Monster Flathead Catfish - Cape Fear River!!!

[dihardhunter]

My buddy Andrew Partin (actually my college roommate) and I caught this flathead Sunday morning at 3 am. It was the only fish we caught all night, but it was MASSIVE!!!! We caught it on the upper Cape Fear River above Buckhorn Dam. We caught it on a limbline armed with 100 pound test line and a 7/0 circle hook baited with fresh cut bream. By the way the sycamore branch was bouncing, we thought we might have a 20 or 25 pounder...easily our biggest catfish ever. When that sucker hit the bottom of our little johnboat, we had a 51 pound catfish. It wasn't until 7 that morning that we calmed down enough to fall asleep in our tent. It measured 45 inches long with a 31 inch girth. We tried to get it weighed at 4 different tackle shops, but no one had scales big enough. It bottomed out 50 pound scales. We have never caught anything approaching the size of that fish, and several people were commenting that it was the biggest fish they had ever seen, so we thought we might have a record contender, but one deer scale and several bathroom scales later, we arrived at the 51 pound final weight. The holy grail of catfishing!!! The amazing thing about it was that both of our previous best catfish weighed 8 pounds and 11 pounds respectively. One fillet was 14 pounds each, easily beating our previous best catfish. Here are 5 pics that hopefully do the catfish justice. In my mind, the fish of a lifetime.

[dihardhunter]

How in the world do you post pics...I have them in my member's gallery dihardhunter, but can't transfer them into the post.

[phillip puryear]

glad to here that you caught a nice one we were there until about 12 :00 that same night we didnnt even get a bite..

[greggofish]

Thats an awesome cat man........I know where there is at least one more that size. We fished in the Cape Fear/Haw some back in June and July and on two occassions we heard a huge flathead feed in the Haw (about 200 feet past the split as you enter the Haw from the Cape, on the right side). I swear it sounded like a deer jumping in the water. We heard it twice on two different trips.

We only use rod and reels and that whole area is awful hard to fish that way so I have pretty much given up on the area. The Flatheads have moved all the way up the Haw to the Spillway and the Haw is a little easier to fish. You might want to set the lines and then go fish further up the Haw while you wait. Seem to always catch more fish there with most being real big channels. Try around the new hwy 1 bridge.

I think there is probably bigger Flatheads in that area and a state record would not surprise me one bit..... Good Luck!!!!!!!

[Kittyhunter]

I'm glad you caught it, but it's sad that you killed it. Guys we have to release these fish. It takes years and years for a fish to reach that size. Keep some little ones (5-6 lbs) if you want some to eat. They taste better anyway. Take a camera with you and a scale, take your pictures, weight him and let him go. Maybe you could have caught him on a rod next time and really had something to talk about. I don't get the whole limb line fishing thing. There's not sport in it. You do nothing to actually catch the fish, he catches himself. Where's the fun in that? I'd rather catch a 20-30 lb fish on a rod, than a 60 lb fish on a limb line.

[JAYNC]

I agree with kittyhunter on this one, I guess people have the right to keep fish that big but why do it. It is a lot more fun to catch fish on rod and reel, instead of limb lining. Its better to release big fish after a weigh in and a picture, myself I dont keep anything. I just enjoy going out with friends or family and catching them. If I were to keep anything it would be like 3-4 pound channels. Proud to CPR

[dihardhunter]

Hey kittyhunter, according to the top fisheries biology university in the Southeast, ALL flatheads should be kept due to their aggressive, invasive nature. They can literally decimate local gamefish populations if not managed by fishermen like me and my buddy. Here's the link...

http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/02_10/253.htm

Kwak has two suggestions to control the flathead population in the state. "Anglers should definitely practice catch-and-keep when they get a flathead catfish," he said. "And while it's illegal to move fish around from one river to another, someone moved the flathead into the upper Cape Fear. You're not doing anyone any favors by introducing the flathead into new waters; it's destructive to our native fisheries, and it's irresponsible."

[JAYNC]

And according to NC the only reason they dont want flatheads is to protect the native shad and some other tiny fish. I would much rather catch a flattie than a minnow.

[cats4uandme]

good enough for me. if the state says keep em then keep em. i sure would love to hook one of them that size on rod and reel. WOW. there native here so im neutral. i just couldn't skin one that big. JMO.

[dihardhunter]

Not trying to pick a fight, but case and point....Sutton Lake down near Wilmington had flatheads introduced by fishermen. After the introduction of the flatheads, the channel catfish population dwindled due to flathead predation and had to be restocked with your tax $$$ by the NC Fisheries Division to alleviate the problem. 83,000 channels to be exact in 2 months of winter 2004. So no, flatheads don't just eat minnows. They will eat any fish big enough to put in their mouths, including the catfish we love to catch.

