I usually keep my hands as far away from their mouths as possible. I learned a standard needle nose pliers keepd your finger a little too close to the business end of the sharks. Once it heats up in the summer tends to be the best time Late July give or take. They like to follow the shrimp boats around too…makes it easy to find the sharks if you can find the shrimp boats. We catch them off the beach a lot too.That is fun. The challenge is finding way to get big baits far enough off the beach so the surf doesnt wash them in. We use balloons, kayaks to paddle baits out and I ve seen guy use kites but havent tried it my self yet.

ha ha thats funny bit no lie we wera out on a windy day bac in July and we had 4 sharks literally surfing the waves in to our chum block..it was the coolest thingI have ever seen. 4 fins out of the water 15 ft from the boat….by the way in 5-6 ft of water…watch where you swim!

Oh yeah as far as tackle for the sharks…big spinning reels work great with a bout 400 yds of line..I actually caught a couple on my old st croix classic cat rod and a abu 7000c3 that I used to catch flatheads with. I spool it up with 17lb mono to get more capacity then put on a 8- 10 shock leader of 80lb mono to keep them from tailwhipping the line and cutting it which they do quite often!

In my mind I always try tothinkwhat these saltwater fish compare to with their fresh watercousins and redfish alwaysstumpme. They are what I wouldimagineifyou couldbreeda big carp with a bass and a channel cat. They are shaped like a carp and make strong runs like them but x’s 10 the big ones love cut bait like a channel cat and the smaller ones 1-25 lbswe catch quite regualarly in the shallows on what is baisically bass fishing bait (spinnerbaits gulp etc). Brian to your question gettingthe hook out is pretty dicey!! I have a 12″ longhookout tool (that’swhat she said)and actually there are pretty tight restrictions on what sharks you can keep and sizes. Howeverthe blacktips in the pics are really good eating!!

Here is another drum from the same trip as the one above. This one was pushing 50lbs

Here is what would have been close if not the new MN state record but I let it go..52″ by 33″ girth.. awesome fish!

Looks like what a carolina blue crab does to some shark bait…my 2cents

Thanks for the post. I really apreciate the info!

This fish is my pride and joy… actully it was caught may 18th 2000 about 10 minutes b4 the rise of the full moon on a live bullhead. I fought it for about what felt like an hour (probably 10-15min) It was anawesome fish. I hurt my back holding it for the pics. My best friend who played football at Iowa state (o-line) had to go tippy toes to just get it over the side of the boat. Funny thing is it was our first time out ever flathead fishing in a boat…catdad had let us use his other boat for the summer and this was the first time we took it out. I had the spot booked marked in my head as a priority spot to hit since I got a boat… worked out great that night…cpuld have been the new state recordd.hmmmm keep in mind I ma 6’3″ and 265lbs in the pic

I’m in North Carolina…the red drum run is on here…it’s like hooking a channel cat on crack. Weather is awesome too…. Sad news though. Last week I broke my 8′ st croix classic cat on a shark. I called st croix…they will sell me a 8′ st croix comp muskie rod for 1/2 price if I send in a section of my broken rod..lesson learned…salt water fish F-up fresh water gear. Any one want to buy my 20′ nova jon with a 115 evinrude??? It is the ultimate catting boat

It was caught on a live blue fish on a baloon rig….bluefish look like a blue bass with teeth. that day there were 20 + tarpon in the area breaking…now we are bracing for Opehlia

you’re not…but that is ok. once you enter the site click on current fishing report.

Yes there is one. It is a nice access. I launched there a couple time last year while the Prarie island launch was out of commision. If I remeber correctly it is (was) $5 to put in.

No, the best is 40 lb hard mono(for flatheads). They sell it in salt water tackle outfits. 80 lb braid is too heavy, even for main line. I have caught a lot of cats up to 70 lbs with 50 lb braid to a 40 lb mono/hard mono leader. it is perfect for cats

Great Pics!!!

