I went to Northfield, Minnesota this evening to try to catch Shortnose Redhorse, which are supposedly common in the Cannon River just below the Ames Mill Dam in downtown Northfield which is one-hour northwest of Rochester. Northfield is known for its two colleges—Carleton and St. Olaf—which add to the charm of the town.

My strategy for redhorse was to use a split-sinker rig with the weight about 12 inches above a hook baited with a nightcrawler, cast into the riffles below the dam. The key is not to use too heavy a sinker—you don’t want it sitting on the bottom when targeting redhorse.

I was not catching redhorse, but I noticed numerous large Common Carp roiling in the water just below me.

Curious, I decided to let my bait hang over the side, close to the bottom, to see if I might get a bite from one of them.

Pretty soon I hooked a decent-sized fish. Initially, I thought it might be a carp—which I still need for my life list—but it turned out to be another Freshwater Drum. Those darn Freshwater Drum seem to be everywhere.

Still, I kept fishing, hoping to land one of those large carp.

Before long, I did hook one—and it was a fighter. I managed to battle it for about 20–30 seconds before it slipped away.

Shortly after that, a boy of about 14 who was fishing with his parents hooked a similarly large—perhaps even larger—carp. Unlike me, he clearly had experience. He played the fish skillfully, walking up and down the promenade along the west bank of the river to control it. He fought it for about five minutes before it finally got away.

As the evening went on, I hooked two more very large carp. In both cases, the moment I tried to bring them in, they snapped my 6-pound monofilament line.

It became obvious that there was no way I was going to land these fish with a medium-light rod spooled with 6-pound test.

Ironically, I had just purchased a heavy rod for catching flathead catfish—but had left it at home.

So I plan to return to Northfield soon (perhaps this weekend), but this time better prepared. I’ll bring the heavier rod, along with a reel spooled with at least 20-pound test line. I’ll also need a long-handled net that can reach over the 3–4 foot wall that lines the river, since the water itself is another four feet below that.

Still, I’m excited—I now know where to catch large carp. I just need to bring the right equipment.

And of course, I’ll also be back to try for more redhorse.