100-pound catfish invade Susquehanna

http://www.post-gazette.com/ ^ | Friday, July 26, 2002 | By The Associated Press

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

LANCASTER -- One-hundred pound flathead catfish could eventually take over the Susquehanna River and disrupt its ecosystem, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Last week, commission officials confirmed that the species recently entered the Susquehanna River. And officials are worried the predatory fish, which can reach more than 100 pounds, could cause problems for other species.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

First protect the fish now get rid of them then do away with fishing altogether dumbarse liberals

[abclily]

Oh, my! Saw a man on TV the other morning who said that catching fish hurts them. That fishing should be banned. Who are we to listen to? Oh,my! Such confusion!

[wildbill]

What they need are some Okie noodlers. They go under water and sick their hands into likely holes where catfish hang out and let the catfish chomp down on their hands. Then they pull them out.

Of course, no one ever said Okies were smart. If they were, they'd be south of the Red in heaven on earth. :-)

[Free Trapper]

Use live bait for flathead,they don't bite well on a lot of baits used for other cats.

[prisoner6]

They're just getting the young ones. hehehhehe!

Here in Pittsburgh ask any diver who inspects the dams. When they get to the bottom it's so dark they can't see to inspect for cracks, they have to feel.

Stepping carefully and roped to the top divers in a hardhat suit slowly feel their way along the dam surface.

More than one has been startled by stepping on "something fleshy" and big that slithers up to investigate.

One guy recently related the story of such an incident. He said when the "thing" jumped up he was startled but it seemed to move away so he kept going. A few minutes later he felt something bump into him. He told the surface crew to be ready to pull him up.

The "thing" - most likely a HUGE catfish - proceeded to move around and brush up against him. He told the crew he could still feel it rubbing against his body and it was LONG. After what seemed like minutes he told the crew it passed by him. But then it came back from the other dircetion, slithering along his body. Again it passed but when it happened a third time, it jerked! He told the crew he could "see" a huge black eye pressed against the glass of his helmet!

"PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP!" he shouted!

Working against the current it took a few minutes for him to surface.

When he did the crew claimed a huge, brown/black fish or eel broke water right behind, then dove again!

The diver said he could feel whatever it was rubbing against him all the way up.

I think it happpened at the Emsworth dam, but I'm not sure.

I also have friends who work the riverboats and they have told me LOTS of similar stories.

Hundred pounds? It's gotta be a youngun!

prisoner6

[ReaganIsRight]

Similar story here. Divers at Conowingo dam, the first one up the Susqehanna near the Chesapeake reported catfish so big at the base of the dam they were afraid they were gonna be fishfood.

Why these morons can't figure out how these fish got upriver is beyond my comprehension. The Delaware and Chesapeake Bay are connected by a canal and water flows in both directions depending on the tide. They have been lifting and transporting shad for years around Conowingo. It's not too hard to get a couple of other fish into the mix.

[Free Trapper]

I used to live South of the Red but if you're a Texan and get your toes wet you're already in Okieland and need an Ok. license.

The Red is all in Oklahoma and I'll stay this side,thankya.

Okies also have the best Southern neighbors in the world ,another thing Texans can't brag on.:)

You're right about good flathead grabbin' in the Red.Nothing like wigglin' your fingers in a hole to see what grabs 'em.

I'm nibblin' on a big plate of cold catfish as we speak.:)

[Free Vulcan]

Same here on the Mississippi. Catfish will grow as long as they live. Divers here claim they have seen them as long as small cars. I've seen pictures of 5 footers myself in the papers.

[Red Jones]

In rivers in Kansas, a century ago, people used to make a living by diving into the river, they'd swim right up next to large catfish, pet them to calm them, and then stick a big hook in their mouths by surprise, then they'd swim to shore and pull them in. 100 lb fish were not uncommon.