Is that Jason Howland from the ABC affiliate out of Rochester??? we were out on the Minnesota last year and got some fish going. I told them to wear long sleves because of the bugs…looks like they didn’t learn their lesson

Sheephead suck both cut or live for cats.

That’s an 8 lb channel. It looks like it was living in the cannon????? Am I right????

Catfishing through the ice is a blast. The fight is awesome on the short rods. Hands down the best spot in the area to catch them is the horseshoe chain near St.Cloud. It used to be really good about 5-6 years ago before the word really got out about the fish there. I my opinion the fishing has gone down hill in the last couple years. You would be suprised how lite the bite can be from a 7 lb channel cat. it barely wiggle the rod tip..and boom you set the hook as quick as you can. Either your rod doubles over or you end up smacking the top of you ice house. We use regular 1/4 or 1/8 oz. jigs. Glow seems to out produce regular paint. Jigging spoons are ok but the fish are not super aggresive for the most part. I think cut shinner is better than cut sucker for this situation too.

I mounted on my counsel one of the blue beam 500,000 cp spotlights. It is nice for driving on plane and docking. You can still use both hand for jockeying the boat around in tight areas. I then use a 1 mill cp corded light that is more manuverable for checking areas, looking for spots etc.
Those rechargeables are terrible. I wouldn’t depend on one at all.

I’ll have to get out there and try those areas. So Skeeter you are saying that it is the oposite side as on the otherside of the lake from the channel or do I actually go in to the channel and fish on the oposite side from where the cabin sits. I.e. I enter the channel on my left hand side is the cabin(correct?) and on the oppsite side (the right hand side in the channel) is where the wood and the point sits. Does that sound right? I’ll quit killing this post and just wait to get out there to see if it makes sense. I don’t remember exactly how that was set up.

I’ll give those areas a shot. I get so warped fishing flatheads on the river looking for deep holes. I think I know where you guys are talking about.Right in the channel that runs into Koetter? I fished that deep hole just past the the no wake zone there. I would imagine that some wind would have helped, but I am going to try shallower too next time.

I’ll have to try that area. I fished almost all the deep holes I could find between the 22 access and the bridge where the river runs in/out of Knaus lake with nothing at all. Saturday wasn’t the best day conditions wise for cats (should have night fished) but didn’t get anything moving. I’m going to try again this weekend. It has become personal now..No, but I have always caught cats every other time of year I couldn’t believe I couldn’t bump in to any. How far into the cedar island entrance is the orange rock retaining wall? Is that an easy area to find? Thanks for the info so far

Thanks for the info guys. I would like to concentrate on the narrower portion where there are some deeeper holes and the river channel runs through. I’ll be there tommorrow and let you know if I get anything going. I’ll be fishing in a 20ft nova jon boat

Thanks Skeeter,

How is the launch on 23? Is that a pretty shallow run into Knaus lake?

Thanks a lot for the scoop. I have not had any problems at the either Sturgeon lake or the North Lake access. I have been broken in to at the Vermillion River access on pool 4 by the RR bridge.

Ohhhh how I miss the summer too. Don’t you ice fish? I caught a bakers dozen channel cats a couple weeks ago through the ice. Helped curb the cravings. Spinning rods are ok for channels in the spring, especially if you know they are smaller. I could split a hair on a gnat’s behind in a stiff wind with a 4 ounce bank sinker and a bullhead on a baitcaster. Wouldn’t touch a spinning rod for flathead fishing unless I was playing arround trying something different, but I am big time.

I have a scale made Shimano. It goes up to 100 pounds.I bought for arround 30-50$ Cheapest scale I have seen that goes up to 100 pounds The hands dow best scale especially for big fish is the chatillion (sp)

I’m feeling lucky. I’ll see you the 11th james

Hey B

Thanks for the info. I will be out there sat am. Flag me down if you run by. I am in a 20′ nova jon boat with a 115 evinrude. Tried to get out last sunday,but my battery died on me.