Cat virgin questions

[rodbuilder]

Hi all,

My brothers and I are going to Drayden (sp?) the last weekend in July. My younger bro went last year and had a blast. I have never done this before but thought it looked fun. We are muskie fishermen so we plan on using those rods. I also realize that you fish for cats in the same manner as sturgeon (slip sinker to hold bait on bottom, use a circle hook, maybe 2/0-3/0?? My biggest question is, what to use for bait? Should I bring sucker minnows and cut them up into chunks? I have heard frogs work (thats what my bro used)? What about frozen smelt? What about this stinky "dip" stuff? I appreciate any/all help! I just don't want to get there and hear from the locals, "Frogs?..you use frongs for catfishing?? What are you using frogs for? No, you should have brought _______."

[Ed Carlson]

Frogs (dead or alive) and fresh cut Mooneye/Goldeye are the go to baits for this time of year. Then suckers, shrimp, crayfish, ect..ect..

Other options that are not my personal favorites but do/can work are chicken liver, beef liver, and other assorted sour meat products and or dip baits. They work, just not as well as fresh baits on the Red River.....in my opinion anyway.

Buying larger suckers in bulk is handy for most anglers. In early spring and early summer I reach for suckers first. As the summer wears on I am sold on Mooneye/Goldeye as the best producer. By mid to late summer I'll take a bucket of happy hoppers anytime, but I have cuts and shrimp as backup baits. I see bait preferences change with the fish's location and time of day or night.....so multiple bait options is a good plan.

Try hooks ranging from 1 O/T to 8 O/T. I most often use 6-8 O/T Gamakatsu Octopus style Circle hooks rigged barbless. Kahle hooks in 5-7 O/T is the next best best, especially for fussy fish.

No need to use treble hooks on catfish...Treble hooks suck for catfishing. They are hard on fish, greatly increase mortality on released fish, and snag up more then they are worth while baitfishing...skip the trebles. They are not worth the hassle and/or the added expense.

Hope this gets you on the right path, good fish'n.

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Backwater Guiding
"ED on the RED"
701-893-9107

[email protected]

[rodbuilder]

Hi Ed, thanks for the info! That brings up another question. What the heck is a goldeye? I live in and fish the Bemidji area but I have never heard of one. Are they dead or live bait? Can I buy them around Drayton?

I apologize in advance for my ignorance!!!

[EBass]

It's a minnow, but can get pretty big. I caught one that went 17-18" before on the MN river. It's like a shiner minnow on steriods with some mean teeth. Oh and they have big eyes. I know that doesn't help you get them but hey, you kinda have an idea on what they look like.

I'm trying to get my crew out catfishing and we won't have dem dar mooneyes, but will bring suckers to cut, shrimp, crawlers and maybe even leeches. But we'll catch anything and like it. I'm talking about fish.

[hanson]

rodbuilder,

I'm a rookie to catfishing but I got the lowdown on Goldeyes. Yes, they are pretty much a BIG shiner minnow. They also kind of look like a REALLY SMALL tarpon.

Where I was fishing, they went by the nickname of Skipjacks. I don't know if anybody sells them. I think half of the fun is catching your own bait. They are pretty fun to catch too. They'll usually give you a little acrobatics before you get them in.

We were just using nightcrawlers on circle hooks in the river and catching them. They seemed to come in schools and when we started catching them, that is all you could get. Next time I get into Goldeyes like that, I'm freezing a bunch just for bait.

And yes, they were the bait of choice. Not the entire Goldeye but just a piece.

[This message has been edited by hanson (edited 07-23-2004).]

[Ed Carlson]

Goldeye
Hiodon alosoides (Rafinesque, 1819)
member of the Mooneye Family (Hiodontidae)

Goldeye: named from the gold eye seen in some of these fish.
Hiodon (hi-oh-don´) means "toothed hyoid" in Greek referring to the "tongue" bone.
alosoides (al-oh-soy´-deez) means "shad-like" in Greek and Latin, referring to its resemblance to a freshwater herring

Where Do They Live?

Goldeye are in all of Minnesota's major river drainage systems, except the upper Mississippi River and Lake Superior drainage systems. They are especially abundant in Lake of the Woods and Red Lakes. They favor the more quiet areas of turbid (cloudy) rivers and their connected lakes and marshy backwaters or the shallow, muddy areas of larger lakes.

