Red River Report & Rant :)

[Backwater Eddy]

Lots of run off on the way from the South and East into the Red River. Jumped up fast yesterday, muddy but it may get the bite on a roll. The walleye bite was improving by late day yesterday. This flash run-off will pull some nice walleye up into previously inaccessible tributaries.

We should see a good catfish bite appearing rather quickly now folks.

(Da Rant part) ;)

I have noticed a lot of Goldeye, suckers, and channel cats being tossed up on the banks at the Maple River Dam, and several other locations in the region.

This is a total waste of a resource, and illegal to boot. You will get fined for this behavior. It is not a recommended procedure to eliminate undesirable species of fish. Besides, undesirable for one, is desirable for another. You are doing ANY GOOD to the system at all by tossing fish up on the bank, ZIP....none!

If you do not wish to utilize or harvest the fish, release it healthy. I personally would not hesitate tuning in anyone I see doing this.

Besides, who wants all them darn nasty fish flies biting you on your next trip out? Ya, think about that once folks? And that smell…"WHEW"…like who need that? The fines are not all that much fun either Eh.

Police up your TRASH, some areas are fast becoming a serious mess, what a dang shame. If you can pack it in, your certainly are capable of packing it out again when you leave. Leave it better then when you found it.

In short, respect the resource and ALL the other fisherman who utilize it.

Game fish or non-game fish, Ya know, I am just Game TOO fish!

:D

Enjoy!

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson
Backwater Guiding
(701)-281-2300
backwtr1@msn.com

http://ed-carlson.fishingbuddy.com

><,sUMo,>

[Tom B]

We turned in quite a few people for throwing suckers on the bank. They change their tune in a big hurry when you whip out a cell phone and dial a TIP number. Really gets 'em excited when you read off their license plate number and rattle off a description. Alot of these morons say they read in the rule book that throwing back "trash" fish is illegal. I carry a rule book in my shore fishing bag and ask them to show me. Everything they are trying to catch, eats what they leave on the bank.

The other folks that send me on a rant all the carp bowfishers. What the heck is anyone going to do with a 55 gallon drum of carp. They don't understand that the fewer large carp there are, the more small carp there will be.

I do not get where people get off wasting fish....

Tom B

[Backwater Eddy]

Update 5/05/03

The walleye action is picking back up, post spawn feeding. Jigs and cranks are my best producers, larger then average and noisy.

The catfishing is really booming now. Early but this is a early season on the Red River system.

With the new rains the next week or so should be very good.


Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson..><,sUMo,>

[Backwater Eddy]

Lots of rain, much needed rain too. Cooled off the rivers a lot, dropped to 52 now.

Slower bite then a week back yet fair to good. It will get better again soon.

Need some sun now.