At base of Hoover dam there are a whole bunch of very large catfish, I'm told up to 200 lbs., they just sit and wait for all the dazed fish to come down through the dam and they eat them.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

My dad retired from a power station here in cincy told me about catfish in the ohio river getting caught up in the cooling inlets of the plant 2 and 300 pound cats with tailfins 5 and 6 foot tall the divers have to go down every once in a while and repair grates that those big fish destroy hes seen divers literaly jump out of the water refusing to go back in because those fish are so big !

[gilor]

The agency is now looking for the help of anglers to help control the growth of the species, which is not native to the river.

Just wondering what those PETA freaks think of this.

[dtel]

"Okies also have the best Southern neighbors in the world ,another thing Texans can't brag on.:)

LOL, but we're gonna kick Zero U's butt in Dallas this year.
And we got Roy Williams where he rightfully belongs. ;^)
Loves me some catfish, like another poster said earlier, live bait does work best on these flatheads. We generally catch the sunfish and string 'em on a stout rod and hang on. They also tend to be fleshier and better tasting than the channel cat. Almost as much fun as catching a big old striper on live bait, and much better eating.
Good luck to the Sooners this year.

[Free Trapper]

For years I've caught different kinds of critters for a living and spent many a day and night on the bottoms of lakes and rivers diving for mussels,etc.

Even a 30 or 40 pound flathead or bluecat can move you around pretty good when you're in the water and they bump you or you grab them.They would spook most people out of the water and even moreso at night or if you're very deep in most freshwater without a light,working blind.

Nearly every body of water I've spent time on has a story of divers being spooked out of the water by giant fish.Sometimes the diver calls topside about one and his safety man pulls his airline up but the line's bit off and no diver.

Most of the working divers I've known would be back with shark hunting gear in a flash if they believed there was a chance to get a giant catfish and most noodlers,me included,would probably volunteer to be the bait.:)

I've been in camp several times with my wife and kids and someone would stop to visit and end up warning me about the giant fish when they found out I was diving.Each time it gets harder for my outfit not to bust out laughing,they've heard it so many different places and know we'd be after it if it was there.

There are some mighty big fish out there but not the size of cars and trucks.About two weeks ago IIRC,my oldest kid was at the weighin of a 180 pound alligator gar that I believe was right at 7 feet long and two to four years back friends of ours had a 174 pounder that was pictured in one of the sport magazines IIRC.Both were caught in the Red.

[vikzilla]

Flathead Catfish World Record Other Names Yellow cat, Opelousas, mud cat, shovelhead cat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WORLD RECORD: IGFA 91-4+ L. Lewisville, TX 3/28/82

FHF 92-0+ Toledo Bend, TX 2/25/95

ST WEIGHT WATER DATE AL 80-0 Alabama R. 6/22/86

AZ 65-0 San Carlos L. 1951

AR 80-0* Arkansas R. 10/28/89

Ca 60-0 Colorado R. 3/7/92

FL 43-8 Apalachicola R. 1995

GA 58-7 Altamaha R. 8/2/96

ID 58-8 Brownlee Res. 8/23/94

IL 78-0 Carlyle L. 8/11/95

IN 79-8 White R. 1966

IA 81-0 L. Ellis 6/58

KS 90-0 Pomona Res. 6/15/93

KY 97-0 Green R. 6/6/56

LA 41-0 Unknown 1995

MI 47.5 MapleR. 1943

MN 70-0 St.Croix R. 1970

MS 65-8 Pickwick L. 3/21/87

MO 77-0 Missouri R. 5/19/87

MO 94-0* St. Francis R. 6/21/71

NE 80-0 Silver Creek 6/14/98

NM 78-0 Elephant Butte 6/7/79

NC 69-0 Cape fear R. 7/26/94

ND 29-6 Heart R. 1985

OH 76-8 Clendening L. 7/28/79

OK 70-14(release) L. Keystone 5/19/91

OR 42-0 Snake R. 6/27/94

PA 43-9 Allegheny R. 5/9/85

SC 74-0 Wateree R. 1991

SD 54-0 L. Francis Case 7/4/86

SD 43-0* L. Francis Case 8/22/93

SD 66-0* Mississippi R. 9/27/95

TN 85-15 Hiwassee R. 7/25/93

TN 86-0* Old Hickory L. 10/10/91

TX 114-0* L. Livingston 10/15/76

VA 66-4 Occoquan Res. 5/6/94

WA 22-8 Snake R. 1981

WV 70-0 Little Kanawha R. 1956

WI 65-0 Rox R. 4/19/87

WY 3.74 N. Platte R. 1995

+ all-tackle world record IGFA- International Game Fish Association FHF- National Frash Water Fishing Hall Of Fame

Now I realize these are caught with tackle. You do have to love a good fish story though.

