DNR Catfish Project

[HD]

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is beefing up efforts to manage catfish in metro region rivers, and it’s looking for a few avid anglers to help.

The project will include DNR tagging catfish to get a better idea of their population and movement. It also will draw upon catfish anglers who are willing to answer a few survey questions and keep diaries of their angling efforts. The angler diaries will provide valuable information that is not typically obtained in standard creel surveys, because many catfish anglers fish at night.

Anglers willing to take the 12-question survey can do so online at www.surveymonkey.com/catfish.  Anglers may also send an e-mail to MetroEast.Catfish@dnr.state.mn.us or call 651-259-5806 to request that a paper copy of the survey be mailed to them.

Anglers who catch and release a tagged catfish should record the species, length, tag number, location caught, and release the fish with the tag in place. Anglers who harvest a tagged fish should record the same information and report the fish as harvested. Anglers not participating in the catfish angler diary program can still report tagged fish locations using the MDNR website www.dnr.state.mn.us/fisheries/tagged_fish_reporting/index.html or by contacting the phone number or e-mail address listed above.

Catfish are becoming more and more popular with Minnesota anglers, and metro rivers are fertile waters for big cats. The state record flathead catfish, weighing 70 pounds, was caught on the St. Croix River in Washington County, and the record channel cat was pulled from the Mississippi River in Hennepin County.

[Cody Gruchow]

im signing up. havent caught a cat this year, but the water aint quiet warm enough i think. they being real sluggish

[dakids]

You must have been in the wrong spot Cody.  The cats were going gangbusters about a month ago here in watertown.  They have moved back downstream into the deeper holes during the day now, but will move shallower at night.  They hot bait was live frogs. most were 3-6 pounds.

[Cody Gruchow]

we were in watertown on saturday night at our hotspot and only had one hit when we usually catch 6-12 fish there per outing. only had one hit on the minnesota river also. i am going to wait for it to be a bit warmer out at night. we use cut bait.

[dakids]

Try frogs Cody. Dead or alive.  Alive if you are young or fast enough, dead if you are slow and older like myself.  If the kids can't help I will shoot them with a bb gun.  The cats can't refuse a frog, and you also add the chance of catching a river walleye or 2.

FYI, Cody your hot spot got pounded about a month ago by several families every single day for 2 weeks.  They were stopping at their daily limit.  They were checked by the local CO a couple of times

[Cody Gruchow]

above the dam? that would explain alot i guess. ok well i just need to find somewere that has alot of frogs. i think swed lake or something like that over by watertown will have a bunch because it did last time. were they keeping the cats also?

[dakids]

They kept everything that bit, no matter how small.