Cat Question

[Rlinn]

How far north on the Mississppi do the Flatheads live? I fish north above the Coon Rapids dam and have thought about getting into some big cat spots. Been catching Channels. In my spot a guy told me he got his reel stripped of line one night. Wonder if it was a Flathead? Anyone know?

[KMR85]

I dont know for sure, but from reading other posts it looks like they are not found upstream of the coon rapids (Contact Us Please). if i am wrong i apologize in advance.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I've never heard of one above the CR Dam and I doubt there are any. You might find some between the CR Dam and Saint Anthony Falls, but I don't think there's a huge population. Below Saint Anthony Falls starts to get into flathead territory.

[Shack]

I have only seen 3 over the years (20 plus years around ER, Monti ans St Cloud). I might add they were caught in the last 5-6 years. They are not big, under 10 lbs. Cut sucker is what they hit on. 2 of the three were caught in the fall time at night. The two that were caught in fall time were by boat. The other my buddy caught from shore in Monti area during later summer. They are very far in few between and I do not think large ones are up here, but I have seen them caught. You will catch a hundred channels (or more) to one flat. When I fish from shore or boat, I do not rule them out. I am hoping for one in next couple weeks from shore. Put your time in and you may get one. 2-3 shore trips a week, one baot trip a month is the only way you would run into one, or just luck. Anchored upstream from a deep hole is were we have caught the two from the boat. Good luck!

[Rlinn]

Thanks for the feeback. I am going to keep trying. A lot of people have told me about break offs [20 lb test]. I am using 30 lb right now. I know a 20 lb blue was caught near my spot. I wonder if the break offs are Blues. I used some red horse last night and picked up a eater channel right away but had to go shortly after. One guy said the spot is producing the biggest cats he has ever seen have been this year.

[Shack]

There are no blues in Minnesota. I have found that out on this site. Also, try to find a limit or anything on them in reg.'s book, there are none. The channels will sport differnt colors. Some are blue/purple,tan,gray. If you get a fish that you think is a blue, take a picture and put it on here. They will tell ya, it is not a blue. Large channel is my thoughts. There are big ones up here. Possibley a 30# if a guy gets lucky. 20#'ers are rare, but will come about a time or two during the summer. I am hoping to get one in the next couple of weeks. Good luck!

[nkturtle]

i've been fishing the scsu dam for years and seen my share of large kittys but up until 2 or three years ago a flat was very rare this year alone ive caught at least 6-7 and seen alot more.

[harvey lee]

nkturtle, welcome to Fishing Minnesota. Glad to here you are catching a few flatties.

[Grant]

are you willing to compare notes off-forum?

[Shack]

If I remember correcly, we did get a very small flat at scsu dam during the middle of last summer. They are small, but still a flathead. I still would bet your chances are better for getting a 20lbs channel before a flathead.

[Rlinn]

A 10 year old kid got a 15 lb Channel at my spot this weekend. Any good maps of the river north of CRD? Looking for those holes! What depth should I be looking for? 15' plus?

[hanson]

If you are looking for holes, look for outside bends in the river. Typically... the sharper the bend, the deeper the hole, although the makeup of the ground in that area will have a lot to do with how much scours out. Cut banks typically indicate deeper water.

Also pay attention to current. Shallow runs will have a steady flow through them, sometimes the water will even riffle if its shallow enough. When the water hits a deeper hole, it tends to boil and churn up a little, so pay attention to the surface of the water and what its doing.

Whether you are in a boat or fishing from shore, you can typically tell what the river is doing by watching the shorelines, topography of the shoreline, and the surface of the water.

Depth is relative. An 8' hole in a mile of river that is 5' deep is good! A 40' hole in a mile of river that is 15-20' is good! My friends in Montana tell me a 4' hole in 2 miles of 2' deep river is the ticket!

[Shack]

Good advice Hanson!

What is your take on a large flathead north of the Coon Rapids dam? I have targeted them this year with no luck. They are so far and few between and small, I just do not switch over to a presentation that is a "hot bite" for them. I stick with cut sucker; which might be an indication of why we get small ones.

Is the habitat between flats and channels that great to allow trophy channels, but no big flats? In some cases, none at all!

I guess it is between blues and our current population of catfish in MN.