FM Crookston Catfish Gathering 2005 July 24, 2005 This is the one gathering I definitely look forward to every year. Rusty Miller of Wiskers Guide Service and his family host one heck of a fun gathering on the banks of the Red Lake River in Crookston, MN.

Once again, the weather cooperated for this event. Hot, sunny, humid and just all around an awesome summer day! That is perfect catfishing weather! Rusty's Cat Gathering last summer was THE event that hooked me on catfishing. We caught cats, lots of them. I also realized that channel catfish will oufight any other fish of similar size in Minnesota. Sorry walleye fisherman!! One of the biggest changes at this years gathering was the river itself. The lowhead dam in Crookson was under demolition and reconstruction all winter to replace it with a rock/riffle style of dam. This project is one of many the Army Corps of Engineers is conducting to improve the Red River wathershed. With such a major disruption to the river system, the fishing was undoubtedly going to be difficult. My dad and I arrived at the river early in the morning. After all, we still had to catch our bait and wanted to get a jump on the fishing. We dragged our 14' Lund up and over the dike and launched it into the river. I hung the motor back on the transom, hooked up the fuel tank, reconnected the electronics, loaded our gear & rods, and we shoved off to start our day. Like I mentioned, our first mission was to catch some bait- Goldeyes. We've previously caught them on the bottom up near the dam in the main river channel. A box of nightcrawlers and a half hour later and we had 14 goldeyes in the basket. We sacrificed one of the goldeyes for bait and switched gears to contest mode, that is catching the biggest channel catfish of the day.

Whiskers has had a big fish pot for two years in a row now. Everyone who wants in tosses $10 into the pot and the biggest fish takes all. I'm proud to say that I guided my father, Randy, to a 14 1/2lb Channel Cat that held out to win all the money this year. My dad isn't a big catfisherman yet and was fishing with his Ugly Stick walleye spinning rod. When this kitty hit, my dad had his hands full with the fight. I told him to loosen his drag and play the fish carefully. It was only a matter of time before it would get tired and come to the boat. Well, it took awhile and surfaced near the boat at least three separate times before I was able to get a good shot at the fish with the Frabill. The end result was cash in my dad's pocket, and the biggest catfish he has ever caught in his life. Congrats dad!

What a fun day! My dad landed the biggest fish of his life and everyone walked away with some awesome door prizes. I just happened to win the grand door prize of a nice catfish rod & reel combo. Thank you Rusty for hosting this event again and thank you to the sponsors for making it possible. I'd also like to thank Bruce Mosher of Today's Tackle for fishing with us for the day. Bruce is the Ice Buster Bobber man and also makes the Foam Walker Standing Slip Sinker which is great for bottom fishing in rivers. Stay tuned for information regarding next years event. I'm sure Rusty will graciously host it again and I'd like to see even more boats in the river next summer.