Mississippi River WI Commercial Fishing Harvest.
Flatheads Channel Cats
2006 42,537 lbs 94,567 lbs
2007 45,680 lbs 95,155 lbs
2008 36,217 lbs 79,065 lbs
2009 40,715 lbs 136,983 lbs
From a head fishery’s biologist for the WI DNR:
“We can electroshock 50 pound flatheads…at least one per week. Because you can’t catch them, well, that’s not our problem.”
The deer heard (or lack of) is not going to be the only problem the WI DNR will be contending with in 2011.
I don’t even fish catfish and realize that this is a problem…DNR is going to have to eventually start to deal with cougars too…once they start showing up on the back forty, farmer’s are going to start taking notice. It just makes me angry that the state agency meant to conserve and protect wildlife is degrading it themselves 
Thats why I am going to college in UW-Stevens Point for Fisheries!!! 
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Thats why I am going to college in UW-Stevens Point for Fisheries!!!
Hope your done soon…should be a lot of openings! 
Do ya really think you can fish out the mississippi?!? 
Some people make a LIVEING with net some with a pole…Life is good..rrr
How good could it be? There’s only one way to find out and it’s inevitable. That kind of take of other species would not be tolerated. We just need more uproar.
“We can electroshock 50 pound flatheads…at least one per week. Because you can’t catch them, well, that’s not our problem.” I heard almost the same thing from the Iowa guy and he was slow also. I pretty much think they should be fired for being so ignorant. The rest of fisheries aren’t managed that way? At all? I think there’s a closet group of catfish haters influencing things.
Also, we need pictures. Numbers don’t really have any impact.
Since your a catfish guide too Randy, I’m glad you pointed that out. This is not an angler against commercial netters issue. They need to make a living too. As far as I know, they are following the laws.
They can net all the carp, buffalo, sheep head, eel, suckers, quillback, gar, mooneye AND walleyes they want! 
With over 2 million pounds of fish taken in 2009 by WI licensed commercial fisherman alone, I doubt they will miss a few thousand pounds of cats.
With a 25 fish limit and no limit for commercial netting the WI DNR is not doing the average WI or MN Mississippi River fisherman any favors.
2 million pounds and they did’nt put a dent in them 
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“We can electroshock 50 pound flatheads…at least one per week.
My understanding was that bigger fish were always under represented during electroshocking surveys, since their great size made them less susceptible to the shock. I know I’ve read this about Bass surveys. I would think it would take a heck of a jolt to bring a 50 pound Flathead to the surface.
Rootski
Nope, No more than it would take for any fish. You just have to get the shocker into where they live.
Fresh air is what revives the fish after being shocked. What pisses off a commercial guy is when the shockers hover over a hoop net killing all or most of the fish currently in that net. Understandably, they didn’t know a net was there.
But the shocking will render that area useless for the commercial guy for up to a month.
I agree with Randy. I know some folks that make a living fishing the river and they are very good people. Hard working. Some of my best tips on where to go were from the commercial guys when I was chasing flatties on the river. They were also the best way to get bait for not much money at all. You’ll notice there are a lot of places they can’t net easily if you spend some time on the river.
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This is not an angler against commercial netters issue. They need to make a living too. As far as I know, they are following the laws.
We all agree with Randy. 
Go get ’em Brian!!! I’d rather see someone be proactive than reactive.
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Go get ’em Brian!!! I’d rather see someone be proactive than reactive.
Good luck….I tried that with the WI deer herd for the past few years, as many other did also. Our complaints fall on deaf ears at the DNR.
What that means Bret is that your talking to the wrong people.
…and I’m not trying to belittle your efforts by saying that.
There will be some that say I don’t fish the Mississippi so I could care less, but this effects all catfisherman of MN. These numbers will be used by the pro bowfisherman to support their argument that taking channel cats by bow will not harm the fishery.
As fisherman that want to grow the sport of catfishing, we are all in this together.
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Do you think this effects growth rates in any way? Positive or negative?
Ryan, from what two biologist have explained to me is if there are 10,000 pounds of large fish (insert species here) taken out of a body of water, 10,000 pounds will fill that gap with smaller fish.
I’m going to assume this is a general statement.
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Do you think this effects growth rates in any way? Positive or negative?
Ryan, from what two biologist have explained to me is if there are 10,000 pounds of large fish (insert species here) taken out of a body of water, 10,000 pounds will fill that gap with smaller fish.
I’m going to assume this is a general statement.
Also, they stop growing once harvested.
Commercial fishermen practice in discriminant harvest, which is better than trophy harvest, but still not as beneficial as selective harvest.
So my rhetorical question is, do commercial fishermen only harvest large fish?
And I am not in favor if commercial fishing catfish. How much does a commercial fishing license cost? I am wondering what they pay to exploit a public resource.
