Blue Catfish near Winona MN?

  • etpeterson07
    Posts: 4
    July 7, 2012 at 6:07 am #1220351

    Yeah met a couple people and their were 29 anal ray fins by my count on one of these bad boys and 31 by another person’s count. The guy works at a bait shop near here or I wouldn’t even post but he claims one of these are a Blue catfish. I say channel, unless someone can pick it out. (Two flat head’s in hear too)

    Allegedly someone brought in a 11 LB blue with 34 anal ray fins to the bait shop here this year. I thought maybe it’s possible with the heat and weird water temps this year but I didn’t think we had any confirmed blue’s in MN even as far south as Winona.

    etpeterson07
    Posts: 4
    July 7, 2012 at 6:16 am #1081735

    bigger pics








    <img src="/wp-content/uploads/bbu_images/fishing/post_images/1341641777_575248_3273162389457_1331505879_n.jp

    katmando
    Ramsey,MN pool 2, St.croix river
    Posts: 691
    July 7, 2012 at 6:32 am #1081736

    No blues in there.

    etpeterson07
    Posts: 4
    July 7, 2012 at 6:37 am #1081737

    yeah that’s what I thought, I kept telling him channels can have up to 29 and he didn’t believe me

    dfresh
    Fridley, MN
    Posts: 3053
    July 7, 2012 at 11:17 am #1081742

    The guy at the bait shop should know better than that.

    mplspug
    Palmetto, Florida
    Posts: 25026
    July 7, 2012 at 12:53 pm #1081755

    Why are people so concerned about hoping Blue Cats exist in Minnesota. When someone brings a catfish into the boat that is over 30# and claims its a blue, then I’ll get excited.

    BBKK
    IA
    Posts: 4033
    July 7, 2012 at 5:37 pm #1081827

    I don’t see any blues.. all obvious channels. If the bait shop owner cant tell that, then he needs to get out of the business.

    jiggin-rake
    inver grove heights, minnesota
    Posts: 857
    July 7, 2012 at 7:47 pm #1081849

    Easy now.. not everyone fishes the rivers and is a catfish expert. Im sure he knows his minnows though!

    outdoors4life
    Stillwater, MN
    Posts: 1500
    July 7, 2012 at 8:57 pm #1081861

    Quote:

    Easy now.. not everyone fishes the rivers and is a catfish expert. Im sure he knows his minnows though!

    I would be willing to bet he does not know his minnows other than Fathead, Sucker, shiner……

    TBeirl514
    Covington Indiana
    Posts: 269
    July 8, 2012 at 6:38 pm #1081964

    Ive caught them on pool 4 , will post a pic ! And yes I let him swim .

    TBeirl514
    Covington Indiana
    Posts: 269
    July 8, 2012 at 8:49 pm #1081977

    This is on pool 4 .

    vern
    Richfield, MN
    Posts: 316
    July 9, 2012 at 1:31 am #1082011

    Nice channel cat Tom.

    mossydan
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa
    Posts: 7727
    July 9, 2012 at 1:52 am #1082023

    Tom, thats looks like what we catch alot of during the spring spawn, we’ve always called them male channels. Thier notorius for looking like they have a bigger then normal head. We rarely have caught any over the size your holding here on the Cedar, they do get bigger on the Iowa river.

    TBeirl514
    Covington Indiana
    Posts: 269
    July 9, 2012 at 2:28 am #1082041

    Thought it was a young blue , didn’t look like any channel Ive ever caught before ,but a picture doesn’t lie . Sorry guys ..

    jiggin-rake
    inver grove heights, minnesota
    Posts: 857
    July 11, 2012 at 3:10 pm #1083076

    Quote:

    Quote:

    Easy now.. not everyone fishes the rivers and is a catfish expert. Im sure he knows his minnows though!

    I would be willing to bet he does not know his minnows other than Fathead, Sucker, shiner……

    How much? Sorry i forgot only you know everything about everything.

    jiggin-rake
    inver grove heights, minnesota
    Posts: 857
    July 11, 2012 at 3:14 pm #1083077

    Im in the same boat tom.. imo those dark channels and blues are really hard to tell apart especially when the catfish doesnt sit pretty and let you count his anal fins.

    Brian Klawitter
    Keymaster
    Minnesota/Wisconsin Mississippi River
    Posts: 59992
    July 11, 2012 at 6:50 pm #1083197

    Easy there Jiggin.

    Aarron does know a lot of species, many more than the average Joe Fisherman and likely more than most Joe Baitshop owners.

    In fact, likely many more then most folks on this website with the exclusion of the guys he hangs with.

    Granted, how are you to know this.

    Reminds me of the time Bait Shop owner Bob Moore received his first Mud Puppy in a batch of minnows. Scared the worm bedding right out of him! LOL!

    I don’t know the bait shop owner that’s being talked about here, but there are still many people that have a hard time telling a blue from a channel. I wouldn’t crucify him for it. I would show him the internet though…LOL!

    There’s a great thread in the Species Specific forum where a guy brought over (from the Dakotas) a blue and claimed it as the (first) State Record fish. He was convicted of transporting wild animals across state lines and filing a false affidavit.

    Anyway…the quest for the first MN Blue Cat continues!

    mfreeman451
    Posts: 543
    July 28, 2012 at 5:16 am #1087923

    agreed.. don’t think I met a bait shop owner yet that knew anything about catfishing, including Bob M.

    Quote:

    Easy now.. not everyone fishes the rivers and is a catfish expert. Im sure he knows his minnows though!

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