By Brad Durick

Our week-to-week changes continue for catfishing on the Red River and this time the rains have brought levels up to light flooding in the Fargo area and just a lot of logs and wood flowing through the Grand Forks are. The water here is muddy and 59 degrees right now.

Even with the changes, the bite has not slowed all that much, but the way we have had to fish for our cats has changed. The way to pick spots right now has been to find shelves and drop offs where the current is NOT pushing wood and debris. That’s because like us, the fish are avoiding the junk too.  The river has crested and will begin falling later this week so things will clear up and we can move around more by the weekend.

The prespawn bite is still going strong. Both suckers and goldeyes are working well for bait but with the muddy water, goldeyes are harder to come by. Sit times are still about 20 to 25 minutes. I have been sitting an honest half hour with the occasional big fish coming at about that time.

The weather looks nice for the next week or so and the fish are still going. As the water temperatures creep back up, the spawn is just two or three weeks away.

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

Featured Photo: In the Thick of It.  Despite a rise in water levels and an uptick in debris in the Red River, anglers can still find large channel cats on the feed ahead of their spawn. DEO Photo by Brad Durick.