King of the Cats 2007 Team Kitty Twisters

[Ralph Wiggum]

I think I might. I'll e-mail you.

[Flaco651]

Nice Flat Larry.

[rushing]

Right on Man! Nice fish!

[Katman]

NICE!

[Larry FlatCaster]

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Hmmmm... that boat seat looks familiar.

I bet Brian passed a rod off, eh? Does that count?

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In your case it would Hanson...... I've heard too many stories about you taking hand offs when the fish aren't cooperating with you.....

Oh Hey Hanson....

Are you doing the KING CAT SAFARI 2007 ??? Dark 30 has the first one for the board... This would be number 2.... At the rate the cat guys are getting them I think this could be a really good year..... Are you using measurements or weight for this year?

[Larry FlatCaster]

Thanks Mates...

Your guys turn now... I'm pushing the Fat Flat Vibe out to my cat guys. Its starting to heat up more and more every day.

Can't wait to see a 50lbr come out in this contest.

[aanderud]

Nice job, Larry! That's huge.

[DTro]

Well guys, Larry pulled out that horseshoe again last night! He caught a slobasaurus rex channel.

There was one problem though. I had issues with the control item and the photo didn't turn out

I have other photos with time/date stamp. Not only that, but I was with him and he is on an opposing team

If we were on the same team, I would disqualify it no question. But I think it is only fair to count this fish since it was my fault the photo didn't turn out, and I measured it personally.

I really hope this doesn't cause any confict.

Not only that but it was a beautiful fish!

32x20 and 17.14lbs!

[bgreen82]

way to go lfc. those 2 fish gotta put us out around 1st. i was out on p2 last night with a couple of guys, forgot the camera in the car so its a good thing i got blanked, but a friend of mine got about a 10 - 12 lb. channel and the other got a 9-10 lb. flat. only 2 fish we caught but we definitely found some good looking areas. after just watching in-fishermans "flathead catfish- day on the river" i was noticing some really nice spots with a lot of log jam cover very close to deep holes. we'll definitely be out again soon. and i'll bring the camera for sure.

[Larry FlatCaster]

Guys..

I'm going to make a recommendation...

I know that some of you like to go for one type of Cat or another.... Rushing LOL.

Get one of each species... It does not have to be a big one.

Andruudd you mentioned that you caught some small guys, but this contest is going to come down to close call in points and if you dont have a fish of species that could be 12 pts at the smallest dink and could make all difference.

Rob whack up some of those bullheads on a night when the flats are slow or its before the sun goes down..

Channels for the most part don't hit too late in the evening and your odds are better during the day.

This is going to be a fun season mates. Were running a good score and we have many more fish to catch... Whoo HOO.

thanks

LFC

[rushing]

Oh I fish for channels...I just fish for the real big ones that like the bullies. I have seen several big ones come on live bullies already just not on my line YET. I have tried cut bait a couple times without any sort of luck so I just stick to using bullies. Don't worry I'll get some channels.

[honky kong]

rob you still wanna go out tonight. i have a dozen bullies left from yesterday.

[Katman]

Man....I've been getting skunked! You guys seem to be having soo much fun!

Went out to the minnesota on saturday night. Got 2 runs.....no hook up. Hooked up on teh third one!.....then...it felt kinda funny. Fought it for a few seconds....hmmmm.....seems to be limp. Got her in...and WOW. A nice big broken LOG! No cats yet this season I'll be at it again soon! I won't let the team down.

[bgreen82]

wondering if any of you guys could gimme a hand. i have tomorrow off for a concert in the evening, but im going to eat lunch with my dad for his bday. he works at the state capital and i was looking to get out for some channels after we eat. you guys know any areas to look for maybe around like the wabasha or 52 bridges? shoot me an email if you can. if im gonna buy some bait for them, what would you use. cut up some live something or try crawlers or what.

[bgreen82]

tried getting out for some channels yesterday. was out for about 2 hours, all i had was crawlers, so what i thought would happen did, and that was just a bunch of sheepies. had to cut it short so i could go to a concert last night. will be out on p2 sat. night hopefully. gonna head out around 6 to scout the area and maybe try for some more channels b4 tossing out the bullies. time to get on the board this weekend. at least i'm already closing in on my number of cat outings from last year.

[aanderud]

Went out today near Savage. I tried 2 different spots near creeks. The second creek had tons of tiny minnow type fish jumping around this way and that. They were really fast, couldn't get a great look at them. About 1 inch long, not huge. I tried big bullies and small bullies. I tried live an dead. I tried casting to deep and shallow spots. Didn't get so much as a bite. Obviously I don't know what I'm doing. It was a still a great trip though, my first time on the MN in a boat. I came upstream exploring just about to bloomington ferry area. Then I went back downstream to fish. There weren't all that many creeks between 35w landing and where I stopped exploring -- a few that looked pretty dried up, and a couple others that I fished near. Even they didn't have a lot of current but the baitfish made it look promising.

I fished from 7:15 to midnight. Surprised to not even get a single run, especially out of that second creek where there were baitfish everywhere. That's why it's fishing and not catching. I'm thinking the lack of bites was due to a combination of a) turned off fish due to the extreme cold front and ignorance on my part. I'll get them next time though.

Saw a huge barge come past at like 11:30. It was 3 barges long and I think 3 wide....whoever said those things were super quiet and sneaky must have been pulling my leg. Or they are much quieter going downstream. This one was loud as heck and he had one heckuva spotlight.

