early season cats

[bbb]

Do the cats start to bite this early in the year?? Im going to the whiteshell on sunday but i want to fish saturday as well i was going to go to labarriere park buts its really flooded and i dont think the fishing would be great so i was thinking of going to the lockport floodway gates for some cats and maybe some drum..

[HighlandGlen=]

good luck with that....the waters pretty high out there too

[bigredfishing]

Here in NY, our Channel Cats bite best when the river is very high.   We like to find deep slack water as close to the main river channel as possible.    Ours start biting as soon as the water temp gets above 38degrees F, 4 degrees C.

[buzzbomb]

good luck with that....the waters pretty high out there too

Watching the news isn't much of a confidence builder.  How high is it out there?  For instance the steps going up to the rooms @ Cats on the Red, 1/3 of the way? half way up?  That would put 4 or 5 feet of water in the parking lot.  I know all that water has to go somewhere but I'm wondering if it's going to go there within the next month so I can maybe grab a piece of bank to fish from.

[bbb]

It would be tough to fish anywhere on the main river banks the current is really fast and the water is very high the only place i can think of would be the floodway gates running into the read might be alright...

[bbb]

Im probably going to check them tomorrow and fish for a bit so i will report the water conditions and how the fishing goes

[HighlandGlen=]

in my opinion the floodway is goona be way to high and fast as well to fish, go check for yourself but it would be hard for me to imagine it being fishable, it will be a good month if not more till the red gets a bit easier to fish

[bbb]

Haha its not to high i fished there today and caught 2 cats one was a master 34.5 and the other a little under lost 4 or 5 right beside the shore in the rocks.. it was actually quite good for shore fishign

[buzzbomb]

That's great news bbb!  With 1 month to go before my first trip I suppose it's safe to say that unless you have a lot of rain the parking lot should be good for parking in and not fishing in.  I'll pass it on to my friends, and good job catching the 2 you got today.

[joel558000$]

Just wondering if there were guys at cats on. The red putting there.boats in the water. If boats are fishing the locks

[bbb]

sorry cant help you with that i didn't even bother looking at the main river its up over where people would normally fish from shore so i doubt any boats are on there.. I wouldn't doubt there are tones of logs and stuff floating down the river as well so it would be pretty dangerous..

[bbb]

And buzzbomb yes i think in a month the parking lot should be fine haha im sure the fishing will be getting better as well when you come

[5 X Master Angler]

Just wondering if there were guys at cats on. The red putting there.boats in the water. If boats are fishing the locks

I was listening to CJOB and they were talking about a boat that capsized on the Assinaboine.  They also said it is illegal to be on the water in Winnipeg.  I am assuming it might be the same at Lockport.  Something to look into before you launch!

[SISIF]

Went to the Port yesterday around noon for my first outing of the year. Just put my line in the water not far from shore, put it in the rod holder, and maybe 30 seconds later I see my rod laying down, rod holder bent, so I picked the rod up. I keep my drag very very tight, but this guy ran and ran and ran with it, tangling me up in some branches and stuff out on the water. He was wrapped up in a tree so the only way to land him or set him free was with another rod hooking a spoon into his tail. He was 36", 20.94 lbs. Didn't stay long after that, current and water level was a bother.

[Big B Muskies]

nice start to your year!