Increase of flats caught over the weekend on P4

I was chatting with our creel survey fella and he was saying there were far more flats could the last few days than in the past.

I know, I’m bias…but if there’s 10 boats out fishing and 1 snags a flat, wouldn’t it make sense that with 100 boats out 10 boats would snag a flat….or if there’s 200 boats out, 20 flat would be snagged.

…my other question is why do they have to winter in the drifting lane of the walleye guys? It’s a big river!

I know, I know. This has been happening for years and years or maybe I should say decades.

I guess my follow up question to the surveyor should have been “how many were going home”?

With the water temps popping in to the 50’s they should start moving to their feeding areas, I would think.

I brought this up to you yesterday and your explanation of more hooks in the water was spot on. I never saw any put in the well or on a stringer but I did some very poor flathead handling though. One group dropped a 25-30lbre 3 times

I think that a good percentage of the spring p4 traffic are casual fishermen and thus not used to handling river monsters. It is a bummer to see, but those who refuse education cannot be educated. I see alot of small saugers go into livewells as well. I did see a 30″ stugeon get caught this weekend just down form the dam, and that dino was handled well and released.

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I think that a good percentage of the spring p4 traffic are casual fishermen and thus not used to handling river monsters.

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Totally agree. I’m going to evens say there are very few that want to hurt a fish…any fish on purpose before releasing it.

I’m still waiting for the photo of the 84″ P-4 Sturgeon to be posted.

Some states out west have implemented catch-and-release regulations that prohibit you from taking the fish out of the water. For example in some Washington state rivers you can fish for Steelhead, but no “hero shot pictures”. You get the fish under control, remove the hook, and watch them swim away. It’s illegal to lift them out of the water. Alaska does the same with King Salmon. You can keep one and then keep on fishing but the rest have to stay in the water. It might be hard to get people to buy into that kind of restriction around here but it would sure be a lot better for released fish. Dropping a 30 pound Flat in the bottom of the boat is pretty rough treatment.

Rootski

I personally saw three flats caught this weekend and all three were handled ok and released. I would guess they were all in the 20-25lb range. We caught one that was massive, no scale, and it was released. We also caught two flats that were probably 2-3 lbs and they were released too. They really liked that purple jig head and minnow.

We need to stop babying the flatheads. A few accidental catches by walleye guys, no harm done. It would be completely different if they were actually targeted.

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I’m still waiting for the photo of the 84″ P-4 Sturgeon to be posted.

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A picture of a new state record sturgy would be sweet to see!

For some reason I think 84″ might be an estimate

Kat, they said they had the lenght and girth and I saw a quick pic on a cell phone. Wouldn’t be a record from P-4 anyway.

Hopefully one of those guys will get their buns in gear and post it or send it to me to post.

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We need to stop babying the flatheads. A few accidental catches by walleye guys, no harm done. It would be completely different if they were actually targeted.

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I wasn’t bit-ching at the walleye guys, I was [censored]-ing at the flats for sleeping in the path of the walleye guys.

I know. I guess it was more a hasty response to Rootski. I remember not too long ago the law in Minnesota was any fish caught out of season had to be returned immediately. They changed that to allowing us to at least legally take a picture of our catch before releasing it.

I probably should have just kept my mouth shut.

That rule applies 95% of the time.

Here I thought I was going to have to argue with you.

~Droid

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Here I thought I was going to have to argue with you.

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Not a bad thing. Pug makes you think about what you’re saying

I was just suggesting that there are some circumstances where we could leave the fish in the water, unhook it and watch it swim away and that would be a lot better than handling it. For example, that 24 inch Pool 2 Walleye you catch in August when the water is really warm. Just a thought….

I know Rootski, I meant no harm.

Brian, you should post a sign in the bait shop illustrating the proper way to handle sturgeon and cats.

On a semi related subject, I caught a channel cat with a broken and infected pectoral spine. Not sure how that could happen. When I held it I felt it pop because I was not very careful with the guy.

I am waiting for the pictures from my nephew. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I wonder if somebody could have clipped the spines on purpose. I am guessing not, because I think the dorsal spine was fine. Initially my thought was maybe at some point he was snagged there and it got infected and rotted away the bone.

Anyway, back to talking about chilli.

Today is the magic number day, yes?!

Hopefully the water temps stay up. Attached its a picture of the channel cats owie.

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I’m still waiting for the photo of the 84″ P-4 Sturgeon to be posted.

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Me too.

What was the bigger fish you are referring to BK?

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Wouldn’t be a record from P-4 anyway

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Is this because there is no open season on p4 for them?

That and a person would have to have a tag to keep it and turn it over to the DNR for record status.

BK, Your “snagged” terminology might be a little skewed. I caught 2 on 3/17 that hammered jig and a ringworm. Unarguable mouth hooked and attacked the bait. Reliable source caught 5 in the mouth 2 days prior. I saw ~20 others caught on 3/17 and I have to guess nearly all of them were in the mouth from actual hits.

Sturgeon = snagged.. Yes.

However, the flatheads are feeding.

PS. I’d like to see this boat long sturgeon as well.

I agree with Tyler. Some are eating. I’ve seen a number of them caught over the last few years mostly on seams eating shad. Hooked in the mouth while pitching. Some didn’t get their last meal before hybernating and get after it early. The Wisconsin state record flathead was caught this time of year.

Frosty Flatheads.

When they are caught with a bait on the bottom in an anchored boat…I’ll start listening.

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When they are caught with a bait on the bottom in an anchored boat…I’ll start listening.

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Talk to the guys in Belle Paine this past weekend that were catching small ones on BULLHEADS!!!! and no, they werent drifting!

Small flatheads? I wouldn’t have thought the Minnesota had warmed up that much yet!

They were on the chew last weekend on pool 4 that’s for sure.

I would imagine the littler (younger) they are, the higher the metabolism like most animals. So I don’t doubt they would wake up sooner. But I also don’t doubt the big ones are waking up and eating as they migrate.

Not only am I starting to listen, my boat’s about ready!

51 degrees on P4 today.

Jsut got a report that the Minnesota near Mankato is averaging 48 degrees across the water column. A little more rain the next couple days and we should be above that magic 50 mark by the weekend. I do believe IT IS ON for Saturday!

It’s good to have friends that take water samples all over the MN River watershed. Here’s to hungry cats this weekend!

Let me know when the river temps hit 52.4 so I can go catch a flathead, with-out offending anybody and not be chastised by the Cat-CLICK.
Sometimes I forget when and how I can target the Flathead Catfish….no snagging right?..

Off to the Muskie forum….

Always a poker Pier.

For clarification, it doesn’t matter (to me) what the temp of the water is, there’s a better chance of snagging a flat vertical jigging that actually catching one.

In my mind, the true test is an anchored boat and a bait, live or dead sitting on the bottom. This takes 98% of the chance of snagging a flat out of the picture.

Slight over reaction there big guy.