Catfish are available throughout the area. Some lakes have good numbers of them, but it is the rivers in this area that will offer the best fishing for catfish. In some areas, you can catch good numbers of catfish with very big fish available too.
St. Croix River
The St. Croix River is a little farther from Minneapolis, especially if you head up to Taylor Falls. The Taylor Falls area is very close to the Chisago Lakes area, so combining a day on the river with a Chisago Lakes trip could work out perfect. The St. Croix River is known for its smallmouth bass and white bass fisheries in this area. You can also catch many other species of fish here such as walleye, catfish, northern pike, muskie and more.
Mississippi River Pool 2
Pool 2 is the portion of the Mississippi River from above the dam at Hastings, Minnesota and extends upstream to the Ford Dam. Backwater lakes in this area include Baldwin Lake, River Lake, Spring Lake, Mooers Lake, Pig’s Eye Lake and Grey Cloud Slough.
Anglers target a variety of fish in the river such as catfish, walleye, sauger, smallmouth bass, white bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie and largemouth bass.
Best Baits for Catfish
Catfish are not too picky when it comes to what they eat, however, there are definitely some things you could learn that will help you catch more catfish. Cut baits, stink baits, cheese baits, and nightcrawlers will usually be the best baits for catfish.
Best Rigs for Catfish
Catfish feed primarily on the bottom on most bodies of water, so most anglers keep it simple with a basic bottom fishing rig. You really don’t have to complicate things too much when targeting catfish, so we recommend keeping it simple with just a few basic rigs.
To learn more, take a look at our best rigs for catfish page.
Best Techniques for Catfish
There are many different techniques that you can use when targeting catfish, but you don’t really need to do anything complicated. You are going to catch most of your catfish on the bottom while you just sit and wait. However, there are a few techniques that can be effective that you should learn if you want to put more catfish in the boat.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for catfish page.
Learn More About Catfish
Our catfish fishing section has tons of tips on the best baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our catfish fishing website to learn more.