[Willie Green]

I also have friends who work the riverboats and they have told me LOTS of similar stories.
Hundred pounds? It's gotta be a youngun!

I recall tales of river sturgeon up to 7' long in the Allegheny, but they were few and far between and may have been eradicated by the poor water quality that existed several decades ago.

They water certainly HAS improved over the last 30 years, I can remember when the Monongahela ran orange with pollution: it produced quite a color contrast when it merged with the Allegheny at the Point.

A buddy of mine claims that some people are actually catching trout out of the Ohio, down below the Emsworth Dam. It was near the mouths of some of the feeder creeks, but in the Ohio river proper, nonetheless. Needless to say, I'm still somewhat skeptical over that fish tale. Trout don't like water pollution AT ALL, no-siree-bub!

Getting back to the Susquehanna, I'm not sure where these catfish are coming from, but I hope they don't interfere with the return of the shad. Migratory shad had been somewhat controversial in that watershed because their return upstream had been blocked by a hydroelectric dam. I believe that confict was resolved by building a fish "elevator" to help the shad get back upstream. I'm sure there are still extremists on both sides of the issue who are still malcontent with the compromise. But as an engineer who likes both fishing and hydropower, it seems like a good solution to me!

[Free Trapper]

I never cared for those kinds of sports and you couldn't pay me watch a game,so do whatever you want with OU.:)

I fished mostly for flathead when I was younger but now I'm in bluecat territory.The blues outnumber the flathead,are more tender,will take dead bait and get bigger on average.

I'd never throw a flathead back,unless he was too little but I'm sold on blues and they're thick in the Red.

Cedar Creak lake South of Dallas is real good flathead water.

[Diddle E. Squat]

http://www.edersfishing.com/fresh/publication/1999/august/recordcat/default.cfm

[prisoner6]

A buddy of mine claims that some people are actually catching trout out of the Ohio, down below the Emsworth Dam.

It IS hard to believe but apparently true. In fact there are stories of trout above the Emsworth dam, even in the channel between Brunot's Island and the South Shore!

The thing I find impossible to believe and yet every summer I hear more about it is gamefish in Chartiers Creek (sewer). I live about a half mile away near the old Crafton Golf course - The Tabletop - and walk a trail alongside the creek several times a year. It still stinks like a sewer but I often find ducks, geese, swans and cranes in the water. And minnows are there although not in the numbers as when I grew up in the 50's and 60's.

I guess if all that is there, gamefish are probably around too.

There was a Maggie May's Creek House under the Thornburg bridge for several years (still there but different name and owner). They were right alongside CHartiers creek and had a sign advertising "Cartch O' the Day". I don't think ANYONE EVER took 'em up on it, hehehehe!

prisoner6

[prisoner6]

Saw this on Cnn a couple of weeks ago.. AWESOME. Go Here for the video! It's COOL!

Hand Grabbin Catfish

You may need a cnn pass to view the video, I'm not sure..it's been awhile since I tried. I pulled the link up from my bookmarks.

Grabbin' catfish by hand, the old fashioned way

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(CNN) -- How would you catch a 30 pound fish without using a line or a net? If your answer is "very carefully," you obviously haven't tried hand-grabbing.

Catching the wily catfish is a thrill for many fishermen and some of them have found a way to make it really thrilling. Those who practice the craft have even described handgrabbing as an extreme sport. CNN's Bruce Burkhardt reports on the return to the days of old from the Big Black River in Mississippi.