Anglers cycling through baits and keeping their lines tight are still picking up good numbers of catfish and a few big ones as well, even with the low waters on the Red River. DEO Photo by Brad Durick.

By Brad Durick

Things are looking up this week after continued dropping flows on the Red River.

After attending the Cats Incredible tournament over the weekend, I am encouraged that we still have lots of fish to catch. There were many reports of good numbers of fish and a few big fish mixed in to boot for the event. The thing that stood out from most reports was that the fishing was much better early in the morning, which is something I also noticed earlier in the week.

It appears you have to try lots of spots and try to find the right bait. Goldeye and day-old dead sucker packed on ice has been the big winner in the past few days. There really isn’t much of a pattern to catfish right now with the lack of current. Many anglers are now beaching their boats in the bank to stay still in the wind and to prevent slack in the lines to better detect bites. One trick I am playing with is downsizing everything from rods to line to sinkers to make it harder for leery fish to detect the weight when they pick up the bait.

This week I will be organizing the Catfish Capital Challenge in Drayton on August 6 and 7. The event is still accepting participants until 7:00 am on Friday when the tournament begins.

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