By Brad Durick

On the Red River, I am starting to see post spawn female catfish in our catches once again, so I would say we are somewhere in the middle of the spawn. Numbers seem to be pretty good again this week thanks to smaller catfish in the mix.

Fish are coming in mid-river holes with some faster water on them. Traditional spawn areas such as snags and cut banks still seem to be a bit slower.  An honest 25 to 30 minute sit seems to be the best. For bait, I’m leaning on goldeye and sucker, but a both being couple days dead is best.

For now, conditions are about perfect, and the Red River remains stable. Hopefully this spawn keeps on its early track, and we can get to a summer pattern and rock for the rest of the season.

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 Grand Forks, N.D.

Featured Photo: Big Return.  Larger female channel catfish are starting to come out of the spawn and are being caught by anglers on the Red River. DEO Photo by Brad Durick.