[Abu]

Hey dihardhunter... Welcome to the BOC and Congratulations on your monster flathead catch. You caught the monster and he is yours to do as you please with him. I don't limbline or trotline but I have a friend who does, I know how much work is involved in gathering large quantities of bait and setting up all your lines. I fish with a rod and reel for many hours at a time but realize not everyone has the time or enjoys it as much as I do. How old do you think the fish was? Average lifespan of the flathead catfish is 12 to 14 years, they reach sexual maturity between the third and sixth year. Because of the flatheads popularity with anglers, they have been introduced in many states where they have adapted well. In some cases, however, they have out-competed the native fish species, causing those native fish populations to decline sharply, disrupting some natural ecological processes. I release all the flatheads I catch because I have no intentions of eating them from the polluted rivers I fish in. If I were to catch a state record I guarantee you he would be hanging on my wall. Abu

[Abu]

Unlike other catfish which are scavengers, flatheads prey only on fish. Young flathead catfish feed mostly on invertebrates such as worms, insects and crayfish. When 10 inches or larger, their diet consists entirely of fish. Shad, carp, suckers, sunfish, largemouth bass and other catfish (including their own kind).

[Southernraised84]

Congrats on the Flattie!! I have fished the cape since i was a lil boy always good to see her still poduceing monsters.I pratice CPR but its your fish you caught it just please dont waste it.Once again congrats on the catch!! and if you ever want to go out i fish the cape every time i go out and thats every week i stay and fayetteville and have been haveing alot of luck dowon past lock #3 if you ever want to hit the river some time give me a holler i usally go out 2 to 3 boats we always have a great time. :rock-big:

[JAYNC]

I'm not trying to say that its bad to keep one, but I myself put them back in the river to catch again, like ABU said, because of the contamination of the water. I dont think its safe to eat any fish anymore, it seems like every river or part of the ocean has an advisory about them. I would much rather eat a small one that didnt live in the contaminants for that long. Its still a nice fish and I still congratulate you on catching it. I couldnt even fathom how hard a flattie like that fights on rod and reel. My biggest so far is only 15# and it still faught really hard.

[Timber Cat]

That is one awesome fish !!! Congrats on catching him. As for the thing on Sutton Lake,I just finished reading the article in NC Game and Fish(July issue I believe).But I found this for you http://www.ncgameandfish.com/fishing/catfish-fishing/NC_0705_02/u all to read if you don't get the magazine
Really a neat article.I don't stay far from the lake myself and have just recently started fishing for cats there.Mainly only fished for bream and bass at Sutton.That is a huge place too.But anyway ,thought ya'll would like to read the article.CONGRATS again on that nice fish!!!!

[dihardhunter]

Hey Timbercat, wondering if you have catfished Sutton Lake for the flatheads before. We have been thinking about making the long run down there for several months now and would like to know what's cookin'...
Yea, we will definitely not be wasting that fish. Considerably over 20 pounds of fillets will be sizzlin' in oil before long from that monster. We had some great eating out of the Neuse River, and I guarantee it's dirtier than the Cape Fear. Anyways, any info about Sutton would be welcome...see ya on the water.

[Fishking]

Unlike other catfish which are scavengers, flatheads prey only on fish. Young flathead catfish feed mostly on invertebrates such as worms, insects and crayfish. When 10 inches or larger, their diet consists entirely of fish. Shad, carp, suckers, sunfish, largemouth bass and other catfish (including their own kind).


Average lifespan of the flathead catfish is 12 to 14 years, they reach sexual maturity between the third and sixth year. Because of the flatheads popularity with anglers, they have been introduced in many states where they have adapted well. In some cases, however, they have out-competed the native fish species, causing those native fish populations to decline sharply, disrupting some natural ecological processes.

Dang ABU, we will have to start calling you Mr. Copy&Paste ;) I would love to see the final report of the Flathead impact in NC that they said would be available in the summer of '03.

[Abu]

Dang ABU, we will have to start calling you Mr. Copy&Paste ;) I would love to see the final report of the Flathead impact in NC that they said would be available in the summer of '03.

If I find it I will copy and paste it for you. :D Abu

[nuthinlikeacat]

Thats a nice flattie diehard.
To each their own on catch and release, but I prefer CPR

[derbycitycatman]

Nice Fish!
I totally agree about flatties hurting native fish populations. Ive seen a bunch of ponds filled with fat channels get destroyed by one flathead. They can eat anything.

