Minnesota River Early Season Channel Catfish

I had made mention in an early post in the Minnesota River forum that it was “time to get serious”. The early season Channel Catfish bite is starting up. I had the pleasure of getting out with my fishing buddy Shamu to fish the Minnesota River last night, we thought the kitties might be ready to bite and we wanted to do a final check on the rig prior to heading off to the sturgeon excursion next Wednesday.

River Conditions:
Many of us have been eagerly watching the river conditions over the last few weeks in anticipation to the fish turning on. With water temperatures that are just creeping over 50F, it would seem favorable for the fish to start getting ready to turn on as they have in seasons past under similar conditions, with one exception. We need some major rain. The creeks are very low and the Minnesota River is dropping close to a foot every two days. Traditionally you could pick just about any creek mouth, drop anchor and start catching fish. Not quite the case this season with the very low flows coming out of the creeks, the river is pushing up into the beds, not allowing hardly any clear water out. Match that with the flow still relatively high in the main channel you have to spend a little more time locating the fish.

Locations and Rigging:
We had our best success in current seams in the main channel with some structure near by, our fish came out of 8 -14 FOW. The majority of the fish we graphed were in 16 plus FOW. You will need to use some heavy weights. 4-5oz to keep your rigs positioned by the fish, even then you will have to reposition frequently because current will carry your rig.
We were using a standard slip sinker rig. 4-5oz weight. 6/0 circle hook with shad and cut sucker and shrimp for bait. The shad to seemed to be the favorite but we were getting hits on the other baits as well.

Shamu had the hot stick, he started off the night with a real dandy channel Catfish tipping the scales at 11lb. then followed by 3 others ranging in weight all the way down to 3lbs, he was putting on a nice show. We had a lots of swing and misses. The fish seemed a bit tentative, compared to how they act in warmer water, by normally smashing the baits.
A couple points to keep in mind when targeting early season channels. First and most important…keep an open mind, Spots that have been regular producers in years past this time of year seem to be a little off with the lack of rains, be willing to move around, look for fish just off the main current for the next few days. The fish are still relating to structure so that is always a good place to start. Depending on the section of river your working you might still need to be a little patient. Lots of anglers have been working really hard the last week or two and are ready for the bite to get into full swing.
Good Luck!