Wondering if the slumbering cats are starting to get active with the warm weather in the la Crosse area. Wanna try for some flats or channels on the Mississippi wondering if anyone is having any luck or has any pointers.thanks in advance
Welcome to Ido.
The channel cats are biting now. You’ll be hard pressed to catch any flats until the water temp gets up into the 50’s. 
Thanks Brian good cut bait is the best this time of year or dead shad? Think I should look by feeder creeks n shallows for channels or r they deep yet? Thanks
Cut bait as in suckers. Not too big of chunks. Like stink baits and fiber bait, less is more this time of year.
Depth? I’ve seen channels on the MarCum camera in 40 fow and 10 fow. However I fish for them in 23 to 25 fow.
It’s a bit early to focus on just creek/feeder mouths. But I wouldn’t say not to try them either. It’s a goofy year! 
Been getting them in anywhere from 6 to 18ft of water down here on shad guts and crawlers with scent. Can’t find the sheephead yet.
I like were the West channel dumps into the main channel this time of year for channel cats catguy. Also anchoring up just downstream of the scour hole by the dam in 20fow can be lights out for channels cats and even the occasional sturgeon this time of year too. Cut suckers are always a favorite of mine. Ace on the South side has some dandy sized suckers too!
Good luck to you on pool 8
Herb, I remember buying sheephead fillets at Moens fish market in Harpers Ferry a few years back and I asked him where he was netting them. He said he was getting them on the sand flats under the ice at that time. If they winter on the sand flats that makes me wonder if thier still there or making thier way off of them. Your family commercial fished, do you know if the sand flats have anything to do with where they are?, just curious.
Got some today. Will make some nice poor man’s lobster friday night. Got em on green worms.
Also, wicked sticky stink bait killed the cats today.
Sudden Impact got a few too.
Quote:
Sudden Impact
YOU are using Sudden Impact Herb?
There goes the old saying “can’t teach an old dog new tricks”…right out the window!
Gonna try a spot on the Miss near my house tonight with some Sonny’s. Nice dead water area off the main channel with a good southern exposure. Thinking since that water may be a degree or two warmer, it could be the ticket. Gotta get that first cat of the year!
Farm King, our redneck cabela’s, finally got a few cans of it.
Hi bret are you talking about below dresbach? I usually fish trempealeau but I am migrating down to dresbach. I have had better luck for cats but that area is pretty new. We launched off the landing bellow the interstate( last year) and fished were that bay met the channel it was ok for channels but no flats. Good place to catch tons ofbait also. Good luck Bret might see you out there some time chasin the cats
Yep, I’m talking Dresbach.
The cut across from the Lower bay landing is the East Channel. I have done alright there but found bigger fish to the North of the I-90 bridge. Where the West channel dumps into the main channel is located just south of the Cass St. Bridge.
As for the Flatheads with a little home work you will find some great side channels and sloughs holding wood in scour holes. Goose Island is a good example of sloughs and structure. Another thing I have learned on pool 8 is not to ignore the rock later in the season. For some reason them big guys have no problem holding behind rock in deep holes along rip rapped shoreline. As darkness falls we have found them to come out of the depths and move up onto sand flats and weed edges to munch down on gills.
just going to take some notes here 
I’ve thought about fishing the end of the west channel before but never gave it a shot. I usually target flatheads though. I do plan on trying to hit some of the rip rap this year though.
I find the color of lure is the best presentation and that is orange this time of year on the body of water, for that fact most of the year at times, I fish for channels. Bait not much a factor, had many hit a spike, minnow or what ever that was on the hook.
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