Organizers of the Cats Incredible catfish tournament are keeping a close eye on the Red River's low water levels, but at this point, they say, it's business as usual for the competition.

The 19th annual catfish tournament is set for Saturday and Aug. 13, and pretournament festivities begin Friday. The tournament headquarters is located at LaFave Park in East Grand Forks below Cabela's.

"Really, it's kind of a wait-and-see situation right now," Dan Schenkein, president and CEO of The Chamber, said Monday. "We're getting some feedback about water conditions, water levels, and we know the situation can change from day to day. We're not prepared to do anything other than that."

Representing the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, The Chamber sponsors the popular catfish tournament.

The Red River in Grand Forks on Friday was at 15.77 feet, a level that's remained relatively steady for the last two weeks. While lower than the monthly August mean of 16.73 feet, existing river levels appear to be adequate for running the tournament.

Still, organizers are keeping their fingers crossed for a good soaking of rain. They're also in regular contact with fisheries personnel from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

"Right now, we're going forward thinking everything is going to be fine," said Ruth Ann Schleif, who heads the tournament organizing committee. "As long as everything stays as it is now, everything is going to be fine. We are going to do the best we can to have the safest tournament we can."

North hazards

The most troublesome part of the river is the north stretch downstream from Riverside Rapids, an area of about 12 miles where water in some places is low enough for boats to run aground. Schleif said 52 of the tournament's 150 teams are slated to fish north this year. The remaining 98 boats are fishing south, a 20-plus-mile stretch where water levels are higher.

Mark Aitchison, who oversees tournament officials on the north stretch of river, said he's hearing concerns from anglers about the low water in that area. Barring a shot of rain and a boost in river levels, teams fishing north will have to be especially careful this year, Aitchison said.

Beyond that, he said, organizers won't make any decisions about rule changes or other contingencies until a day or two before the tournament.

"At this point, it's pretty much what the water is going to give us," Aitchison said. "We just plan to move ahead now until next week. It's just to early to make any decisions."

Close encounter

Darwin Lunski of Grand Forks, defending Cats Incredible champion with partner Troy Srnsky of Warren, Minn., said the pair found out for themselves last weekend just how low the water really is in some places.

"My partner and I were running the river, and we slowed down for a boat, luckily," Lunski said. "Right in the middle of the river, we just beached it on a mound sticking up in the river. My partner had to get out of the boat and push us off the thing."

Lunski says his partner runs a Lund Mr. Pike with a 125-horse motor. With the low water, he says they're considering switching to Lunski's boat, a 16-horse Spectrum with a 40-horse motor.

"We'll have to wait and see on that," Lunski said. "I'd hate to be from out of town and not know the river at all. A guy's got to be careful. We were lucky we were going slow at the time. I would say it would be better to take it easy and make sure your boat lasts all weekend rather than race to your spot."

Places to watch

While trouble spots can pop up just about anywhere along the north stretch of river, Lunski said the first area to watch is located downstream from the ramp near the old North Forks landing, where a stretch of shallow, rocky water on the North Dakota side easily could grind up a prop.

"They can come up on you awful fast," Lunski said of the trouble spots. "It's not always going to work, but you have to try to follow the actual channel of the river and hope you're in the deep part. But if you're going to go down five miles wide open, there's a very good chance you're going to hit something."

Given the low water levels, Aitchison of the tournament committee said teams fishing north definitely should consider smaller boats if conditions don't improve.

"I just think people with big boats are going to have some difficulty, but being cautious, that's going to be the name of the game," Aitchison said. "If a person's got a smaller boat, it's going to be much easier, and if a person's got a jet boat, there'll be no problems whatsoever.

"There's definitely some scary areas that people have to be aware of. That's all we can preach at this point is safety."