How Big Do They Get & How Long Do They Live?

In Minnesota, this fish commonly gets to 350-430 mm (1.4-1.7 in) and 400-600 g (1-2 lbs). Sometimes it reaches 425 mm (17 in) and 1.4 kg (3 lbs). The state record for this fish is 1.1 kg (2 lbs 6 oz). It was caught in the Root River in Houston County. Goldeye are known to live for 10 years, but 5-7 is more usual.

What Do They Eat?

The Goldeye is an opportunistic carnivore (it eats whatever animals it can). Its most frequent menu items are aquatic insect larvae and fish of every species that live in the same habitat and are small enough to be swallowed. But over the years, their stomachs have contained the following additional items: worms, snails, waterfleas, sideswimmers, terrestrial (land) insects (including lighting bugs), frogs, mice, and shrews.

What Eats Them?

The predatory fish that commonly eat the Goldeye are large northern pike, sauger, catfish, and walleye. Since they often feed near or at the surface of the water, fish-eating birds and some certain mammals also prey upon them. In some large lakes, Goldeye are harvested commercially.

How Do They Reproduce?

In Minnesota, male and female Goldeye usually spawn for the first time at 3 years old. Their spawning season may be as early as late April in southern Minnesota. Spawning usually begins when the water temperature reaches 10° C (50° F). In larger rivers, the spawning areas are located in shallow, turbid (cloudy) pools and backwaters. No one has ever observed actual spawning of this species. We believe that they release their eggs into the water column because the fertilized eggs are semi-floating and nearly transparent (see-through). They hatch in about 2 weeks and the larvae float vertically at the surface for a time. A single female can release 5,000-25,00 eggs, depending on her size.

Conservation and Management

The Goldeye has been an important commercial species in Canada for over 150 years. It was an important species in northern Minnesota at one time, especially in the Red Lakes and Lake of the Woods. It is a fun fish to catch on hook and line, but few anglers fish for it.

A tip I'll share to catch a bunch of these choice bait critters is an Angel Eye Jr in Gold with the treble hook replaced with a tiny Kahle or long shank Aberdeen hook. Tip the hook with a section on night crawler and suspend it 6" to 3' under a float. Work this rig either along current breaks or allow it to flow downstream in the center of the channel below dams. Cast upstream to the dam and real in slack as the float approaches. Keep the slack out of the line as they are sneaky critters and they can be tough to hook at times. A basic long shank hook and split shot rig works too. I have had very good luck with the Angel Eyes and have become a big fan of them for stocking up on Goldeye and Mooneye.

------------------
Backwater Guiding
"ED on the RED"
701-893-9107

[email protected]

[Canuck]

Eddy's back.....great post. Nice to see.

[rodbuilder]

Thanks for all of the info everyone! We may have to try to catch some of these goldeyes. Soounds a lot like panfishing. I am leaving for the river on Friday. I will post a report when I return! Thanks all!!!!

[Ed Carlson]

Rodbuilder how did the tips pan out for you?

Did-ja Catch any sumo's?

------------------
Backwater Guiding
"ED on the RED"
701-893-9107

[email protected]

[rodbuilder]

Hi all. Not sure how we did relative to everyone else but I think we did fair. The trip started off a little slow because the ONLY bait shop in town was closed until 7:30 p.m...we got into town about 1:00 p.m. So, after spending 2.5 hours driving around NW minnesota (I know, in that time we could have ran back to grand forks...hind sight is 20/20). Anyway, we ended up getting some pig liver from a meat market in Hallock. We finally got back to the river, put in downstream from the dam. Within 30 minutes, we had a couple 10 pounders caught and released as well as a couple smaller fish. By then, the bait shop was open so we ran back into town and bought suckers, frogs, and crawlers. Crawlers caught the tiny fish (less than a pound), frogs produces no fish, and cut sucker produced all of the fish on Saturday. Our biggest was 12 pounds. Nothing giant but fun none the less. All in all it was a fun trip and we got to meet some new friends in the local watering holes .

Good luck all! and thanks for all the input!

[katchaser]

Rodbuilder

Sounds like your trip was pretty much a success.

Ed was right about the goldeye. Any time you get the opportunity catch them. Worms work as bait but sabiki rigs will catch multiple fish on each cast. Unused goldeye can be frozen and used when fresh is unavailable.

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Catchabiggun,
Robby