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red river catfish?
- Thread starter iowa labs
- Start date
smallmunster
New member
I am far from an expert but I have fished both north of Fargo (Oslo, Drayton) and Lockport, Manitoba. It was in 2008 and 2009. The first year we went to Oslo and did poorly the first two days and Drayton the 3rd day. We did OK at Drayton with the biggest cat being about 19lbs. I also caught a 7 lb walleye.
The next year we went with Cats on the Red up near Lockport, Manitoba. We used a guide since we had never been there before. It was my first time using a guide and it was a good trip. It was slow by their standards and hot (85F in September). My brother and I caught about 65 cats in two days up to more than 30 lbs. We went off shore after getting done with the guide for the day and caught a 25 lb cat just messing around. The last morning we went off shore for about an hour before heading back to the states and caught a 12 lb'er. I was stunned when I weighed it at 12 lbs since it looked so small compared to what were had been catching. I thought it was going to be 5 or 6 lbs.
Generally, the farther north you go the better the fishing. It has been a while since I checked the forums for info up there but when I was researching it anglers tried to catch 1 ton of catfish per day when they were really slamming. I have always meant to go back but have not gotten there since, but I would like to.
The next year we went with Cats on the Red up near Lockport, Manitoba. We used a guide since we had never been there before. It was my first time using a guide and it was a good trip. It was slow by their standards and hot (85F in September). My brother and I caught about 65 cats in two days up to more than 30 lbs. We went off shore after getting done with the guide for the day and caught a 25 lb cat just messing around. The last morning we went off shore for about an hour before heading back to the states and caught a 12 lb'er. I was stunned when I weighed it at 12 lbs since it looked so small compared to what were had been catching. I thought it was going to be 5 or 6 lbs.
Generally, the farther north you go the better the fishing. It has been a while since I checked the forums for info up there but when I was researching it anglers tried to catch 1 ton of catfish per day when they were really slamming. I have always meant to go back but have not gotten there since, but I would like to.
smallmunster
New member
We had a conservation license so we could have brought home one cat each and it had to be under 60cm (we didn't bother to bring any home). With a regular license it would have been 4 under 60cm each. No barbs on any hooks attached to a fishing line either. On our trip anyway it would have been tough to get the 4 under 60 cm, most were well over that. I think our average was about 22 lbs or so. They don't get excited until they are around 38" or 39". A 40" was fairly hard to get most of the time, we got one 39" and none hit 40". They were disappointed if we didn't have enough for a master angler award (5 cats over 34") before noon on the first day. We went in September, but the good run starts in August I think.
It is not the place to go to bring home a lot of meat. It is to catch some of the biggest channels cats in North America. It will literally wear your arms out considering the size of the fish and the current.
It is not the place to go to bring home a lot of meat. It is to catch some of the biggest channels cats in North America. It will literally wear your arms out considering the size of the fish and the current.