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People from all over the world visit the Red River in Winnipeg-Lockport area to catch these monster Channel Catfish.  When we have gone fishing for cats it is always catch and release but I have heard they are not bad eating if smoked. I don’t know anyone personally that has kept them for eating. People say it is like chicken – Yup! Heard “tastes like chicken” many times to describe unusual meats although I did taste Lynx once at a banquet hosted by a Yukon group and it really was like a chicken thigh.   It takes a long time to get a large catfish up to the boat ( sometimes 20 minutes or more) due to their bulk.  My son estimated this one in the 3 foot range and weighing in around 30+ pounds.  This is not an unusual size to catch at Lockport- there really are a lot of huge catfish concentrated in this area. You will notice my son’s hand in the mouth – they don’t have teeth, just a “sandpaper” like rim but they do have barbs than can do some damage if you get stuck by one.  People even catch these big ones from the shoreline casting out their baited pickerel rigs. The shorelines here are often lined with people relaxing and fishing and of course, Lockport is also known for its delicious foot long hot dogs at a few local diners. The Red River at Lockport / Selkirk  is  closely monitored by the DNR officers so be sure to have appropriate licences, barbless hooks etc. and practice good catch and release methods at all times.  Below a few more photos  – another large one and a few smaller ones.