Illinois DNR Flathead Article - Catfish & Sturgeon - Catfish & Sturgeon

Here is the rough draft I sent since I can’t find it online yet.

Quote:

The Fox River’s Own ‘River Monster’
The Flathead Catfish
Story by Steve Pescitelli
Photos by Domenico D’Alessandro +

Many people are familiar with the popular TV show “River Monsters,” but not everyone is aware that the Fox River has it own candidate for that title—the flathead catfish. With its oversized head, jutting jaw and large body—up to 4 feet in length—the flathead is a pretty imposing creature.
While Illinois’ larger rivers, such as the Rock and Mississippi rivers, are better known for this species, fishing for flatheads in the Fox River has become more popular over the last few years, prompting interest by biologists, and anglers, to learn more about resident populations.
In 2009, the Department of Natural Resources Region II Streams Program initiated a study of flathead catfish in the Fox River between South Elgin and Wedron. Although flathead catfish have been sampled during routine surveys using A.C. electrofishing, the numbers collected have been very low and did not appear to be representative of existing populations. For this study, sampling was targeted to specific areas where flatheads were known to occur using low voltage D.C. electrofishing, which has been more effective than A.C. elsewhere Illinois and in other states.
During the first three years, from 2009 to 2011, 418 flathead catfish were collected in more than 40 hours of D.C. electrofishing. Late spring was most productive time to sample, when water levels were somewhat elevated and the fish resided in submerged timber primarily along the shoreline. Fewer flatheads were found in the summer and fall when they apparently were in deeper water and not as vulnerable to electrofishing gear.
A wide range of sizes have been collected, including fish from 3 to 41 inches in length. Although the big ones are always fun to see, the little guys also were impressive, ranging in color from dark olive to a bright golden hue.
As part of the study, all fish more than 12 inches were marked with a small plastic tag containing a unique identification number and DNR contact information so anglers could report tagged fish. To date, 266 flatheads have been tagged and released back into the Fox River.
The good news is that 28 marked flatheads have been recaptured—a return rate of about 10 percent based on the total number tagged. These “recaps” provide very useful information on fish movements and the size of the population—the number of recaps indicates that the population is not extremely large. Initial estimates using tag recapture data suggests a range of about 150-230 individuals within a 6-mile sampling area.
The Fox Valley Flatheaders in St. Charles, headed by Marty Jandura, has been actively cooperating with the Fox River flathead catfish effort by participating in an angler diary program. During their normal outings, anglers record the number of hours fished, number and size of fish caught, general location, and a few other details. Over the last four years, group members have logged more than 5,000 hours of fishing effort, catching 599 flathead catfish, all of which were released back to the river. That may seem like a lot of fish, but on average it takes about 8 hours of angling to catch one fish, or in other words, a catch rate of 0.12 fish per hour. That is some dedicated angling. The anglers will tell you that it’s the big fish that makes it all worthwhile; and they did catch some up to 45 inches in length, with an average size of about 28 inches.
The great thing is that the anglers have provided good information on various population parameters, and over the course of the study, they caught 21 fish tagged as part of the flathead study.
Some interesting side notes arose from the recapture information. For example, one of the marked fish was caught twice by anglers, one was recaptured both by angling and by electrofishing, and one was recaptured by an angler three days after it was marked. Although most of the fish were recaptured near the location where they were marked and released, one fish traveled about 6 miles downstream and another traveled 5 miles upstream, then through the new fish/canoe passage channel at the Yorkville Dam (see article in the February 2012 issue of OutdoorIllinois).
Overall, the Fox River flathead catfish study successfully provided data on the structure and size of the population, electrofishing and angler catch rates, and indications of movement patterns and habitat preferences. The information gathered in the current study will be useful in developing a management plan to help preserve and protect flatheads in the Fox River. Much remains to be learned about Fox River flatheads. However, despite its somewhat “monstrous” appearance, it is easy to get hooked on this species.

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The scientific name for the flathead catfish, Pylodictus olivarius, means “olive-colored mud fish.” Although this top predator often is olive-colored, it is not directly associated with muddy substrates, but more frequently prefers areas with flowing water. For this slow-growing species, it takes 6 years to produce a spawning adult, and the largest individuals can be in excess of 20 years in age.

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DNR thanks the Fox Valley Flatheaders Club for their efforts in collecting angler data, and also for helping with the collections by running chase boats to help pick up fish. The Region II Streams Program staff could not have undertaken this study without assistance and equipment from their colleagues in Region I and Region III. This study was funded by the Federal Sportfish Restoration Fund and revenues from fishing license sales.

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Stephen Pescitelli is with the DNR Division of Fisheries Region II Streams Program and can be reached at [email protected] or (630) 553-0164.

A little background for the non-Illinois folks…

ILDNR was not historically a great advocate for catfish. Almost no limits other than those in place to protect stocked populations, which were not sustained by natural reproduction. A lot of their knowledge was attained through angler creel surveys, or “basin-wide” studies where they employed electrofishing to get an idea of the population of all fish species.

They do prepare an annual Catfish Status Report (similar to the species status reports for bass, muskies, walleye/sauger, striped bass and hybrids). However, the catfish information when it comes to Illinois rivers and streams can be very sketchy and/or dated.

I think it was a little more than 10 years ago they started studying flatheads on the Rock river, based on interest and prodding from local anglers. That’s kind of whats happened with the Fox river studies. Once some anglers got assembled and found a few sympathetic ears with a couple of the fisheries biologists, we started sharing angling data and they got the sampling studies rolling.

Since the Fox primarily flows through one of the more highly populated areas in our state and receives a great deal of angling pressure, it’s great that our fisheries folks are getting a good picture of the flathead populations there.

It’s funny to see the overall catch rate extrapolated to one flathead per 8 hours of angler effort. Of course this includes the guys who started fishing early in the season and continued late into the fall. I think last years catch rate was better. I know I only got out a few times, but one was a four fish night. I’d guess between June and early October the catch rate is a lot higher…

Below is a link to the initial study information presented in early 2010. They’ve continued the sampling annually since then…

Initiatial Fox river flathead sampling data