THE OUTDORKSMAN

"I spent most my time tying knots"      No joke. The first year of fishing of the F/M area was mostly a flop. I caught some fish, but I was constantly freeing my line from trees and snags while re-tying hooks and lead. I bet I put over 2 pounds of sinkers in the Red River.  I felt like I spent most of my time tying knots. You could say I was a slow learner. I wasn't even using gear the folks at bait and tackle shops had recommend me to use. Stuff like circle hooks, sliding weight set ups, mono-filament leader, using any bait other than just worms...I thought "Nahh that stuff won't make a that much difference".    It was hard for me to change my tactic when what I was using was yielding some results. "Don't fix what ain't broke. Right?" I thought that I was doing pretty good, compared to my surrounding fishermen. I had a something on the line every 8-10ish casts. But reality eventually set in, and I was tired of loosing fish. I won't

"You'd never know that this river held that big of fish"  My brother in-law Paul is the man who had introduced me to catfishing 4 years ago now.  He and his family have had a long standing tradition of heading over to the Red River for a weekend of fishing and playing in the muddy banks of the Minnesota/North Dakota border. I'm so grateful for getting an invite. Now, 7/25/20 A few miles short of the Canada Border. I'm sitting on the tiller end of my 14ft boat, tiny ripples in the river tap gently on the sides in a continuous rhythm. The brownish clay like silted water, churning in slow motion on what appears to be a mudslide instead of a river.  The Red River of the North boasts 70 species of fish. You would never know it by the mere 5 inches of water clarity.  My fishing rod is pointed off the rear of the boat facing down river (North). A tiny brass alarm bell is clamped onto the end of the rod. The braided line is tight, held on the bottom with 3 ounces of lead.