When I decided to make a 1200 mile journey from my home in North Carolina to the Red River of the North, it was to get information for the final chapter of my new book, The Catfish Hunters. Mac Byrum and I are co-authoring this new book about searching for big Catfish, and this northern location has developed a reputation as the go-to place to catch monster Channel Catfish. Here in the south, most Channel Catfish are relatively small ranging from 4 pounds in most lakes to 15 pounds, considered a trophy in a few other lakes. Our new book attempts to look at fishing technique variations in different locations of the country, and variations in the habits of the three main breeds of Catfish, the Blue, Flathead and Channel Catfish. Blues and Flatheads of trophy size can be regularly caught I n southern lakes and rivers but to haul in a trophy Channel in the 20 pound range, it’s necessary to go north to the Red River of the North.
Our planned trip to Grand Forks North Dakota had some detours. The Red River of the North is known mostly for its annual devastating flooding conditions, so it was necessary to find a time when the river was at a level that boat ramps were open and the known good fishing spots were accessible. After two delays we settled on the later part of August. I had been is regular conversation with Brad Durick of Grand Forks, who has become known as the “face of the Red River of the North”. Brad is perhaps the most successful fisherman on the river, because he studies the river continuously, watching the water levels and fish behavioral habits as they vary throughout the year. Brad felt that a 22 foot water level was ideal for the big Cats and it was exactly at that level when we arrived in late August.
One trait of a knowledgeable Catfisherman is to make sure that he has a supply of at least three different baits on board. Channel Catfish are finicky, especially in fast flowing water where the water levels vary rapidly from one day to another. Our baits of choice based on Brads recommendation were Gold-eye, Suckers and Leopard Frogs. Mac and I have been around the fishing circuit for many years but neither of us had ever heard of Frogs being used as a Catfish bait, fine for Bass but never used for Catfish. Baits of choice tend to be the food that is naturally available where the fish live. Since Frogs are not normally found in deeper water where the Catfish reside, we would never expect them to be a popular food, especially during daylight hours when the Catfish are normally deeper in the water column.
It didn’t take long to rule out the Gold-eye bait, less than two hours on the water we abandoned that bait. Cut bait using small Suckers was fairly consistent with the heads being the most popular, but as the day progresses toward late afternoon, it looked like the Frogs were suddenly becoming the bait of choice, especially for the bigger fish.
We were planning to fish until about 9pm and at mid afternoon we moved into areas of the river where the structure was heaviest, and the Frogs suddenly caught the eye of the bigger fish. In a two hour period both Mac and I had snagged our personal best Channels, both catching fish over 20 pounds and all of the big catches were using frogs as bait.
The next day produced similar results, with some better results with Sucker cut bait, but in heavy structure the Frogs still maintained their popularity, producing a 20.4 pound fish for Mac and a 21.8 pounder for me.
Since my fishing books attempt to blend the science of fishing with the sport, the idea of Leopard Frogs appealing to Catfish as an afternoon meal intrigued me so I did some additional research on this Frog
The Leopard Frog is common the cooler climate of the northern United States and southern Canada. It lives along the grassy banks of rivers and lakes and eats mostly insects as do other Frog species. The first unusual issue with these Frogs is the method of attaching them to the hook. It has been determined that the channel Catfish prefer the frog to be dead, so that is the first order of business. A number 8 circle hook is passed down through the head and then passed up through the rear of the Frog. The last step, not shown here is to bring the back legs up and over the hook, attaching them through the lower leg so as not to permit the legs to dangle behind the Frog. It has been determined that the fish will often grab the dangling legs if they are left unhooked. The frog is now tightly compressed into a small ball on the hook. Most Bass lures that attempt to duplicate Frogs use the legs and their movement as a motion attractor to the fish. No such feature here with the Frog, which is wrapped up into a small ball.
The question still remained however, why do the big Channel Catfish prefer Leopard frogs? The Leopard Frog is an interesting species. The internal workings of this frog make it the preferred specimen for school laboratory studies. No doubt, those of us who have been required to dissect a Frog in biology class used a Leopard Frog as our specimen. The Leopard Frog breeds in the spring and it can tolerate a wide range of water temperatures, but prefers water that has heavy vegetation. It also likes to hide in areas that have heavy underwater structure, but is not particularly fond of fast moving water. Its predominant diet is flies and insects may explain its abundance on the days that we fished since the May Flies were very heavy on the river.
There is a good amount of information available about the Leopard Frog, because the northern species contain an enzyme that has shown promise for reducing tumor size in both lung and brain cancer. A unique quality of the Leopard Frog that may explain its attraction to the Channel Catfish, is the fact that most other Frogs have a skin that emits a very distasteful secretion that would be un-inviting as a food source. The Leopard Frog does not produce this secretion but has a sweet taste to its skin and a more attractive smell. We usually think of the Channel Catfish as liking smelly foods, but perhaps the big Cats know more that we think they do, understanding the medical and dietary value of the Leopard Frog.
Regardless of the reasons, we do know that most of the Channel Catfish that we caught on the Red River of the North, using Leopard Frogs as bait, ranged in weight between 15 and 22 pounds, and on both days that we fished this waterway, we caught at least a dozen in this weight range.
Jake Bussolini is a retired Aerospace executive who lives on Lake Norman in North Carolina. He has already published three books about freshwater fishing they are Jakes Take on The Lake, Freshwater Fighters and Beneath The Surface. His latest book The Catfish Hunters . His books can be reviewed on www.freshwaterfighters.com.
.