Blue Catfish Ford Dam

I would just like to say that I think that blues are here. I caught one 3 years back fishing on the island by the ford dam on a nightcrawler in some thick current. It was only 10lbs which would lead me to believe that a small few are breeding. I know many will ask did you count the anal fins and no i didn’t but that is not the only way to tell the difference. A very obvious difference. Teeth. A blue has much more prominent teeth. Now as I let the fish go my dad was going to take a picture but I was unaware and he only got a picture of it swimming away. Something that still saddens me. Just wanted to add my little piece into this blue catfish talk.

Welcome to Ido Tom!

You know, there sure could be a blue swimming around here. After all if a few Asians can make it up, a blue or to could go astray.

Problem is, without a photo it’s like everything else…just a fish story.

Truth is I think that blues could be caught this far North, but most people wouldn’t know if it’s a blue, channel or flathead. It would just fall in the “catfish” category.

Welcome to Ido!

It’s probably possible, but for all the folks that claim to have caught blues in MN, I have not seen one photo to prove it.
What you say about the teeth is interesting. I have never heard that before. There are some other tells, but I have never heard that about teeth.

Aren’t there Blues in South Dakota. If so then they make it this far north. Makes you wonder what they have against Minnesota but then again after living here I guess I know

I think there may be some in SoDak as they do inhabit the Missouri river system.

I have seen pics of ‘blue cats’ caught on the Miss and Minnesota over the years that are 100% channel cats with a bluish coloring to them. Since channels can vary in color so much, it is bound to happen.

Would be pretty cool if a breeding population was making its way (back?) into MN though!

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South Dakota is home to channel catfish mostly, but flatheads can be caught in various waters in South Dakota. Blue catfish, although rare, have been caught in Missouri River reservoirs.

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My experience is what Dfresh said.

Who knows what is coming back! There were reports of lake sturgeon sampled at Granite Falls on the MN, so anything is possible!

Blue Cat….Hmmmmmm

Not Tommy Donaldson Bret!

He’s his own breed of cat!

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I would just like to say that I think that blues are here. I caught one 3 years back fishing on the island by the ford dam on a nightcrawler in some thick current. I know many will ask did you count the anal fins and no i didn’t but that is not the only way to tell the difference. A very obvious difference. Teeth. Just wanted to add my little piece into this blue catfish talk.

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Ya Sure! You Betcha! That teeth thing is a sure give away.

This “blue” looking channel was caught here a few years ago in lake Mendota. I’ve been fishing cats for 25 years on pools 9 and 10, the Wisconsin River and the Yahara chain of lakes and I’ve seen maybe a dozen blue cats and they were all channels. I’d need to see a picture of one to believe one was caught here or north of here.

To Steve’s point…

With the amount of combined hours of catfishing on Ido and other sites that are visited, a person would think that one of us would have caught and photoed a true Blue…wouldn’t you?

Channel

Channel

Channel

Channel

Invasive Species.

I heard there are blue cats in the Minnesota River..

Also the MNDNR recognizes the Blue Cat as another indigenous fish to Minnesota..

I wonder if the blue cat bred with the invasive species on rainy lake to make the blue walleyes …er um invasive species I’ve seen caught on Rainy Lake

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Also the MNDNR recognizes the Blue Cat as another indigenous fish to Minnesota..

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I would think there would be a state record then, wouldn’t there be?

I believe they are ‘indigenous’ but extripated officially.

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Blue Catfish

The Minnesota state record for blue catfish is just over 58 pounds–the world record is 124. Even so, there may be a monster lurking under the water of some of Minnesota’s more prominent rivers. The Minnesota River might be your best bet, but since the world record blue catfish was actually caught on the Mississippi–just not in Minnesota–it would make sense to try to hook into one of these monsters there as well. The two rivers offer the best habitat for blue catfish, with a fast-flowing current and plenty of food.

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Huh? Who would have thunk??

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That explains it.

Check the IDO archives on this and you’ll find this old thread:

http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/17286/fpart/1/blue-cat-caught-on-mn-river

Too bad the links don’t still work. The stories were met with skepticism then as well.

How come nobody keeps these fish? If i caught a blue cat in pool 2, I would keep it and bring it to the dnr for confirmation and then have proof that they exist. On the other hand it is possible they are there, though if they were it would be because someone brought them from further south and dumped them in pool two.

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though if they were it would be because someone brought them from further south and dumped them in pool two.

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Ummm you know something we don’t??

Well there was a guy on another forum claimng to have caught a Wells cat in the Mn. I think the probability of a blue is much better. While skeptical, I’d welcome any big cats in my neighborhood. Maybe they could help control the invasive walleyes and carp?

I’ve looked at both MN & WI DNR sites and neither has Blues listed as indigenous……
Nor is there a record Blue listed…..

There is a record for blues, if it is not online, check the older mn fishing regs, it was 54 pounds, and from a southern mn county.

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There is a record for blues, if it is not online, check the older mn fishing regs, it was 54 pounds, and from a southern mn county.

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Why would it be there one year and not now??

And why does one say 58lbs and the other 54lbs?

Just say’in

Just trying to put this all together in my head…

If the record is either 54 or 58lbs and it is a misidentified channel cat, whoah. There is no way a flathead would be misidentified as a blue.

I found this also….

Channel or Blue

Also,in WI you must “contact the nearest DNR office to get the fish species positively identified and to find out whether the fish is a state record”

I found this http://www.staterecordfish.com/recordfish.php?state=Minnesota, and a bunch of articles about the fish, but i can’t find anything in the older regs about a record blue, so my memory must be wrong . Im guessing the 51 pound blue was somehow not real, or brought in from a another state.