By Brad Durick

A little heat turned things on for the catfish in the Red River in and around Grand Forks over the past weekend, but the water remains in the low 50s with these recent cool days. The river level is stable to a slight rise, and the catfish are responding well.

Active fish have been holding in the faster current seams near the bank. Hits have come fairly quickly when fishing in a new spot but there seem to be more little fish in the early goings. The big fish are taking a little longer to commit to the baits. Expect lots of picking and pecking on the bait until the water temp rises a little more.

One thing I have done this spring is downsize my rods to Ugly Stik 6’6” Medium GX2s. these have a lighter tip to help with the hook up and the fish are still slow enough that they won’t wreck the reel when you fight them. By next week we should be back to normal catfish rods as the hits get harder.

This past week I have been using sucker for bait. It sounds like anything fresh or freshly dead is working, but old frozen is not producing very well. I even ran some jello chicken and it was not the answer.

If you’re looking to hook into the catfish of a lifetime, I am currently taking bookings beginning May 18 and on through the summer!

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.

Featured Photo: Spring Feeder.  Larger catfish are in the mix, and things should only get better as the waters of the Red River warm this spring. DEO Photo by Brad Durick.