When fishing near the dam…..

This post is in response to what I have witnessed time and time agian on pool 4 with certain fisherman… I am not intending to annoy or offend anyone…but

When fishing at or near the dam (especially anglers that do a lot of vertical jigging) many times flathead catfish are snagged or actually bite (usually on fireball minnow w/trailer hook combo) this occurence is going to increase in the next couple weeks with the increased current and warmer water temps. Big Flatheads will be facing upstream, when a fisherman is vertical jigging many times he will hook the flathead UNDER the chin/mouth this is very common this does not mean he was trying to eat your presentation. This is the most common place to snag these fish next to the tail. Even if you hook them under thier mouth it is still a foul hooked fish and is illegal to keep…

PLEASE use your best judgement when handeling these fish especailly the bigger fish (25 pds plus) I see way to many guys throwing these big fish on the floor of thier boats until they decide to head in for pictures and show them off. This is often after 15 20 minutes and longer.. This is not good for the fish! It takes about 15 years to start achieving nice size for these fish. To have some guy want to show it off a little is a shame… Flatheads are good eating as well… but if you HAVE to clean a flat taking a small one is kinda pointless because at that young age (1-4 pds) they are all head… good eaters are more like 5-12 pds… you can at least get a nice piece of meat off of them if you do feel the need to harvest one.

Also Nobody usually wants to take that big cat off your hands when you are done showing it to your buddies, and when you catch one don’t holler to everyone “anyone want this Catfish” if they wanted catfish that bad they would be targeting them.

Imagine for a minute if I threw a 27 inch plus walleye on the floor of my boat or even on a stringer, fished for awhile and then took pictures of it and tried to release it. I know cats are hardy but use some common sense…

Jack Naylor may be able to help me out on this but I believe if you are going to mount a big catfish many places will only use reproduction mounts and many won’t do it at all. All you need is to take the measurements for this type of mount. I have also witnessed a lot of big smallmouth and walleye cut up the last several years. THose are OLD fish think of how excited you were when you cought them wouldnt you like to have some else share in the joy… I am not trying to tell you what to do with fish you catch but use some common sense. Remember if you are from out of state or out of the area and you come into someones home water where they practice selective harvesting and you are iether damaging or cleaning trophy fish then expect to get some funny looks….

I have many good friends that I have met from out of state on the river and most are good sportsmen…Respect our local fishery like it was your own home water… I doubt anyone would want the resources in their back yard raped… Just my two cents worth…

and remember to

RELEASE THE BIG FLATS!!!!! PLEASE.

Wow buddy. That was a mouthful. I know you well enough to know you saw something recently that rubbed you the wrong way. I’ll be interested to hear the story the next time down to the resort.

When are you and Dirk gonna take me cattin’?!

Amen Mavzer, these big flats are a great Mississippi resource. Let do are part to keep it that way.

Nice to hear from someone who obviously cherishes the fish he chases. Flatheads are well worthy of gentle treatment and respect as are all of the fish we catch – game/rough/whatever – well said, Mavzer!

Great points. Another one that really gets me is when someone catches a fish that they are not necessarily fond of and they “launch” them back into the water instead of just releasing them. Each fish should be respected for the catch not the flesh.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder… and though personally I figure these fish look like the bottom of the river (no doubt its their camo scheme!).. they are a rare and precious resource… particularly at large size…. its a sad thing to see anything so hard to replace be shoddily treated… it saddens me to see ANY truly big fish meet their demise and the more ignoble that fate the worse the feeling…… and if you LOVE a species then it tears your heart out to watch the treatment they can be given by the ignorant…
good Post Mavzer…. way to stick up for a precious resource….. I applaud your words… and will do what I can to help out…..

Great post.

Very well said!! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and like to be holding them in a picture, along with a safe release. From what I have found doing research on these fish, a 40# flathead could be just as well 40 years old, that’s way older than me and what would you want to kill them for anyway? Wouldn’t you like to see some youngster’s face when he hooks into one of those sumo cats! They are just way to fun to catch, and to kill them or abuse them is just a SHAME! Just my 2 cents!!

Rainman 2

Great post Mavzer! Bring the camera & get a quick photo & release. I’ve seen some of the same things you’ve mentioned & it really makes the blood boil. Vern

Great post. We should all remember these fish may not be our trophy but they might be to someone else. Handle all fish with care.

Fear no Fish!!!

James, mid June, sometime when you can stay out till dawn. Thats prime time pre-spawn for flatheads. If Mike plans (and begs) way ahead Jenny might let him fish the whole night!!

Ya you should talk, Mr I have to be home by 9 on a school night!!!!
THROW THE CATFISH BACK!!!

Not us retired teachers Mavs!!
You’ll get me into this Cattin yet my boy. Nice post as well. We should be aware of all the precious fishery resouces and how to conserve them. See ya soon coach!

Thanks for your comments. With the exception of the eating part I agree completedly.