On the Brink of Spawn.  As waters warm, larger catfish are feeding more aggressively ahead of the spawn on the Red River, which usually begins when waters reach the 70-degree mark. DEO Photo by Brad Durick.

By Brad Durick

For now, I would say catfishing is back on track for the Red River in and around the Grand Forks area. We are in the last of the prespawn phase as water temperatures are getting to 70 degrees. The past five days or so the big fish have turned on and are back in mid-river holes feeding. What has worked has been a basic pattern of set the lines, wait 20 to 25 minutes and feel things out. Most of the better hits are coming within about 10 minutes and the rest of the time is spent waiting to see if there is another fish in the area.

Two to three days dead suckers remain my favorite bait right now, but dead cut goldeye is also working. I have noticed a downturn in the bite with fresher baits. 

I suspect we have about a week left of the prespawn and the fish will start setting on their nests. Right now, in comparison to previous years, we are about a week late for spawn which is amazing considering we thought they were going to start about a month ago when it was hot.

Brad Durick is a Dakota Edge Outdoors contributing writer and a licensed ND fishing guide specializing in trophy catfish on the Red River in and around the Grand Forks area.