Travis Carter, Elk Point, S.D., and Dan Foss, Onawa, Iowa, captured first place in the Seventh Annual First Class Cat Attack Saturday.

Forty-five teams of catfish anglers headed out into a rain-swollen Missouri River from the South Sioux City Public Boat Dock at 7 a.m. for the competition.

A heavy rain the night before, put the Big Sioux River at nearly bank full and foiled many angler’s plan of fishing that stream.

The high water made this the toughest fishing of any of the events, but Carter and Foss brought in eight channel catfish for a total of 26.40 pounds.

The pair took home a check for $1,373.

The 45 teams from six states weighed-in 98 channel cats and eight flatheads for a total of 106 catfish.

Total weight of all fish was 210.30 pounds. No blue catfish were caught this year.

No team weighed a limit of 10 fish. Two teams weighed nine and five teams weighed eight.

Second place went to Shane Jones, Westfield, Iowa, and Adam Conlon, Sioux City, $968, 14.15 pounds.

Third place: Roger Titze and Tron Glaser, Sioux Falls, $653, 13.70 pounds.

Fourth place: Dwayne Huss, Sioux City, and Roger Huss, Amazonia, Mo., $293, 13.05 pounds.

Fifth place: Josh Zahner, Holstein, Iowa, and Ben Cleavland, North Sioux City, $203, 13.05 pounds.

Sixth place: Doug Wagner, Jefferson, S.D., and Wes Whitead, Sioux City, $113, 12.30 pounds

Seventh place: Michael Eck, Elk Point, and Steve Hopkins, $100, 11.20 pounds.

Eighth place: Mike Gordon and Brian Smith, Lawton, $100, 10-pounds.

Ninth place: Bill B. Watts, North Sioux City, and Bill L. Watts, Farmington, Minn., $100, 9.60 pounds.

Big Fish Award went to Roger Titze and Tron Glaser, Sioux Falls, $212 for a 8.60-pound flathead.

Second big fish went to Robert Peterson and Russell Berg, Sioux City, $159 for a 7.30-pound channel cat.

Third big fish went to Brant Kurtz and Travis Deeds, Correctionville, $106 for a 6.45-pound channel cat.

Noon weigh-in winner was Larry Stroman, Moville, and Joel Stodola, Sioux City, $100 for a 6.40-pound channel catfish. They also placed fourth in the big fish division and won $53.

Bike Giveaway winners were Kinslee Walrod, 2, and Cael Walrod, 4.

Total cash payout was $4,533 with merchandise prizes worth $2,000, for or a total of $6,533.

For more info, www.firstclasscatattack.tk.

High water with heavy flows following a rain makes for tough fishing.

These seem to be the norm this year as there’s high water everywhere, coming down every creek, river as well as in all the ponds and lakes.

The bad side of this is that all the water running into the lakes and rivers, muddies up the water, making it hard to fish without getting your crankbaits, jigs and livebait rigs all gunked up.

The old wives tale, “with every bad there comes some good” is very true in this instance as water flowing into any body of water means the fish will start will be on the move.

It might take a few days for the water to settle down and the swift current to subside, but you can bet when there’s a rise in the water level, with water being released downstream the fish will become active.

The reason for this is pretty basic; the influx in water will bring new food sources down stream.

Worms, insects, zoo plankton as well as the baitfish and fingerlings that were tucked safely into the creeks and backwaters are now being flushed downstream into the rivers and lakes, bringing a smorgasbord to the fish that will be moving towards the incoming water on their way to see what’s on the menu.

In the river, sandbars and vegetation that were once high and dry will now become flooded and the insects and other material that was lying in these areas are now in the water.

In a river, this influx of water and new food sources will attract the fish to the slack water located behind sandbars and points.

Fish, both big and small will move towards the incoming water to feed on what’s being washed or forced downstream.

The biggest benefit of high water in reservoirs located on the Missouri River will reach capacity and water will need to be released through the dams.

Some of the deepest water in the system with the most hospitable water temperatures is located directly above the dam and because of this, there will be large concentrations of fish in these areas.

Once the gates are open to release the excess water from the lake a tremendous amount of water is released, flushing thousands of gallons of water and fish through the gates into the river system below.

On the Missouri as well as on other river systems, our dams are used for generating electricity and in order to drop the elevation of the lake, excess water may need to be run through the turbines of the dam as well, drawing fish on the upstream side through the generators, down into the river.

Fish sucked through the turbines can be cut up or injured and then deposited in the fast water down stream, dumping new fish into the river as well as adding a new food source downstream.

As the water levels rise and currents increases, the fish will move upstream into the more oxygenated water to feed on what’s being washed through the dam.

When water is being released, the fishing below generally improves, as numerous species of fish will have been relocated below the dam.

