Organizers of the Cats Incredible Catfish Tournament that was scheduled for July 25-26 on the Red River out of LaFave Park in East Grand Forks on Thursday, May 28, announced they were canceling this year’s tournament, with the promise that it will return “better than ever” in 2021.
The East Grand Forks Association of Firefighters Local 3423 since 2013 has organized Cats Incredible, which dates back to 1988.
“The memberships feel that for the protection of not only participants, staff and volunteers, but most importantly for the protection of the community of East Grand Forks, we feel that is the right thing to do in these uncertain times,” Paul Hansen, president of Local 3423, said in a statement on behalf of the firefighters union.
Anglers who had already paid their entry fees for this year’s tournament will receive refunds, Hansen said.
Considering Cats Incredible is as much a community festival as a fishing tournament, with events such as street dances, car shows, food vendors and a beer garden, the decision to cancel this year’s tournament was the right choice.
Whether anglers are adhering to the 6-foot social distancing guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to minimize the potential spread of the coronavirus is a matter of opinion – based on what I’ve seen, many are not – but congregating people for Cats Incredible’s other traditional activities certainly would have been risky.
Here’s hoping the organizers are right and the tournament returns better than ever next year.
Cats Incredible had lost some of its luster in recent years. At one time, demand to fish the tournament was so high that organizers conducted a lottery several weeks ahead of time to determine the field of two-person teams that would participate.
That began to change when organizers decided to remove the stretch of river downstream from Riverside Dam rapids from tournament boundaries because of aquatic nuisance species regulations that prohibit the transport of water away from the boat ramp.
That effectively eliminated the option of transporting catfish from the boat ramp below Riverside Dam, on the North Dakota side of the river, to the weigh-in site at LaFave Park, on the Minnesota side of the river, since the only way to reach the river above the dam during normal water levels is by road.
The change upset some anglers who favored the downstream stretch of river, which fishes differently than the Red upstream from the dam.
While the circumstances are unprecedented, this isn’t the first time Cats Incredible has been canceled. In 2011, organizers canceled the tournament because of high water.
Nothing’s official yet, but I’ve heard rumblings in recent days that a “one-off,” one-day tournament might be held in place of Cats Incredible for this year only, the logic being that anglers who enjoy fishing the tournament would still be able to wet their lines competitively.
It’s only a rumor at this point, though, and will depend on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources granting a permit for the one-day event to proceed. That should just be a formality, but then again, you never know.
Stay tuned.
N.D. deer tag deadline
For those of you hoping to hunt deer with a rifle this fall in North Dakota, a deadline is coming up fast.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department this week issued a reminder to hunters that the deadline to apply for a tag for this year’s deer gun season is Wednesday, June 3.
Game and Fish is offering 69,050 deer gun licenses this fall, an increase of about 3,500 from last year, continuing a trend of modest upticks in recent years.
Demand for licenses will continue to exceed availability in many deer gun units, where deer numbers have been slower to rebound from a series of bad winters that resulted in declining license numbers for several years beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2015.
In the Grand Forks area, for example, Game and Fish is offering 1,100 buck tags and 800 doe tags in Unit 2B, unchanged from last year. The outlook is slightly better in neighboring Unit 2C, where 1,000 buck tags and 600 doe tags are available, increases of 200 and 300, respectively, from 2019.
With Game and Fish offices closed to public access until further notice, applicants for regular deer gun, youth and muzzleloader seasons must apply for licenses on the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov or by calling (800) 406-6409. A service fee is charged for applications made through the 800 number.
On a related note, gratis applicants must apply online because the toll-free licensing telephone number is not set up to receive gratis applications.
Dokken reports on outdoors. Call him at (701) 780-1148, (800) 477-6572 ext. 1148 or send email to bdokken@gfherald.com.
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May 30, 2020 at 08:00PM
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Canceling Cats Incredible Catfish Tournament for this year was the right choice, given ongoing pandemic risks - Grand Forks Herald
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