Red River Channels –

Here’s a few photos from Mile832. Tim, I’ll let you post the story behind the pictures…

Notice how Tim’s friend is cradling the cat…almost looks like he’s rocking her to sleep…

PS there ought to be a law about posting pictures like this in the winter time.

Whoooo Yeah!

A threesome!

Is their biting activity slower in the cold months?

Joe, I should have mentioned, these pictures were taken this last summer sometime…We’ll have to wait for Tim to fill us in on the details.

Channels bite anytime of the year, where as flatheads…more or less hibernate. There are those that fish for flats this time of the year…but there is an argument to be made whether they are snagged or not…not much fight to them in the winter time, because of this…I think that anyone that is concerned about the flathead as a resource would say to let them rest for the winter.

Channels as with bullheads would be another story.

Well they are some nice looking cats.

All these channels were caught in the tailwaters of the Lockport dam on the Red River in Manitoba. It was early July. It was our first trip up there and we had a blast. We stayed at Cats on the Red resort. It sure was cheap! I spent about $250 USD for the whole trip! The first night Josh caught the fish in the first pic. It weighed 29 lbs! I couldn’t believe it until we weighed it twice! It was the biggest fish of the whole trip and his first big channel cat (notice how he’s holding it!) The triple was the highlight of the trip. We had three fish going at the same time in a 16′ lund at night. Talk about a mess! We caught plenty of fish over 34 inches and all the way up to 36. Yeah, were going next year!

Wow you grow bullheads big up there. Don’t let Dirk see them as He will put them out on his one rod and see what happens. This is the only place for a cat fisherman to feel at home. We need more of us unless I find them in my spots at night.

Thanks Brian, for posting those pics for me. I still have a few things to learn on this here COM-POOTER.

I’m not sure I’d say there’s any argument about flatheads in the winter, at least up here. It’s pretty well established that they’re down there doing absolutely nothing. Those that have “caught” them in cold water have done so with jigs and artificials which rarely produce well even when flats are slamming live bait in the spring/summer/fall. They basically drag hooks across the bottom and come across the occasional flathead. If they happen to be over an exceptional wintering hole, they hook lots of fish. But scuba divers and underwater cams show flats up here being completely immobile in the winter, building up silt on their backs. I catch them in the fall on live bluegills up until the water gets down to the upper 40s and can’t buy a fish after that. Folks like us need to lobby for a closed season throughout the region from November to March or April on flatheads. I’ve talked to a bass guy that knew where to catch flats and channels on pool 9 in the winter and he basically admitted it was a snagging excursion. He said it was like pulling rocks off the bottom. These fish are basically dead in the water after being pulled off their wintering holes. Any good catman wouldn’t be caught dead raping the resource in this way.

I knew it was over for me this year when I started pulling up walleyes in the 8-10lb range on my bluegills coming right out of my flathead spots (~35 feet down). You couldn’t find a walleye, even that size, anywhere near a spot full of active flatheads. It was fun, however, pulling in those wimpy walleyes, just to see how big they were. I kept a stringer of walleyes on one of my last excursion that had a 4lb average (most of those came on crankbaits I tossed while waiting for the flats to start up). I pulled one up to the boat that was about 10 pounds, but it had only gotten “hooked” by the bluegill’s spines and it slipped out of my hand on the first grab and got off (I occasionally pay for not bringing a net). My buddy Tom got a wallhanger though. Nice little bonus to soften the harsh realization that flatheading was over for another year.

I’m going to write a retrospective on 2004 soon and put it on my website – I’ll link to it here – it was a banner year in many ways.

Welcome, mile832 – Tim. Nice channels. Like Dirk said, watch out for BrianK – take it as a warning sign if you start to giggle and dwell on goofy things like gloves and whether people smile or not in their pictures that he’s rubbing off on you – avoid such a scenario at all costs! And resist the temptation to post pictures of yourself in the bathtub (not hard for most of us to resist, but there could be something in the water up there…)

Matt

Thanks for the above post Matt… I believe you are right on the closed season…

Quote:

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It was fun, however, pulling in those wimpy walleyes, just to see how big they were.

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Personally…I would have cut the line!

Very nice CATS. may have to think about a trip.. is that area near Winnepeg??? Jack..

Hi Jack,
The area we fished was just northeast (downstream of Winnipeg) in a town called Lockport. We were up there in July which is usually when the fishing slows down quite a bit, but last year was different because the river didn’t flood the way it usually does so the fishing stayed solid. It was our first trip up there. My friend was so excited to go to Canada, but when we got there he asked, “Where the hell are all the pine trees!” He didn’t realize Winnipeg is farm country!

a legal one!

If you guys haven’t been to our “dead red” forum…check it out…you might have to change the veiw settings to go back atleast 9 months.

Dennis Flom (Icatchbigcats) always had pictures to post…of sumo channel cats. Awesome cat pictures…

Sure do miss that ICBC’s guy and his pictures!