[Abu]

Fishking.... Was the Flathead impact project conducted by the NC Division of Inland Fisheries? If so give them a call @ 919-733-3633 extension 281 and ask them what happened with the project and where is the final report. If not conducted by the Division Of Inland Fisheries, who did conduct the project?
Abu

[cats4uandme]

yep. its your fish. to each his own. i wouldn't keep one here that big but there native here. if my state was telling folks to keep them i would. its an invasive species in your area.

the asain carp is destroying the illinois river as we speek. if i caught a 180# asain its as good as dead. im not even going to eat it. if you spent the effort and time limblining for the thing you deserve it.

i like abu don't limbline either but used to set a few bank poles. its hard work and if thats all ya got by all means its yours to eat. hope it tastes great. ive ate up to a 24#er. it sure was good. peace.

i dont look down on it at all. to me i wouldn't shoot a big buck either. i prefer the doe for food. thats how i am but others will shoot a massive big buck to hang on the wall. i don't look down on them either. i just wouldn't do it. they are just out for different rushes than me.

for a trophy hunter pic's are fine. you were hunting for food. it would be nice to see the big elk and such never get shot but it simply will never be that way. populations need thined to co egsist and prevent deseise in the heards.

as for flathead everything ive ever read with any background says that the lifespan of flathead is around 20 years. yet i hear people all the time say a 30# fish is 50 years old. ??? what im i missing :confused:

each man has his own ways right or wrong. you did nothing wrong thats for sure. your state is telling you ta keep em. you pay for a license and your intitled to the fish. believe me i keep plenty of mine to make up for the $13 i pay to fish. ill never come out even with the tackle and gas but the pictures stories and certificates for big fish on my wall are the better than anything at all. and i get to share it with my son. sometimes we have a fillet to boot. :D

[fwmud]

Welcome and congrats on the catch.
I'm not a CPR fanatic but I am against wastefulness. I did see yours didn't go to waste though and thats good.
Careful about the ones you eat outa the Nuese. Most of any size are just pure tainted by any means.
Good luck bro

[Mark J]

I'm a firm believer in exercising your rights in the field or on the water.

That section of river use to be unbelievable . It wasnt long before word got out and people came to see if it was true. There is aboslutely no telling how many flats over 50 pounds have come out of there in the last 20 years.
We are talking about just a few miles of river here.
The state record on flatheads has been shattered over and over using disqualifying methods like limb lines and trotlines.

I quit fishing that neck of the woods several years ago. Just too much pressure and too many people up that way.

That is a great catch though. I know that was exciting.

[MUDHOLE KID]

Catch 'em all,kill'em all, then you all can do somthing else to occupy your time.They're no fun to catch and just cause trouble.Seems to me everyone loves to catch'em.True you can do with them what you want,but who cares.If you don't care why should i

[fwmud]

Dihard, never you mind the CPR police.
If it was caught legal, it ain't wasted, then IMHO, there ain't nothing bad I should say about it.
Period.
What I choose to do is what I choose to do Period.
You haven't forced your opinion on me and I'll be just as considerate and not force mine on you.period
Nice catch wanna see the full size pics.

[cats4uandme]

fellas, im not trying to scratch a wound or stirr the argument, but everytime someone or a new member shows us a big fish that has been kept its the same old age old argument over and over again and its always the same ending. two sides dead in the water. hear me out.

for the fellas that are cpr and hate seeing the big fish killed try and do something other than just posting comments. a good suggestion is to start a thread on flathead or big fish conservation. compile the effects on the fish after the big ones likr this are removed. that it takes a large male of female breeder out of the loop. get this thread going and keep it current with the other cpr guys. there are a lot on the board.

the fact remains that flathead are renound for thier snow white flaky meat. its great eating. i know. the 24 # flathead in my profile met the same fate. it was caught in my boat by another member here at the ohio gathering. we both drove 12 hrs there one way and he wanted to gring fish home. the big one was kept and ate at camp. even one member that is 100% cpr asked if he was gonna keep it. that fella had never ate flathead before dispite he had caught many. he ate some and said it was good.

there are several folks dedicated to flathead and big blue fishing that can offer many great facts on the effects of killing fis and taking big fish out of the systems. in this case the state is telling them to keep them. this way the next time that someone comes here with pic's of a large fish that was kept more can be done than bicker back and fourth. they can be givven a link to the thread on conservation to edjucate them on the effects that can happen to places after these large fish are removed.

ive never caught a fish of that size and hopfully will some day and im sure i will not keep it but fact of the matter remains. states do not linit a recreacational fisherman on taking large cats. my advice is get more involved. even if its just getting a good thread going on here.

there are several places on the web about trophy flathead fisheries and other species. compile them and make a good up to date thread and keep it current. the time will be much better spent that this age old argument.

i to hate to see them killed but also don't like seeing this same old result everytime it happens. folks need to see the results and facts to try and change thier minds. not be told thier a fool for killing a big fish. show them is my suggestion.

good day all. ;)

[dihardhunter]

Here are some of the full size images, I finally figured out how to post them...

