Flathead catfish
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| Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque, 1818) |
The flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, also called the yellow cat, opelousas, mud cat and shovelhead cat, are large North American freshwater catfish. Ranging from the lower Great Lakes region to northern Mexico, they have been widely introduced and are an invasive species in some areas.
Their native range includes a broad area west of the Appalachian Mountains encompassing large rivers of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio basins. The range extends as far north as North Dakota, as far west as New Mexico, and south to the Gulf of Mexico including northeastern Mexico.
Flathead catfish are most closely related to the Satan genus of fish. They grow to a length of c. 155 cm and may weigh up to 56 kg. Their maximum recorded lifespan is 20 years. Males are mature from c. 16 cm and 4 years of age while females mature from c. 18 cm and 5 years of age, but may mature as late as 10 years. The world angling record flathead catfish was caught May 14, 1998 from Elk City Reservoir, Kansas and weighed 123 lb 9 oz (56.05 kg).
Inhabiting deep pools, lakes, and large slow-moving rivers, Flathead catfish are popular among anglers; their flesh is widely regarded as the tastiest of the catfishes. Their size also make the Flatheads effective subjects of public aquaria. Like most catfish, Flatheads are benthic feeders and are not picky. They are voracious carnivores and feed primarily on other fish, insects, annelid worms and crustaceans.
Sport fishing for flathead catfish using rod and reel can be an exciting pastime. Anglers target this species in a variety of waterways including small rivers (barely large enough for a canoe), large rivers (such as the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers), and reservoirs. A common element of flathead catfish location is submerged wood cover such as logs and rootwads which often collect at bends in rivers. A good flathead spot usually also includes relatively deep water compared to the rest of a particular section of river, a moderate amount of current, and access to plentiful baitfish such as river herring, shad, carp, drum, panfish, or suckers. Anglers targeting large flathead catfish usually use stout tackle such as medium-heavy or heavy action rods from 6–10 feet (1.8–3.0 meters) in length with large line-capacity reels and line ranging from 20–80 pound (90–360 N, 9–36 kgf) test breaking strength. Generally large live baits are preferred such as river herring, shad, sunfish, suckers, carp, goldfish, drum, and bullheads ranging from 5–12 inches (12–30 cm) in length. Sometimes nearly as much time and effort is spent catching baitfish ahead of time as is spent fishing for flatheads. While not as numerous as other catfish species, catching a large flathead catfish (over 20 pounds) usually makes the effort worthwhile to an avid catfisher. Flathead catfishing often takes place at night either from a boat or from shore once a catfisher has identified a likely looking flathead spot.
Spawning occurs in late June and early July, the nests made in areas with submerged logs and other debris. The males, who also build the nests, fiercely and tirelessly defend and fan the clutch. The size of the clutch varies proportionately to the size of the female; an average of 2,640 eggs per kilogram of fish are laid.
The fry frequent shallow areas with rocky and sandy substrates where they feed on insects and worms such as annelids and polychaetes. Young flatheads are also cannibalistic, a fact which has largely precluded their presence in aquaculture.
The world record Flathead Catfish is standing at 123 pounds (56 kg).
Arkansas Blue catfish
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| Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur, 1840) |
The blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, is one of the largest species of North American catfish. Blue catfish are distributed primarily in the Mississippi River drainage including the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas rivers. These large catfish have also been introduced in a number of reservoirs and rivers, notably the Santee-Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina and the James River in Virginia. The current angling world record is 124 pounds and was caught by Tim Pruitt on May 22, 2005, in the Mississippi River.
Blue catfish are opportunistic predators and will eat any species of fish they can catch, along with crayfish, freshwater mussels, frogs, and other readily available aquatic food sources (some blue catfish have reportedly attacked scuba divers.) Catching their prey becomes all the more easy if it is already wounded or dead, and blue cats are noted for feeding beneath marauding schools of striped bass in open water in reservoirs or feeding on wounded baitfish that have been washed through dam spillways or power generation turbines.
