Yesterday I loaded up the kayak and headed out to the Red River, launching at a point just south of Selkirk to accomplish a goal I’ve had for some time now. The Red River is known for it’s big water and bigger catfish, and it was one of these monster kitties that I was after. I specifically wanted to catch a master angler catfish and be able to land it on my kayak, preferably without tipping over.
![scenic red river](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160803_163938291-1024x576.jpg)
Here kitty kitty kitty!
Although I don’t usually see many other people when I’m out in the middle of a weekday, I was still a little surprised that there was not a single other person in sight. It was nice having a whole stretch of the river to myself, and when the sun came out it was even quite scenic, which let’s be fair is not something usually said about the Red.
![scenic red river](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160803_163924739-1024x576.jpg)
Who knew?
I started out with my standard approach of a few casts in a few different depths, not staying in any one place for too long, but didn’t get a single hit. The current was pretty strong so after a little while I decided to pull anchor and drift along the shore for awhile, see if anything wanted to take a bite. I wasn’t really sure what depth I should be focusing on since I hadn’t been out for catfish yet this year, so I did the smart thing and texted the old man.
![phone](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/phone.jpg)
Help?
He tipped me off to a likely depth so I found a nice gravel flat right near the middle of a bend, anchored at about 11 feet and dropped in my line. It only took about 5 minutes in this new spot before I missed a bite and had my bait stripped. I figured that was a promising sign, and it was only a matter of a few more minutes before I was hooked into something heavy. The old man still knows a few things I guess!
![definitely NOT a catfish](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/clam-1024x576.png)
His advice certainly wasn’t going to make me do any worse…
I could tell right away that I was on a big kitty, and I could hardly believe that I might meet my goal so quickly. It took me a solid 7 or 8 minutes of reeling to even get it close to the kayak, and just about the point it’s head finally broke the surface, I realized that I didn’t have my net. This was going to be interesting.
![well hello there](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160803_134925411-1024x576.jpg)
Hi there! How do you wanna do this?
I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to hold the thing, and it wouldn’t come close enough to me for any length of time for me to figure that out. I came up with a backup plan, pulled anchor and headed for shore. After hopping out and almost losing my kayak to the current, I dragged the fish out of the water and finally got a hold of it. It was a sloppy landing in all respects, but it was well worth the struggle as the fish was a solid 36 inches.
![not a bad catfish to land](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot_5-1024x1017.png)
Not bad
My goal was not just to catch a MA catfish though, I’ve done that plenty of times on the Red. What I was really aiming to overcome was the challenge of landing it on the kayak, and without my net that was going to be even more difficult. I was encouraged by this first catch though and came up with a plan for how to grab and hold on to the next one.
![red river can be really nice](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160803_133817709-1024x576.jpg)
Feeling confident about the next one
I anchored in the same spot and after missing a few bites, soon enough I had another one on the line. I could tell that this one also had some weight to it and I dug in for a fight. It was another round of frantic reeling and hauling on the line before I got a glance at it and several long minutes more before it actually came close enough to grab. I finally got my hand under it’s head, got a hold of it by the gill and with a bit of struggle hauled it up onto my lap. It was another master angler coming in at 35 inches and around 35 pounds.
![fat catfish](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot_2-1024x575.png)
Mission accomplished! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
Nothing quite beats that feeling of setting out with a very specific goal and actually accomplishing it, and I accomplished this goal with one hell of a catfish. I landed a couple more catfish over the next couple hours, still a nice size but not quite master anglers, before heading to shore to pack it all up. I drove home satisfied with meeting my challenge for the day and especially with such nice sized fish.
![nice big catfish](http://truenorthwilds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160803_154905820-1024x576.jpg)
What’s not to love about these gentle giants?
A goal completed, a day on the water with no one else in sight, and a mess of great sized catfish. What else could a guy ask for?
-Adam
See my latest trip to Red!
Now thats just a great story, great pics, and great fish!!!
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