinois boys for the lantern. I still haven’t done the corkin’ up there yet, but next time for sure. We also caught a few sauger, a 20 lb carp & a 12+ inch crappie off the dock screwing around with some jigs. Check out Cats on the Red, you won’t be disappointed. Great rooms, boat landing, boat rental, licenses, etc. & monster cats right in front of the cabins. Thanks again Stu, that was another fun trip. Nice to meet you Canuck. Thanks for all the tips & the flat sinkers. They worked great! See you next spring. Vern

[Guest]

Well sorry to hear that Vern, maybe you will have fun on the next trip....better luck next time Eh. HA!!

Yup, can't wait.........love them sumo kittys Eh!

Here Kitty...Kitty...Kitty?

"Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 05-24-2003).]

[shefland]

Vern, how much currect was there? How much weight did you use? I know it can change overnight, but just curious, will be at Stus in one week, can hardly wait, Used to go once a year, last couple of years we go twice, and this year we are going 3 times, how much fun can a guy have? not enough when it comes to those Red River Giant Channels.

[vern]

Hey Shefland, I used 3 ounce bell sinkers & was able to hold. I wouldn’t go any lighter than that though, especially below the dam where the current was real strong. Canuck gave me a handful of 3 oz. flat no-roll sinkers & they held bottom even better. So expect to use some heavy lead, at least 3 ounces or possibly more. If you get tired of sitting in the boat, try some of that night-time dock fishing, that was a blast! We sat at the end of the dock & would cast the bait downstream, parrallel to the bank. Caught a couple fish tight to shore, but the bite was better out in the current a little bit. Kinda relaxing after bobbing up & down below the dam all day. I thought it would have been fun to fish the dock with a piece of goldeye under a lighted slip-bobber, but I didn’t have one with me. We tried some different things to catch the goldeye, but one jig worked a lot better than the rest. I don’t know why, but a white Ratso tipped with a piece of crawler was the hot goldeye jig. It outfished everything else we threw, even a plain hook/worm combo. I wish I could get up there more often, but I just don't have the time. But I am thinking about making the trip again in the fall for those monster walleyes. (greenbacks). Good luck & have a fun trip! Vern

[Guest]

Yup Vern, the no-roll sinkers are the way to go. We have been using them for 4-5 years now, I seldom use anything else for straight-lineing.

Try this Vern...Use a bead and a 1" piece of surgical tubing between the weight and the swivel. This will protect your knot from wear, it helps to dramatically reduce break-offs. First the weight, then the bead, then the 1" section of tubing, then a good heavy swivel, add leader to length. The tubing needs to be just big enough to suck up to the ball of the swivel, not any larger or it will be pushed past and not work as well. Match the tubing to the swivel.

For Goldeye Big Bud Shanon B. and I had a easy time filling the live-well with Goldeye using Angel Eye Jr's in Gold, or glow pink. We rigged them AJ's with a tiny Kahle hook instead of the treble, and hung them under slip floats. Shanon had good luck with a crappie rod and just the Angel Eye, he vertical jigged them, caught a mess of them too. We tipped them with a hunk-a-chunk-a-crawler and worked them from 6" to 3' off current breaks.

Shanon got darn near spooled twice when a big cat snarfed up his Angel Eye, then walked to the flow with a big "See-Ya-Sucker" smile on her puss. Just No stopping a SUMO Cat on #4 test and a 12' crappie stick Eh. Man we boated some monster Drum too, always something interesting on the line this trip.

Great trip, done some experimenting with some unusual tactics for sumo cats. Folks thought I was totally nuts too, yet it paid off big, then they changed their minds some. FAR from the norm for cats, that's for sure. Yup....but man did it ever get them busting white water and taking to the air.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 06-01-2003).]

[vern]

Hey Eddy, I'd like to hear more about some of those unusual tactics for the cats. Sounds very interesting! I've been using the beads for years, but haven't tried the surgical tubing yet. Canuck gave me a few pieces though & showed me some rigs, so I'll definitely check that out. That's a great idea. I bought some flat sinkers up there a few years ago, but haven't used them much since because they're tough to find around the cities. I'll have to either mail order them or start molding my own. In fact, cat tackle around the twin cities is increasingly hard to find since the big chains moved in. They don't seem to carry hooks bigger than 2/0 or sinkers bigger than an ounce. I'll have to do a bulk mail order of hooks & sinkers sometime soon. Vern
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[Guest]

The No-Roll sinkers here in Fargo sell out fast. I talked Scheels into getting them in a year or so ago, they need to stock twice as much to keep up. Especially in the 2-3 oz sizes.

On-Line try these links to find bulk cat tackle.

www.catfishproshops.com
www.catfishconnection.com
www.[YouNeedAuthorization].com

www.[YouNeedAuthorization].com/products/sinkermolds.php?UID=2003060301564767.1.19 7.185&category=no_roll_sinker

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 06-03-2003).]

[vern]

Thanks for the links. I'll check those out. Vern

[Steve Foss]

You can also get molds for those no-roll sinkers.

Buddy of mine got a mold with a 1, 2, and 3 oz in it in Bismarck, N.D. (don't know which store), and I'd cast up a bunch of those no-rolls when I lived in G.F.