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What that means Bret is that your talking to the wrong people.
I know what you are saying Mr. K but, the DNR are the ones that set the guidelines. Without set limits or harvest goals you can speak to the public until you are blue in the face. Not everyone can practice self control. There is too much greed out there and if the DNR allows limits over what a species is capable of maintaining it will be exploited by the public.
Before all the hate phone calls and emails start raining in…please remember that commercial fishermen are doing nothing wrong.
An argument can be made that the WI deer hunters were doing nothing wrong by filling the allowed 10 or whatever tags they were allowed by law to take.
If the law states I can take 6 walleyes over 15 inches…who are we to say you should only take 4? EVEN if there was undeniable proof taking 6 is hurting the resource?
The finger is pointed at the WI DNR directly for allowing this.
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if the DNR allows limits over what a species is capable of maintaining it will be exploited by the public.
We posted at the same time Bret…and you did make my point.
When I said you weren’t talking to the right people I was talking about people in higher places at the DNR or above the DNR altogether.
Sooner or later someone with common sense will intervene.
“We can electroshock 50 pound flatheads…at least one per week. Because you can’t catch them, well, that’s not our problem.”
What gets me is 
How do you think that fish got to 50 pounds. Because it was not caught and killed when it was a 20 pounder. CPR Folks A 50 in the frying pan That does not even sound good
Chunked up and oven baked is mighty tastee.
I really don’t give a rat’s behind what happens to your Minn. Wisc. Miss. River catfish population and until you can understand the hows and whys of commercial fishing and it’s relation to rod and reel fishermen, you’ll never have a clue as to why it’s so important to let them keep fishing.
As far as I’m concerned this horse has been beat to death in more than one thread this year alone, and absolutely nothing has been accomplished and no one has been educated.
adios
All I know is theres so many catfish down here that if you dropped 1/2 the amount we have into the waters up there you’d have a whole lot less Walleyes, smallies etc. and some mighty happy commercial fishermen. Theres only so much food to keep the total pounds of fish in the waters here. Beings the flathead and channel is at the top of the foodchain, you can see why commercial fishing is allowed. This state produces huge amounts of catfish both flatheads and channels and in rivers where theres a big catfish population theres fewer game fish such as walleyes and smallies. I wonder how big of a flathead it would take to eat a 10 pound walleye, probably not to big, a 20-25 pound flathead would and we have plenty of those, see the connection? Not to start an arguement but things are diffrent down here, tons of catfish here and theres plenty that get big, just ask the divers that go down in the dam areas here where the waters deep and ask the guys that record the fish they catch from all the holes up and down the rivers. We got catfish here like you guys got whitebass and bluegills, thier everywhere.
Where do these commercially harvested fish end up?
On local plates in restaurants along the Mississippi river and chicago, milwaukee, Detroit etc. alot of people drive to the commercial guys from long distances, I make the 125 mile trip a couple times a year to buy sheephaed or as thier called locally, white perch, I catch enough catfish for my friends that don’t fish too much and myself.
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All I know is theres so many catfish down here that if you dropped 1/2 the amount we have into the waters up there you’d have a whole lot less Walleyes, smallies etc. and some mighty happy commercial fishermen.
What makes any of those fish better to have more of than a catfish, or vice versa?
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Beings the flathead and channel is at the top of the foodchain, you can see why commercial fishing is allowed.
When is the last time you seen the top predator Esox commercially fished?
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This state produces huge amounts of catfish both flatheads and channels and in rivers where theres a big catfish population theres fewer game fish such as walleyes and smallies.
Why is it that the catfishermen seem to catch some nice walleyes at the same spot as big flats? They co-habitate just fine together me thinks.
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just ask the divers that go down in the dam areas here where the waters deep
the ol diver story ha ha 
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We got catfish here like you guys got whitebass and bluegills, thier everywhere.
When fish are concentrated it seems like there are millions doesn’t it? but don’t you find it ironic that we can keep catching the same fish again over and over? Huh, maybe there aren’t as many as you think.
I’m not saying commercial fishing is good or bad, but treating catfish like rough fish is unacceptable to me. Heck treating roughfish like roughfish is bad enough. 
Exactly what ^ he said!
I thought the same thing when he mentioned the divers.
Why don’t they let people commercially harvest deer?
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I’m not saying commercial fishing is good or bad, but treating catfish like rough fish is unacceptable to me. Heck treating roughfish like roughfish is bad enough.
Some of the biggest walleye the state of Minnesota has are found in the same waters both flathead catfish and channels occupy = Mississippi & Minnesota Rivers. Shouldn’t be too hard to find some anglers that post on the forums here who have PLENTY of experience with big (and I mean BIG) walleyes from the Mississippi River.
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