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 northern waterway marks the border of Minnesota and North Dakota. It's 545 miles long, running from the Red River Valley into Manitoba, Canada and on to Lake Winnipeg. This is country with cold winters, so the presence of 'cats' may surprise those who thought of them as warm-water fish.
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.
You can sign up for a boat trip that will take you to great fishing holes. You can also find an experienced guide to take you and any companions out privately. Trips can be for a half or a full day. Having a local guide show you the best spots can result in your own picture taken with a monstrous channel cat.
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.
Down here they also have huge channel cats. The record is 58 pounds, but anything over twenty pounds is more than an armful. The flathead record is over 100 pounds, while the blues can get even bigger than that. To catch them, you can use a rod and reel baited with worms or minnows or chicken livers. A more adventurous way is 'noodling', which means feeling around in the murky depths with your bare hands, using your fingers for hooks.
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.
The history of these rivers, both targets of expeditions sent out by Thomas Jefferson to learn more about the Louisiana Purchase, is very different, but both stories are fascinating. The lure for many will be the great fish that move along the bottom, but others will like knowing that these rivers have played important roles in US history.
The northern waterway marks the border of Minnesota and North Dakota. It's 545 miles long, running from the Red River Valley into Manitoba, Canada and on to Lake Winnipeg. This is country with cold winters, so the presence of 'cats' may surprise those who thought of them as warm-water fish.
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.
You can sign up for a boat trip that will take you to great fishing holes. You can also find an experienced guide to take you and any companions out privately. Trips can be for a half or a full day. Having a local guide show you the best spots can result in your own picture taken with a monstrous channel cat.
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.
Down here they also have huge channel cats. The record is 58 pounds, but anything over twenty pounds is more than an armful. The flathead record is over 100 pounds, while the blues can get even bigger than that. To catch them, you can use a rod and reel baited with worms or minnows or chicken livers. A more adventurous way is 'noodling', which means feeling around in the murky depths with your bare hands, using your fingers for hooks.
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.
The history of these rivers, both targets of expeditions sent out by Thomas Jefferson to learn more about the Louisiana Purchase, is very different, but both stories are fascinating. The lure for many will be the great fish that move along the bottom, but others will like knowing that these rivers have played important roles in US history.
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