It’s Game Time!

Well I read the online water readings for the Croix a little bit ago. After fixing the double misfire in the car (broken spark wire on cylinders 3 and 6) I am gearing up for my first dedicated Cat outing of 2014! Water temp is about 57.5f, and I have heard the Channels are biting already!!!

Now…if only the water could warm 5-10f more, and this crazy fast flow would slow down soon. I don’t like using more than 3oz weights from shore and I wanna start tangling up with some Flathead Cats! I even got me a new Flathead/Sturgeon setup I nicknamed CatWinch. More on that later when I get some pics…but here’s a little idea of the reel, it’s a Penn and you can’t find one in store at Gander Mtn or Cabela’s

I’ll be right behind you Andy…well, not literally! LOL!

Going down Thursday to get set up for the weekend and should be out some on Friday and a bunch on Saturday.

Well i hope you paid less for your Penn than i did for my Revo Winch that the clicker gave out the first two hours of sturgeon fishing up on the rainy…Wasn’t an impressive bait feeder anyway. Hope you have a solid rod, if you crank down your drag and a fish runs – makes for great entertainment watching someone’s rod snap

I just MIGHT be on the croix this weekend. Targeting catfish. Last two years i’ve caught 1 over 50#. Hoping to keep that going.

That’s great for the Croix.

My drags are always cranked down. Makes for a hoot watching folks play Tug O War!

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That’s great for the Croix.

My drags are always cranked down. Makes for a hoot watching folks play Tug O War!

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That’s the only way…. Horse em in

Well Wednesday was a bust. Went to investigate the water level at Stillwater and WOW is all I can say to the high water. I noticed it was almost 3 so I decided to just fish off the bridge right next to the WI border shore (or what’s left of it). Not a bite all afternoon and around 8 I decided to walk over to Leo’s for some food. As I was about to walk in I realized something…I hadn’t paid for my prime parking spot yet! Thankfully I didn’t get ticketed or towed, and I called it a night.

I hit up Hudson today in one of my spots north of the walk-out point. I actually had only looked here before and had concluded it was way too snaggy for fishing. But today I proved myself wrong. 1/2oz. egg sinker with a 1.5 foot mono leader and a 1/0 circle hook and crawler was producing walleyes (yes I am a Cat-man…but hey I got to try my new ultralight crappie rod!). From 5pm-8pm I caught about a dozen and a half fish all under 15″ (no dinner…darn…). I also fed a healthy population of Sheephead…not how I wanted 2.5 dozen crawlers to be used but whatever at least I went fishing. Now…go fishing in the morning and all day tomorrow…or go to Cabelas???

My first outing went epic! Started off with a PB, and got better with the next 2 fish. Tributary, first deep hole, front of log jam hanging over it. Bullheads kept getting to my cut sucker, so caught one of those and cut it up and got the next 2. With the ridiculously high flow I figured they might be finding refuge at night in the flooded tribs too.

What river Nick?

Congrats! Nice fish!

Water temp at #3 is still 55…great for channel cat fishing.

Mississippi, north of the CR dam. Wish I could’ve kept the bullheads off after I caught these guys, didn’t know they were cannibalistic, if I had bigger hooks would’ve just thrown them on. Going to let the spot chill out for a few nights and get my 5yr old up there this weekend. She would go bananas trying to reel one in

Biggest was 31″

Didn’t mean to steal thread bit didn’t see the 2014 cat photo thread

Wow, those are some giants for upstream of the dam. Never caught one that big up that way, but I have had something absolutely hammer a big chunk of cutbait and then swim away.

Holy cow! Those are some HUGE Channels! I sure wish they would show up around the Hudson area of the St.Croix, or the water would at least go down enough to shore fish somewhere I can find some cats.

I will be heading back to my home in Annandale Sunday evening until Tuesday. If I get time I will be towing my little brother out to the Crow south of town there and try our old spot. I cut my catfish teeth there years ago using Strike King’s dip bait. As crazy as this sounds though, only one color of dip worm has worked for me and that is black, maybe it’s just easier for the fish to see, but I have two tubs of bait I have not touched in a year and a half that need to be used up. Good weather those days too, bonus!!

I would recommend cutbait for now, leave the dips for warmer waters. Never got any size of channels off dips either, always cut. Good luck, post some pics if you find em!

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I would recommend cutbait for now, leave the dips for warmer waters. Never got any size of channels off dips either, always cut. Good luck, post some pics if you find em!

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Dip bait is so misunderstood. Keep an eye open for Chris Tuckner’s post.
He worked hard for his “fiddlers”. LOL

I will have a report up tomorrow afternoon