Posted on 08/24/2002 11:07:42 AM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:34:44 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
No, just on the slimy tale with his bare foot. That was enough for a 7 year old.
Yeah but those Cat's dont live in America.
That would certainly have done it for me when I was his age. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the pond :)
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Gar flesh is fine to eat,just different.It's much more firm than other fish and some friends of mine say it reminds them of lobster when broiled.
I think most people don't even try gar because they can't figure out how to clean them.
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If you use a machete,cleaver,hatchet,etc.,they aren't hard to clean.
Chop behind the top back fin toward the head to remove a strip of skin and scales along the back.Then just work the skin away from the sides.
Some folks I know will just take the backstrap out with a fillet knife after loosening the skin from the sides to get the best and easiest part.
We have all of the "good" fish we can use but still go out specifically get gar to eat sometimes,they're good.
IIRC,they take the eggs to raise because they're endangered.
Don't Europeans use kittens for their species of large catfish?
I seem to recall a post last year. Can't remember if it was a hoax.
When he jerked it out,part of his flesh ripped out on the barbs.
Got finned worse than any other I'd ever seen. :(
I've poked a few holes in both hands on catfish spines, but nothing like that. Ouch.
They're small for catfish,smaller than bullheads,but they actually have a mild venom that gets into you if you're finned.
Found some gar circling near the surface under an overhanging tree on the Wolf River, Wisconsin. I tried a trick I heard about where you bait a small hook and then use one or two monofilament nooses around the bait. The bony sword makes them difficult to hook so you noose them. It worked.
Some folks use soft nylon rope that they partly fray out,as a lure.When the gar hits it,his teeth tangle in the loose threads well enough to bring him in.
For me,archery,spears or gigs are about the only way to go.There are lots of alligator gar where I am and you can run into some biggies.
YUM!
Love catfish, sweetest fish there is. Done right, the meat just falls off the bone.
DOUBLE YUM!
Gar must be cleaned shortly after death or the meat goes bad.It will get slimy if dead for long at all before cleaning.No other fish like it that I know of.
Wow thanks for the info. I was just always told that you can't eat them but never saw why until I found out from you that we can eat them. Ok any way I was wondering can you eat dog fish? I always catch them but am not sure if their safe to eat. I read in a book that Dog fish {Or bowfish,same thing} eat mainly live prey and are almost always a 100% predator but I have also heard different and that they are scavengers and you can't eat them. I have seen people catch many nearly three feet in pewaukie lake and they caught them on live fish but I catch them on chicken livers and hearts. I think they Probably jsut eat any thing but they do have teeth and are aggressive predators that tend to get in fights with other fish because their so mean. So can you eat these fish? And what do you think a dog fish eats more live prey or dead? Also to add to the strories of Cat Fish with tail fins five feet long I would say thsoe stories have to be false. If thsoe stories are true then thsoe Cat's are about 1,000 pounds and weigh much more then 300 pounds judging from the Cat Fishes total length. I can't see a 1,000 pound Flat Head cat and I have to doubt many of these Cat fish stories. I say Flat head Cat's MIGHT at the most get up to about 8 feet long or mabey a little longer but there are no Cat's with tail fins 5 feet long.
Are these invasive catfish edible? Fried catfish is sooo good! Just catch the buggers & sell them for top $$$.
Well, the solution is obvious. Stock the dogfish.
Depends on their diet. Catfish, unless artificially fed, are bottom feeders. Whatever muck is on the bottom, that is how they will taste.
Sturgeon in Michigan are huge. Heard about a family's poodle being gobbled up by one when playing the lake. Kinda like fresh water sharks.
The imagination grosses me out. Yuck.
It sure is an oldie but goodie!
BTW, any idea why a newbie would bump a 2+ year old fish thread?
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