2010 Flathead Cat Fish Photo’s

Welcome to In-Depth Outdoors Rayan!!!

Congrats on the Monster Cat!!!

Some hard acts to follow on here but I was tickled with this Lake Wisconsin flathead from a month ago…

38×23
06/14/2010
Minnesota

42×27
06/16/2010, approx 1AM
Mississippi Pool 2

Way 2 go Jared!

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42×27
06/16/2010, approx 1AM
Mississippi Pool 2

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43×27 I messured it!!!

DUDE, I forgot an inch? Holy crap!

When was the last time you heard of a fisherman UNDER ESTIMATING the size of his fish? What the H is wrong with me?

You do realize the next time Jakob tells the story it will be 43X28 or 44X27……right? JK

Lol, Sam… maybe. But I’m pretty sure it actually was 43×27 and roughly 40 lbs. Besides, it was my fish… why would he exaggerate my fish instead of his?

In the words of Jeff Dunham/achmed “I told a joke”

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In the words of Jeff Dunham/achmed “I told a joke”

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A few from the last couple of friday’s

more

Nice Fish Sauger

That one in the 1st picture is a HOG

Nothing huge (relatively speaking), but a double. Put them together and I smash my PB, does that count?

Thanks Brian. If he can get Mplspug a double, just think what he could do for you! You better hurry, once people find out he was able to get me to land a flathead, the calendar is going to fill up.

Umm Pug? What are you doing wearing my Gamehide Bibs??

Sauger, any measurements on any of those fish?

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Umm Pug? What are you doing wearing my Gamehide Bibs??

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Covering my barn door.

Brought this one in during the DNR thing on the Croix on Sat. Yes, smallest flathead caught on hook and line, on record… at least on my record.

I maintain that it’s a critical catch in that it shows the health of the fishery. Catching all big fish means they’re not reproducing. Catching tiny ones AND monsters indicates that a fishery is healthy and reproducing.

He was gorgeous, too. The shot doesn’t capture the coloration or the crazy cool, almost lacy, fins, all fluted and prehistoric looking. He was gill-hooked on a #3 Gamkatsu circle, which I managed to remove thru his gill cover without damaging him, no blood or anything.

He went back in the water feisty and kicking… I hope to catch him again someday. It’s really too bad the DNR wasn’t tagging anymore because tagging a flattie that young would make for some REALLY GOOD data.

Nice work Satz and co!!

Jami

How about a picture of a 60lb cat from any year?? Ive never seen one…The guy at bait shop in Newport said a 59lb and a 62 lb were caught this year in pool 3….

That is a nice cat…I cant imagine it on 6lb test…how long did it take????

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How about a picture of a 60lb cat from any year?? Ive never seen one…The guy at bait shop in Newport said a 59lb and a 62 lb were caught this year in pool 3….

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Sounds a bit heavy for how it looks, but they say this is a 64# fish:

Linked from here.

Here’s one says it’s 72.5!

El Reno Lake, Oklahoma, State Record Catfish

This is the Wisconsin State Record: 74.5 pounds. It’s frozen in this pic.

The 64 looks so small because it was probably in the guys garage in 90 degree weather for a week by the looks of it.

That WI state record fish looks every bit of that 74 lbs

Little baby fish from Iowa. I think the fish is slimming.

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That WI state record fish looks every bit of that 74 lbs

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It makes me sick to my stomach to think about someone killing a fish that was spawned when I was still getting up every Saturday morning to watch the Smurfs.

According to this study from Oklahoma, a 10-year-old catfish in the upper Mississippi would average 38″. Using the growth rate chart (figure 1) in that PDF, it looks like a 43″ cat is gonna be about 14 years old. A 43″ catfish weighs about 40 lbs (which I know from recent personal experience). BY THEN, their growth rate slows to adding about an inch a year.

According to the catfish weight calculator at huntfishsport.com, a 75 lb catfish is around 49″… which adds 6″ to our 40# fish and means it’s going to be approx 20 years old.

But, that’s not taking into account the fact that Upper Midwest cats are going to grow slower than cats in OK. So on a raging GUESS, the WI 70+ pounder was somewhere between 25 and 30 years old… either way, I was somewhere between 7 and 12 when that fish was spawned.

It survived predation, pollution, harvest and every other challenge and some dude killed it so he could get his name in a recordbook. Rock on, Mr. Brilliant… I’d rather know that I broke the record and CRD’ed it than kill it just to get my name in a journal that nobody looks at anyway.

I just don’t understand some people.

Hi all,

This is my first post on this site…

This cat was was 42×28. This has been a pretty good year for me so far with 3 fish about this size including one that I caught right off the dock of my marina!

I have been getting lots of fish lately but the size has come down considerably from 3 weeks ago.

-Pat

Welcome to Ido Pat!

Very nice first post! What waters are you fishing and what’s your choice of bait?