It’s always good to keep an eye on the information that the local paper has as far as the amount of water or CFS that’s being released through a dam, as a large increase is usually a pretty good indicator that there may be new fish coming through the turbines.

You never know what you might catch once new water has come into the river, as this is when anglers will start to pick up numerous varieties of fish, some which may not have been common in the area before the water release.

Prior to high water releases, the fishing below the dam may be slow, but several days after high water releases fish will become active.

When fishing below a dam that has released new water, you’ll want to keep your tackle pretty basic, as you won’t need anything fancy to catch fish during this time.

Try to use a light of weight as possible with a simple live bait rig consisting of a hook, split shot or lightweight sinker tipped with a crawler, leech or minnow being a good bet when fishing after water releases.

Some anglers like to use heavy weights to hold their bait in the current, keeping it on the bottom.

Unfortunately that may be where your rig stays as the heavy current can jam the weight tight into the rocks and other bottom obstructions where it may become part of the bottom structure once you’ve snagged up.

The lighter rigs will drift along with the current like the baitfish that have came through the dam, eventually settling in the slack water pockets where the game fish will be waiting for lunch to arrive.

No matter how you fish, be in from boat or shore, the next time there’s a big water discharge, give the fishing down stream a try as there’s bound to be fish moving up to see what all the fuss is about.

on the Red at Lockport, Manitoba, nets a catfish for a client. (Submitted photo)

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

LOCKPORT, Manitoba — When Holly Chow steps into her guide boat, she has to catch fish.

After all, anyone with the nickname, “Mama Cat” has to live up to her reputation.

And she does. A lifetime of experience in waters throughout the country sees to that.

But she didn’t really begin to fish for catfish until last spring. That’s when she began guiding full time for Stu McKay’s “Cats on the Red” resort.

“A typical day would be eight guys standing at the dock and they’d see two boats there and they’d see the girl and they’d go, ‘Oh, god, somebody’s got to fish with the girl,’” she said. “Then we’d come in with 24 fish and they’d go, “We were with ‘Mama Cat!’”

The Red River below the Lockport dam is recognized worldwide as a premier big catfish river in the summertime.

“The average size channel cat is about 20 pounds,” Holly said. “I would be ashamed if I took you out and we didn’t get three over 36 inches weighing between 24 and 26 pounds.”

In the fall, big walleyes (locally known as ‘greenbacks’) move up the river from Lake Winnipeg.

“In October the greenbacks begin coming in and life gets good,” she said. “The biggest in my boat was really big. It was three days after I had my hand surgery, I had 30 stitches in my hand, and I was fishing with my beautiful daughter,” she said.

“I passed her the rod and she set the hook into a walleye that went 31 1/2-inches.

“It was a great walleye fall,” she said. “And catfishing was good all summer long. It was so consistent. It’s all catch-and-release, but you can keep one under 24 inches. We supply all the equipment, all you bring is a smile.”

Holly’s outdoor background is extensive.

She grew up in Riding Mountain National park in southwest Manitoba. She was rodeoing full time at the age of 14, had her own half ton truck at 16 and a racing car.

When the family moved to Falcon Lake, located in the Whiteshell Provincial Park in southeastern Manitoba, she pursued the walleyes the lake is noted for.

“I’d spend literally 15 hours a day on the water,” she said. “I guided a little, fished a few little tournaments in the area and was placing high in them. If I was not working, I was out on the lake.

Then she began fishing tournaments seriously.

“I’d be home on Sunday night, work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and pull out for a tournament. I did that for 18 years,” she said.

She fished both walleye and bass tournaments including the PWT trail down south and bass circuit up north as well as a bunch of unsanctioned tournaments.

“I think the first year I fished 18 tournaments,” she said.

Then came a stint with Bass Pro Shop.

“I was the first woman on the Red Head Pro Hunting Team,” she said. “I was treated very well by that company and was able to hunt Africa and around the world with bow and occasionally the muzzleloader.

She did a lot of competition shooting with the bow representing the Red Head team.

“But I found targets were boring and they were so hard to cook,” she smiled.

She really enjoys promoting women in the outdoors.

“It’s not really as tough as many women might think,” she said. “The worst thing you can do is give a woman men’s used equipment or take her out to a place that is cold, wet and nasty.”

With the right equipment anyone can be comfortable in the outdoors.

“And it’s a whole lot of laughs,” she said.

Here we go again, we’re heading into the fall, where has our summer gone?

It’s that time of the year, the time our kids are heading back to school. As the temperatures decrease, water temperatures will start to cool and fishing will pick up.

With all of these things happening: you can bet it won’t be long before the good fall fishing season is here.

With the water temperatures declining, all species of fish will really start to feed heavily.

When fishing in the fall, it’s a good idea to use larger live bait.

During the fall, fish are on a mission, trying to fatten up before the freeze up.  Chubs and larger minnows seem to attract the larger fish, out producing the smaller baits.

