Sam Simons, Red Bank Elementary teacher, shows off a monster channel cat taken on Canada's Red River.
Editor's Note: Sam Simons, a Red Bank Elementary teacher and avid angler shares his experience going after monster channel cat in Canada's Red River.
I was sitting around one February day browsing www.catsonthered.net for probably the hundreth time. Would this be the year I finally went for the giant channel cats? Every year I would come up with some reason not to go. Nah, I just want to go Pike fishing. The blue cats get so big down in Chattanooga, why fish for the channel cats? I called the lodge up and spoke with Holly Chow, an excellent guide and outdoors woman that quickly convinced me to book a 3 day trip in the middle of June on the "Catillac" pontoon boat.
Sam - Hey Holly, I was thinking about booking a trip for the channel cats. I'm not too picky about what I catch, but what are my chances I would catch one bigger than my personal best at 14 lbs?
Holly - Give me 10 minutes, that will be done.
So I put the 50 percent deposit down, called up my dad to surprise him, and was excited for the new adventure. I probably caught at least 30-40 channels this spring drifting the turbines below Chickamauga Dam. My biggest was about an 8 lber, but every time the fight was scrappy. I could not stop thinking about the potential of catching fish over 20 lbs.
I started my trek, 400 miles from Chattanooga where I met my dad and stayed the night. The next day, we split our 1,200 mile trip to Lockport, Manitoba into two days. I arrived the first night, excited as could be.
First Night - In the room next to us, some guys were visiting from Regina, Saskatchewan. Matt and Ryan started talking to my dad telling about the success of the trip. They were staying at the lodge, fishing on their own from a boat and the bank. They topped out at a whopping 26 lbs. I did not bring a rod with me, and I wish I had. You could easily catch the channel cats 10-15 ft off the bank fishing shrimp at night. Luckily, Matt and Ryan had a rod for me. Matt and Ryan told me tales of fishing the far north, and it was cool listening to them talk about monster Pike and Walleye in lakes that few men had ever seen.
I fished for about 1 hr, before the 1,200 mile trip made me retire. Within 10 minutes, I had an 18 lber, a new personal best, that stripped drag several times on a spinning reel with 15 lb line. A little bit later, I had pulled in a 4 lber, a 13 lber, and a freshwater drum that I know all too well in Chattanooga. Matt and Ryan pulled in some 19-20 lbers. Keep in mind, this was all from the bank.
1st day - This is a good one, I knew this was one of those monster Channels that Holly told me about. We were fishing 8 ft spinning rods with 30 lb line. Plenty of play in the rods but enough equipment in case a true giant hit. My favorite type of channel hit the bottom of the boat minutes later, a 37-inch big knobby headed male.
Boy, was I excited.
Dad and I took turns the rest of the day, catching 15 or so. Let's just say this, a 30-inch channel cat will turn your head anywhere, but not here on the Red River. We started releasing 8-12 lb fish like it was no big deal. Dad topped out at 36 inches and me at 37 inches. One or two of these fish had a lot of girth, and was well over 20 lbs. Most people don't weigh the fish, they just take a measurement and a quick release. I think Chattanooga anglers could take a few lessons in conservation, but I will get to that later.....
2nd day-We started out in the morning this time, and the cats wanted nothing to do with us. The temps must have hit 90 degrees, unseasonably warm Canadian weather. We decided to head back to the lodge until the evening. Back at it, and Holly sets us down with some dinner, this time her son in law Corey, a tatoo artist from Winnipeg as first mate. As soon as I go to take a bite of my ribs, Holly lurches for a rod and sets hook. The rod is bowed way over, and I know I'm into a big one. The big channel made some hard runs, and then started swimming toward the boat. At the boat, it was a terror. This fish must have been near 30 lbs, at 38.5 inches long. We had a few more fish come in from 30-35 inches, and another couple of drum to keep it interesting. At this point in the trip we had about 8 fish from 35-38.5 inches, not bad huh?
3rd day - It was a blazing 94 degrees, and the weather was flat out miserable. The cats did not want any part of use. I pulled in the chunkiest 31 incher I had ever seen, but that was it. I asked Holly if I could borrow a rod for the night as I knew I could catch one from the bank once it cooled down. She set me up with some cut goldeye and shrimp to use. I was fishing off the back of the beached pontoon boat, enjoying more stars than you can imagine, and another pontoon pulls up. This guy asks me if I want to go fishing for about 1 hr before his wife and son get back. I sized him up, thinking he probably had good intentions.
People were so friendly, his name was Andre. We went back to about the same spot we had been fishing with Holly earlier. Bam, 30 incher, 34 incher, 36 incher, 32 incher, they were on fire. It is awesome when they decide to feed. I asked Andre what his job of choice was, he replied, "game warden." I double checked for my license.
Andre took me back, and I went ahead and fished a little longer enjoying the stars and the venomous mosquitos. I pulled in about a 13 lber, beaching it on the sand and rocks, then releasing my last fish this trip.
The 1,200 mile trip ahead made me think I better get some sleep.
I can't decide what my favorite part of the trip was, spending time with dad, the big fish, or all the fun people we met. I think it was a combination of it all and you could just tell that Dad and I had a mutual appreciation for how great this trip turned out to be. Dad had a heart attack a few years ago so I don't take it for granted anymore when we get to fish together.
We ended up meeting Stu the owner, who has the prime real estate on the great river. Holly, our guide who used to run trips for Ted Turner's clients. Kelly, Stu's daughter who told stories about getting in trouble not realizing you need to tip well in the U.S. The Canadian waitresses and waiters make $10 an hour I guess. John, the riverboat captain on the Lake Winnipeg, a lake about 200 miles long and 80 miles wide. Corey the tatoo artist and Cara the police officer from Winnipeg. Matt the surveyor, Ryan the plumber. We all had one thing in common, we loved fishing.
Skinner's restaurant, owned by a former NHL player, had every hockey photo imaginable, reminding me of what the sport means in Canada. I walked around town some when we took breaks from the water enjoying the different sites. This was a cool trip that every avid catfishermen should try at least once.
Chattanooga and the surrounding areas are pulling more and more trophy blues, thanks to the new 34" law.
The Red River has a similar law. You can't use barbed hooks in Manitoba, which I found interesting and easy to pull the hook out of the fish. Also, on a conservation license, you can only keep 1 fish under 24", which means all fish 24" or bigger must go back in the river. A regular license you could keep 4, but how in the world anyone could catch 4 fish under 24" on the Red River, well, it has to be impossible. Practically every fish is 28-36". Unbelievable numbers and size combined. Thanks to Stu the owner and others in the area that worked to make this a trophy fishery for channel catfish unrivaled by any other place in North America. Think about Chattanooga and what the fishing would be like if there was a limit of numbers on these cats?????
There's one off the bucket list, but I will be back. I heard too many ice fishing stories for walleye, and no other fish quite fights like a 20 plus lb channel cat!