Very interesting info

Friday night I was out with Dark30 and he landed a beautiful 50lber on the Minnesota. The cool part is that it had a tag on it. The current details on the fish were approx 49-50lbs and 47″ long. This is what he found out from the tag:
It was tagged in June of 1999 between Franklin and Morton at river mile 217. It weighed 37.5 pounds and measured a little over 44″. Looks like it gained about 12.5 lbs and 3″ in 7 years.

I don’t know what is more suprising, how little it grew in 7 years, or how far it traveled. It was caught between Henderson and Belle Plaine. That thing went a LONG way! I don’t know how far that is, but it’s got to be close to 100 miles by river.

Awesome!! Did the tag happen to state which agency had tagged it?

I say the mileage is the most surprising. Let’s say for sake of mathematics it is 70 miles. That would be 10 miles a year! I’ve never seen a study showing that great a migration.

I am fishing alot about 10 miles from that spot next year!

Thats a long ways for a fish to travel. It just shows that we really dont know as much about these fish as we think we do.

The weight part doesnt surprise me all that much, the weight could have varied considerably on how much that fish ate in recent time befoe either capture. I have little doubt that particular fish could fluxuate 5 pounds just from having a full/empty stomach. I am sure a lot of fish would have to be tested to figure out the average growth of flatheads.

Is there a picture of it? I think folks would like to see where the tag is and what it looks like…

It’s not a bird band was it?

If I recall Volknoun’s dissertation had a flat that travel 60 miles while he was radio tracking it.

So…what makes a flat travel say 70 miles…Food? Spawning grounds? Wintering holes?

And that fish travel…down stream??

A buddy of mine caught a 19lb flat a few years back that also had a tag. He caught the fish 5 years after it was tagged and it only gained about 3 lbs. He caught the fish less than a mile from where it was tagged. If I remember right, it had been caught once before from near the same area.

I don’t remember coming across any data/studies on the web about growth. Just how old do these guys get? I also have a feeling like most fish, the females may get larger faster, so could these tagged fishes sexes also be a reason for the some what surprising slow weight gain? That’s also a good point Dave about stomach contents, plus how about the difference between a pre and post spawn caught fish?

Was there instructions on the tag to record data and contact someone?

I like Brian’s idead that it was a bird tag. The flathead just up and ate a goose.

That is really cool

I could not get the link to work for the video. I am really interested in what it looks like. I can’t seem to shoot a goose with a tag, let alone geta tagged flathead

And the best part, it is a 50lber Congrats on the fish of a lifetime

From what I gather, Dark has had a couple of “fish of a lifetime”! Now that guy knows how to lick a cat!

DARK30!

Quote:

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Now that guy knows how to lick a cat!

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I have no problem smooching a kitty…but I just can bring myself to lick them like a popsicle…

I guess I do the inbetween. I am more intimate than your smooch, but I only French kiss, no licking!

Actually I should do none of the above if I truely believe in releasing my fish unharmed.

It’s still not working for me

Got it Nice fish- I’m jealous!

Tony is that what a catfish looks like? Not that thing on the shore.

Yes that’s what a Catfish look’s like Definately not that thing on shore last night

Leave me alone.