Red River June 23 / 10

[5 X Master Angler]

Would really appriciate any tips on where to fish for some cats on Wednesday.  It is my son's 7th birthday and he wants to go fishing.  We have a boat.  What baits are working?  

Thanks  5 X MA

[fshmanmb]

Sounds like cut Goldeye is still working well & some are also catching on Shrimp. I usually bring both & find what is working best both that day & can also change at time of day. Early morning & late evening are the best times right now.
During the day can be real hit & miss right now as the spawn is on. If going during the day, might be best to try deeper water.

[5 X Master Angler]

We will be going after he is done school.  Where should I try?

[fshmanmb]

Up to you, but during the day might be best in/near faster current & deeper water. Might even be worth a try by the locks. The edge of the fast current where the floodway water hits the Red can be good too. Try several areas, moving if nothing after 3/4 hr.
If staying towards late evening, try moving into slacker water that is close to fast water; maybe along the "Limestone Mile", just North of where the floodway water comes in.
Hope that helps, day bite can be tough right now but know some that start hitting them between 7-8pm with it getting better after that.

[fly-in]

So how did you do?

Last Friday my buddy and I fished for cats at lockport, it was his first time for cats, he didn't think that you really needed at least a medium heavy rod, so I let him use his regular medium action first, first two cats he caught were just a good fight, I told him they were small, then he got a good one, LOL. After that he used my med/heavy spinning rod.

We tried to get some goldeye for bait but had no luck so we used shrimp, we only landed 5 cats.

[hoghammer]

I guess your buddy learned a good lesson. I always tell people who come cat fishing with me to leave their walleye rods at home and bring something that has a backbone and at least 20 lb test. Its hard on the fish when someone uses the wrong setup and has to fight the fish for 45 min with 6 - 8 lb test. My best cat fishing has been from 11pm til about 5 am usually non stop action. I know if we want to have a smoke we take our rods out of the water first.

[fly-in]

LOL, yes I think now he's going to look for a heavier rod, I do have two med/heavy cat rods and I don't mind letting friends use one (even though he changes the crank on the reel to the right side ).

It was my first time using my baitcaster reel for cat fishing, it worked really good once I put more pressure on the spool so it didn't birdsnest, Its only spooled with 15lb test mono, it wasn't a problem, I didn't really feel I was over working my rig. My arms were a different story