Southern MN multi species day

Fellow IDOer SwollenGoat and I went out on the smaller rivers and streams in the greater Mankato/New Ulm area on Saturday. We hit the Blue Earth at Rapidan dam, the LeSueur, Minneopa Creek, and finally the mighty Minnesota herself after dark. Highlights include:
– first ever madtoms caught on rod and reel
– northern hogsucker
– gar which we could see stacked up in the eddies on Minneopa (not pictured)
– lots of decent carp
– a few small channel cats (not pictured)

We also got out with a couple bullheads after dark and got a few bonus flatheads. SwollenGoat had the biggest of the night on right up to the shore, but it threw the hook, leaving only a tattered 7″ bullhead in its wake.

Great day fishing with you Joe and can’t wait to do it again when the river gets back in its banks!

Good looking fish there. Cool to see a northern hog out of that area. Nice report, thanks for sharing.

Those madtoms look almost like mudpuppies.

Very cool, thanks!

The specie diversity on some of the small creeks and rivers has greatly improved since started fishing the area back when I was a wee lad. We’re working on catching and documenting as many as we can.

Thanks for sharing. I used to do my fair share of small creek fishing and traveling around hitting shore spots here and there. Lot of fun. I know some neat spots up on the St Louis near Flood wood if you ever want to camp on the river for a weekend.

Did the Stonecats sting you? My only encounter with them I was surprised how sharp those spines are!

Thanks for sharing the trip and photos D!

No spinier than normal bullheads the same size I guess. I think I am immune to feeling spines after reaching into a bait bucket full of bullheads many times

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No spinier than normal bullheads the same size I guess. I think I am immune to feeling spines after reaching into a bait bucket full of bullheads many times

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So you’re telling me that if I get stabbed another 50k times I’ll eventually… what… go numb from the wrists down? Or do you just get such thick skin on your hands that they can’t poke you thru anymore?

Or maybe you start wearing gloves when you reach into the bait tank…

PS – I didn’t realize that WILLOW CATS had spines. I thought that was one of the differentiations from bullheads: the lack of spines. I’m glad to know this before I encounter one lest I end up skewered and surprised!

Come on, after all these years you guys don’t know how to grab a bullhead? Brian, I think we need a video demonstration.

I thought willow cats had much sharper spines than bull heads. Like needles if I remember rite. Have fished with a few guys that numb up pretty fast from them. A few others that have had near trips to the hospital. For me I react more like a horsefly or black fly bite.

Are you sure that was a willow cat you caught. Its hard to tell from the angle of the photo but it looks a little long. Get this. We caught one trolling crank baits on the Mississippi by aitkin a few years back. Snagged it on one of the trebles. Cant believe it would of tried taken down a crank bait but who knows.

I think that is a stonecat, which I think is different than a Willow Cat. Are they all madtoms or are just willow cats madtoms?

I know the stonecats I grabbed from a shallow riffle pool stung like a dickens. I had no idea what they were at first and was not very careful when grabbing them. To me, a small/young bullhead might have barbs just as sharp, but otherwise those stonecats hurt.

Now I am confused too.

Stonecat madtom

Can’t find any pics of willowcats online, and most people seem to use the terms interchangably?

You called it a madtom. That covers all of them, you are good.

I tried a Google search real quick earlier and they do seem to use the names interchangeably, which I would attribute to naivety (not in a negative sense). I know the stonecats look a lot longer and stretched out.

I caught some up at the Coon Rapids Dam a good five years ago, but I can’t find the post. I actually misidentified them as baby flatheads. Ouch!

Oh well, fish is fish right?

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Oh well, fish is fish right?

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Dude, try telling that to a walleye guy!

Mike W, That is some good fishing up there. I’ve fished the St. Louis near Medaowlands a few times. My cousinlives in Duluth and hits that area often. Maybe I can get away this fall.