In the rivers, you’ll find the walleye, sauger and smallmouth moving shallow to clean up any remaining baitfish or the crawfish that have survived the summer.

In our lakes, bluegills, crappies, largemouth bass and pike will move into and along the edge of the weeds, picking off insects and of course each other.

Lake walleyes will now be found spread out over the mud flats or cruising the weeds looking for a late season snacks.

This is the time of the year that you should look for the greenest vegetation you can find.

There are several reasons that fish will move into these green weed beds.  One is because their food source, baitfish will have moved there, another is because this is where they’ll find the coolest temperatures because of the shade and the oxygen being given off by the vegetation.

As anyone who has fished thee weedy areas can tell you, theses areas can be a nightmare as weeds can eat tackle as fast as you tie it on.

If you’re after bass you’ll probably be probing these weedy areas with some sort of weedless rig such as a Texas rig or some sort of jig and pig combination.

Fall bass can also be taken by slow rolling spinner bait into pockets in the weed beds or by running buzz baits over the top of the weeds.

With the drop in water temperatures, fish, which are cold blooded, will slow down, so you’ll need to do the same, slowing down the way you’re fishing and going with smaller baits.

Those anglers fishing for panfish should work the pockets and along the edge of the weeds with small tube jigs or a light livebait jigs.

To draw panfish out of the thicker cover they’re using this time of the year, try a Slip bobbers, split shot and small hooks tipped with minnows or pieces of night crawlers cast along the weed edge will draw the fish out of the cover.

This is the time off the year that walleye anglers will be changing from night crawlers back to minnows.  You’ll want to experiment a little bit with your baits, as all walleyes don’t change from worms to minnows at the same time or on a certain date.

Walleye anglers will have good luck using jigs to work along the edge of the weeds and on the breaks along mud flats.

If you’re going to be pike fishing you’ll be working the weeds and there are a couple of baits that are excellent pike producers this time of the year.

Spinnerbaits ran over the top or along the edge of the weeds is a great fall bait for Pike.

You’ll want to hold your rod high and speed crank the bait over the top of the weeds.  When you come across a hole or pocket in the weeds, let your spinnerbait drop or helicopter down into the pocket and then hold your rod tip high, while cranking it back onto the top of the weeds.

The pause and slow drop of the spinnerbait will often tempt bass that are buried in or along the edge of these pockets.

The bottom loving catfish will be moving from their summer haunts, deeper holes and head into areas where there’s less current.  Cat fishermen will need to look for the fish in these holes, working their prepared (stink bait) and live bait rigs in the pockets with less current or in the slack water found behind the dead falls and snags.

No matter what species of fish you’ll be looking for, don’t over look the slack water pockets just off the current by the dam, as these areas will be visited through out the day by fish cruising the area searching for a meal.

Don’t make the mistake that many anglers do during the fall and put the rod and reel away and think only hunting.

Fall fishing produces some of the largest fish of the year with all species trying to fatten up prior to the cold hard winter.

Drifting and trolling are two tactics for catfish

When it comes to catfishing, most anglers think of sitting on the bank watching the tip of your rod for a bite.

Catfishermen working from the bank are advised to move often in an effort to find the fish.

That also holds true for fishing from a boat, but you have other options than anchoring.

Pat Carter, a catfishing specialist from Elk Point, S.D., has taught me that over the years.

It was no different last week when we decided to meet up at McCook Lake to see if the fish were biting.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shinning and the wind, for once, was not howling. It was, instead, light and variable.

Just right for drift fishing.

Pat tossed out the drift sock and dropped the bow mount electric motor to control our course, and we tossed out our baits. We had shrimp, shad and chubs, and used them all.

The fish, it turned out, were not on fire but over the next few hours we put eight channels in the boat topping out at around four pounds and a nice walleye of about two-and-a-half pounds.

When drift fishing in lakes, heavy weights are not needed. In fact, Pat had only two small spit shot about two feet above his hook and I used only a large swivel. That was good enough to get us down to 10 feet which was about the deepest water we fished.

We also trolled using the electric motor when the wind died. The key is to move slowly.

When drifting or trolling you have to have confidence that catfish will hit a moving bait. Be assured that they will.

The year Pat will head up the annual catfishing tournament on the Missouri River here at Sioux City.

This year’s event’s major sponsor is First Class Credit Union and the “First Class Cat Attack!” has a guaranteed $5,000 payout. The event will be July 25. Visit www.firstclasscatattack.tk to learn more.

The credit union is also offering a $1,000 “bounty” for anyone winning the tournament who is not a Carter. Brothers Pat, Darrell and Larry have won the event the past five years.

Eight teams from five states are already signed up.

For information about the tournament, call Pat Carter at (712) 281-1841 or email at: imcoolcatpat@yahoo.com

Over 30 teams are expected to sign up.