Monday, September 1, 2014

Go North Or South To Find Red River Catfish

By Mattie MacDonald


It's like the Battle of the Bands! Which is best, Red River catfish expeditions in the Red-River-of-the-North or ones in the Red-River-of-the-South? You really need to decide before leaving home, because one waterway is as far north as you can go in the United States and the other as far south.

The one that separates Minnesota and North Dakota is sometimes called the Red-River-of-the-North because of this duality in nomenclature. This waterway is 545 miles long, running north through the vast ancient lake bed called the Red River Valley and on into Canada. Eventually it reaches Lake Winnipeg.

People who love this waterway say that it is home to the 'best catfishing on the planet'. You may want to judge for yourself if this is all brag or all fact. It is true that channel cats grow very large in the cool waters of this northern region.

Professional guide services take visitors by boat to the places where these massive channel cats lurk. They say that there are so many huge cats that twenty-pound fish can be hauled in all day long. All visitors need to bring is a license and their lunch. Private groups can engage a local guide familiar with the best fishing spots for half-day or full-day trips.

If you go to the other extreme, you'll find the Red-River-of-the-South running from its origin in the Texas Panhandle along the border with Mexico and on for over 1300 miles to end up in Louisiana, having gone through Arkansas on the way. There are several species of cats in the southern Red, including channels, blues, and flatheads. What is believed to be a new species has recently been found down where the Red joins the Atchafalaya.

Deep in the murky depths of the southern Red, channel cats grow to monster size, too. The current record for a channel is 58 pounds, for a flathead over 100, and for a blue 124. There are many legal ways to catch these fish. You can use a rod and reel with worms, minnows, or chicken livers. You can use your bare hands in the method called 'noodling', which involves blindly searching in holes along the bottom, in sunken hollow logs, or under rock outcroppings.

More leisurely ways include jug-fishing, which means baiting lines suspended from floating empty plastic bottles. Slat-trapping uses baited traps that fish can enter but not leave. There's also snagging and trot-lining. These methods are used by those who are looking more for food than sport. Of course, a quiet day on the riverbank has its own attractions.

So there you have it. You can go as far north or as far south as the country's borders allow and find superior catfishing. Each river has its own colorful history and has played an important part in the development of this nation. The northern waterway brought trappers in and furs out for the Hudson Bay Company. The southern one wasn't really navigable until a 160-mile-long log jam was sorted out with dynamite. A visit to either one will introduce you to unique vistas and adventures.




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