spring channel cat hot spot

I’ve been using my kayak to drift to spots for about 3 years.My favorite drift(for cats) is from the crow river to the southern tip of Goodin island.there are some steep banks that night crawlers roll down,and some small eddies. A couple af the spots are before the island.If in a boat with motor be very careful.about midway down the island there is a small eddie fallowed by slack water than a good snag. at the southern tip in the summer you can cast into the light rip rap with a freshly dead sucker minnow(remove air sac)about 7 feet under a float.I use a fixed float which is difficult to cast ,but allows the bait to drift naturally when hooked through the tail with no weights.Average catch is between 21 to 27 inches.

At the tip of the island you have to go cross the small stream side which is about 80 feet(waist to chest deep)then go up the hill to the entrance of goodin park.

the best channel cat spot I know of is Coon Rapids Dam (Missippi river). All through May and June the action is practically non-stop. I accidentally discovered this when practice fishing for the Carp Festival. Either side of the river is great for picking up channels in the 1-2 pound range. The problem is when you fish the bottom with worms you’re gonna get a grab bag assortment (some small cats and smallmouth bass, a few sheepshead, carp, and bullheads). I personally like catching carp, but I know some people just want cats. It can get frustrating taking off 10″ cats and 7″ bullheads when you want big cats, so if you do go, try minnows or cut bait and see if you can zero in on the larger cats.

The west side has a lot more cover and a few islands, so this is no doubt where the larger fish roam, although I’ve see many people get spooled and break off on large fish on the east side too (could be anything from big cats to muskies or carp).

Note: There has never been a flathead reported in this stretch that I know of, but channels up to 15 pounds and carp up to 30 have been caught. There’s a fee to get into the park but you can park outside the gate on the street and walk in.

Down Iowa way, the dam situation is pretty much the same. Starting in May and going through August, if you can find a dam with some decent water (>4′) below it on any river, you’ll do well. A lot of the dams on the smaller rivers have pretty shallow tailwaters, and I’ve never done well at them – Troy Mills, Quasky, and a few others come to mind.

April and May I’ve also had good luck fishing above snags, and ice-out at Coralville and Rathbun is legendary. Dead shad blow into the bays and people claim the action is so hot they can’t keep two lines in the water.

I live pretty close to the con rapids dam and even closer to vados bait a tackle. Two years ago in vados there was a picture of a flathead from the coon rapids dam, but they are very rare there

wow i didn’t know that.