Lessons From Fishing in Fargo/Moorhead

"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 keep you here all day, so here's my verdict.

Lesson One: Bait

    

    Worms & Leeches:     Pros: Work great for catching small Catfish, Walleyes, Lake Sturgeon, Goldeneye and Freshwater Drum. They're also available at stores and easy to transport. 

                                        Cons: Hard to keep on the hook. (Fish like goldeyes, madtoms and stonecats are great worm thieves)

    

    Suckers Minnows:    Pros: Work AWESOME for catfish mid-summer to late summer. They're hardy and durable bait.             Cons:  Hard to transport. Not always available at F/M shops.

    

    Frogs:    Pros: Work great for catfish. (I have yet to catch anything else but catfish on one) Frogs can be caught in the tall grass prior to fishing and while fishing as well. They are fairly strong and hold up well to the non-stop attack from goldeyes.

                   Cons: People look at you a little weird when your diving in the tall grass to catch them.

   

     Cut-Bait:  This is my personal preference when targeting catfish. I define Cut-Bait as Goldeyes just cut into pieces. I'll keep a frozen bag of chunked-up goldeyes in the freezer all summer, grabbing the bait every time I head out. 

                    Pros: Works the best (in my opinion) for catfish. Very durable and fresh smelling. **If you're a fish**

                     Cons: it's messy, time consuming, and you won't earn any bonus points with your spouse for the bloody fish in the freezer.

    Stink-Bait, Livers & Punch Baits:    I messed around with these quite a bit, but so far I never found these baits to produce results worth the time and money like the others do. 

Lesson Two: Hooks

    Treble-Hooks: They'll work, but it's almost like catfish can sense the hook and will spit it out. 

        Pros: When they do set, the work great.     Cons: Snags on everything.

    "J"-Hooks: These work good on goldeyes and walleyes and small catfish. Snags less than the treble hook.

Pros: You probably have these in your tacklebox already.         Cons: Fish really seem to inhale this type of hook. I also seem to miss more fish on J's than compared to circle hooks.

    Circle-Hooks:    My personal favorite for the river. These hooks set really well, hardly ever losing the fish. Least amount of snags as well.

Pros: Great hook sets, strong hooks.         Cons: Typically a little more expensive than "J's"

Lesson Three: Location

Where's the best place to fish?!

I think the easiest way to summarize this one is to say "There isn't one".

In the river, fish like to be in spots that requires less energy to stay in while still producing some decent food opportunity.  

This could be, but not limited to: bridges, inlets, down trees, overhanging trees, rocks, eddies, bends in the river, deep pockets, or right smack dab in the deepest part of the river. All these structures are accessible in parks and other public areas.  F/M has TONS of riverside parks.

I highly encourage anyone who likes fishing to give the Fargo/Moorhead a try.

Picture 1. Catfish I caught from a park in Moorhead

Picture 2. Goldeyes I caught for bait.