Due to their opportunistic nature, blue catfish will usually take advantage of readily accessible food in a variety of situations, which from the angler's perspective makes cutbaits, deadbaits, and even stinkbaits an excellent choice to target these fish. Blue cats will also respond well to livebaits, with live river herring and shad usually a top choice followed by large shiner minnows, sunfish, suckers, and carp. All of the above baits can be used as fresh cutbaits with good success and freshwater drum also work well in this capacity. Generally a fairly large piece of cutbait (4-12 inches long) on a fairly large hook (3/0 to 9/0) is a good choice in rivers or reservoirs where large blue cats (20 pounds and up) are a possibility. Depending on current conditions sinkers ranging from 1/2 to 6 or 8 oz. may be required with 1-2 oz. a good choice for many situations. To catch large blue catfish in rivers the more current the better usually, although fishing along current edges and breaks is often a good option. Blue catfish tend to favor deeper water in larger rivers and reservoirs, but will make feeding and spawning forays into relatively shallow water.
Channel catfish
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| Ictalurus
punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) |
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, are North America's most numerous catfish subspecies. They are also the most fished types of catfish, with approximately 8 million anglers in the USA targeting them per year. A member of the Ictalurus genus of American catfishes, channel catfish have a top-end size of approximately 40-50 pounds (18-23 kg). The world record channel catfish weighed 58 pounds and was caught in 1964 in the Lake Marion, South Carolina. Realistically, a channel catfish over 20 pounds (9 kg) is a spectacular specimen, and most catfish anglers view a 10 pound (4.5 kg) fish as a very admirable catch. Furthermore the average size channel catfish an angler could expect to find in most waterways would be between 2 and 4 pounds. Channel catfish flesh is prized by many anglers and the popularity of channel catfish for food has allowed the rapid growth of aquaculture of this species throughout the United States.
Channel catfish are well distributed throughout the United States and thrive in small rivers, large rivers, reservoirs, natural lakes, and ponds. Channel catfish are omnivores who can be caught on a variety of natural and prepared baits including crickets, nightcrawlers, minnows, shad, chicken livers, frogs, bullheads, sunfish, and suckers. Catfish have even been known to take Ivory Soap as bait. Channel catfish possess very keen senses of smell and taste. At the pits of their nostrils (nares) are very sensitive odor sensing organs with a very high concentration of olfactory receptors. In channel catfish these organs are sensitive enough to detect several amino acids at about 1 part per 100 million in water. In addition channel catfish have taste buds distributed over the surface of their entire body. These taste buds are especially concentrated on the channel catfish's 4 pairs of barbels (whiskers) surrounding the mouth—about 25 buds per square millimeter. This combination of exceptional senses of taste and smell allows the channel catfish to find food in dark, stained, or muddy water with relative ease.
This combined with the fact that channel catfish will readily scavenge for food explains why cutbaits (fresh cut pieces of fish—usually minnows, shad, herring, sunfish, suckers, etc.) are particularly effective for catching this species of catfish. In addition prepared baits such as dipbaits, punchbaits, bloodbaits, and other "stinkbaits" can be effective in many situations. These baits usually are made from some combination of ground fish, chicken, beef, cheese, sour grains, and many other "secret" ingredients. Catfish trapping is regulated in some states. Catfish traps include "slat traps," long wooden traps with an angled entranced, and wire hoop traps. Typical bait for these traps include rotten cheese and dog food. Catches of as many as 100+ fish a day are common in catfish traps.
Catfish trapping, however, has recently come under media scrutiny due to the recovery process. The inherent nature of a trap means that the fish can be confined to small areas for, at times, up to twenty-four hours before traps are checked. The channel catfish requires a full range of motion in order to perform aerobic respiration, but since this is not possible in many traps the catfish suffocate. Animal rights activists believe that federal regulations for larger trap sizes should be put in place.
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