[DTro]

aanderude,

dont' feel bad you weren't the only one that got skunked recetly

Stick at it and you'll get results.

Hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks I'll have an open seat for you.

[aanderud]

I am guessing the weather played a part in the tough fishing. I mean, it was probably like 46 degrees out there or something when I left -- not that it's all that cold, but when you compare to Monday night when it was probably more like 65 degrees, it's quite a difference. Who knows though.

Hey, Bob Moore was right when he told me that that bullies last a while. Holy cow, I was casting all over the place looking for fish and they really showed their toughness.

[rushing]

Don't worry about it man. People often get the wrong idea about flathead fishing. IT ISN'T EASY! You'll have some nights where it seems like you can do no wrong but those nights are few and far between. I know several people who it took up to 2yrs before they got their first flathead. You are chasing the biggest baddest top predator in the river. I'm far from a great fisherman but I have a good idea of what I am doing and have spent MANY long fishless nights out on the river. You just have to pay your dues. It makes that first nice flathead that much more special. Just keep your bait in the water and enjoy being on the river.

[Ralph Wiggum]

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I fished from 7:15 to midnight. Surprised to not even get a single run, especially out of that second creek where there were baitfish everywhere.

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Don't get discouraged! We all have those nights (some more than others ).

[hanson]

A couple thoughts I have-

The flathead bite has started early in some areas, and the fishing has been very good.

The flathead bite further downstream seams to be more on a regular schedule. Yes, people are catching fish around the metro but it still seams like a very inconsistant bite. Lots of very good spots around the metro are still underwater right now. I like to remind myself that I still hadn't caught a flathead at this time last year, it was May 20 or 22 or something like that when I finally got one to shore.

Sounds like you may also be moving your bait around too much. Cast that sucker/bullhead/shad out there and let it sit. My favorite saying in my boat is "Don't touch the rod!" Its hard for casting, pitching, trolling types to leave the rod sit in a holder and let the bait do its thing.

[Shack]

I agree with Hanson. This is the coolest thing about catfishing. Sit back and mess around with cool stuff in boat and wait for clicker to run. I have a hard enough time just getting boat and trailer set to go at home and other irons in fire at home. When I am out on river catfishing, its time to play with all the stuff I pay good money for and work on new rigs and other fishing tactics.

[Katman]

I got skunked too last night. I was out in one of my fav spots on the rum. I didn't get one single run. I saw my tip wiggle for a bit...but I'm sure it was the millions of bullies in there. JUST FYI..millions of bullies in this shallow spot. I ran into a guy that was there for about 6 hours he said...with a single 5 pounder to show for it. Bit has been pretty slow. All in all...I took out the gulp worms and fished for bullies. Keep at it guys! I hope to be up on the charts soon. Just as soon as I get through these no fish days...I know the great fish days are going to follow!

[aanderud]

Thanks for the advise, Hanson. I wasn't casting every 10 minutes or anything, just wanted to be sure I tried the deep water, the shallow water, and everything in between. I was surprised at how well the bullies held up. I'm sure when I start knowing where the good spots to cast are, I'll be more comfortable leaving it in one spot.

The green barge tie-up buoys right in the dang middle of the river between Cargill and 35W do NOT have lights on them. That was somewhat annoying. But, it was bright enough out and I remembered seeing them on my way upstream so it wasn't a problem. Maybe next time I'm down there I'll try going east instead of west, see what's around.

I have a great time on the water whether I catch anything or not. Relaxing, quiet other than the plane traffic, lots of ducks, geese, deer, etc. I defintely am not complaining about not catching fish. I would rather be on the water/ice not catching fish than just about anywhere else.

Oh yeah, my dog thought one muskrat came too close to the boat, so he jumped in after it...downstream...I think he was surprised at how slow he was swimming when turned around and came back upstream. He's a dork.

Hey does drifting work for cats on the river? I guess they fish that way for blue cats on Lake of the Ozarks. Here's a quote from a guy

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On one of my better days of catfish drift fishing, as far as numbers of catfish weighing between 3-20 lbs. go, I caught and released 47 Blue Catfish in one drift. These catfish all came off of a huge flat that runs parallel to the main river channel with an average depth of 45 ft. Its surface has a few small humps and a couple of old ditches running across it. People drive by me and look in disbelief when they see me drifting in 30 to 50 ft. of water, but when that fish locator shows big catfish marks on the bottom at those kind of depths, I have a pretty good idea of what's down there

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Sounds like a pretty tiring drift....47 cats. LOL.

[Larry FlatCaster]

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The green barge tie-up buoys right in the dang middle of the river between Cargill and 35W do NOT have lights on them.

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Hey Mate,

sounds like you had a good time. I fish that section of the river pretty frequently. Just as a heads up. Those buoys are not barge tie offs. They mark a rock pile. Stay on the bloomington side. Your okay in Higher water. But when it comes down a few feet you will trash your lower unit if you try to go between the savage side and the buoys. Cans are not required to have lighting on them..

I would also recommend that you use a GPS if your going to be going any distance on that river. When this wind finally dies out. If your not careful you will find your self in a fog soup and trying to do the blinds man boat bluff back to the launch.

Alway keep your eyes open for floaters when roaming the river also. Not to many lately but still possible until the river drops a few more feet.

Good luck,

Maybe see you out there sometime soon.

thanks

LFC