[dihardhunter]

Here are a few more of the pics...

[Kittyhunter]

dihard, the main point I was trying to make is this. It is obvious that was one of the best moments in your life (you can see the smile on your face from a mile away), so with killing that fish, not only have you assured that you will never catch it again, but you have also ruined anybody elses opportunity to catch it. OK, you say it is only one fish, but there are no telling how many of these monsters are killed, each one lessening the chance for someone else to land a biggun. If enough had already been killed, you quite possibly would have never experienced the thrill yourself. Yes they are aggressive and eat other fish. I don't move them around, just leave them where I found them. But if it weren't for somebody putting them there, you'd have never caught that one. Enjoy your catches, but leave them in the water for others to enjoy and quite possible, you will enjoy the same fish more than once.

[griz]

Great catch Dihardhunter. If the state wants anglers to keep all the flatheads because they aren't native to that river then keep them, or the state might just do like some of the western states and poison the whole river to get rid of the non-native fish. The state of Montana says they have had great success doing this to rid waters of unwanted fish. Here is a link to one of the news stories about it.
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=5147
Now I don't know about the rest of ya'll but I'd much rather see these fish caught and ate rather than poisoned and wasted. But thats just my opinion. Once again congrats on a great catch.

[Southernraised84]

Man thats a great fish, im kinda jealous i didnt get him...lol. Like i said i fish the cape evertime i go out and thats the biggest flattie i have seen pulled out of there in awhile.You did catch him on a limb line right? Do yall use rods or do you just limb line? Either way great catch if you every want to hook up and go out sometime PM me i am always looking for fellow memebers to go out I have been haveing good luck down past lock 3, 4 20+ blues last sunday. O and you catching that one fish and keeping it didnt do a damn thing to the catfish population in that river that i promise that river is so big and it holds so many fish that i dont think anyone could ever hurt the population.

[Bank Catter]

I think both sides would agree that you've made some excellent recommendations for continuing the CPR/keep-and-eat discussion in your post.

I really don't have a dog in this fight since I'm still in the 10 & under club, LOL!

Very well done, IMO.

[dihardhunter]

We seriously didn't intend to create a ruckus with filleting that fish, but then again we did what sound research has shown to be responsible management for flathead catfish. That fish has had its go-round in the reproductive cycle and I seriously doubt we altered the population. Sorry to offend anyone with that whole episode, but we'd be willing to send you a bag of fillets next time if you would like, cause good gracious it made a lot of em'. Good luck to you all and we'll see you on the water.

[dihardhunter]

Oh yea, and replying back to southernraised...we fished with live bait on fishing poles from 7 at night til 3 in the morning without a single good bite. We just lucked out and caught the big one on one of our seven limb lines we set out. By the way, if you run limblines and bush sets please take your lines down when you're finished cause it makes an ugly scene. We have always taken ours down and that's just good stewardship.

[Southernraised84]

So i take it that yall were targeting flatheads, I havent yet to try limblineing we have been talking about setting some out one night. I mainly have been going for big blues lately not really big on flatties but would love to get one. Next time you go out PM i could show you some good spots for big blues and some spots i have seen people pulling nice flatties out.Great catch and good luck on your next big one!!!

[BKS72]

Nice fish, should be good eatin'.

Hey, Griz, CA is doing the same thing to get rid of pike in Lake Davis. They are basically going to poison the whole lake and all tributaries to make sure the little gars don't get out and go statewide.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/northernpike/

Dihard, I'd read that before about the state wanting to get rid of flatties, same thing in PA in some rivers there. Guess the flatheads are pretty hard on whatever is native that they can get in their mouth. Dinner and a good deed for the native fish, nice job :)

[ponykilr]

Man thats a great fish, im kinda jealous i didnt get him...lol. Like i said i fish the cape evertime i go out and thats the biggest flattie i have seen pulled out of there in awhile.You did catch him on a limb line right? Do yall use rods or do you just limb line? Either way great catch if you every want to hook up and go out sometime PM me i am always looking for fellow memebers to go out I have been haveing good luck down past lock 3, 4 20+ blues last sunday. O and you catching that one fish and keeping it didnt do a damn thing to the catfish population in that river that i promise that river is so big and it holds so many fish that i dont think anyone could ever hurt the population.


that kind of reasoning is why we dont have elk in our state anymore. just because there is a lot of something, doesnt mean it is impossible to drive the numbers down to nothing. i am proud to CPR all over 20lbs and a real sportsman will do the same. if you are hungry and feeding your family, then do it. but there are plenty of 5 lb flats that are a lot easier to eat and clean. its your fish, you caught it. but it will never be caught again. hope you enjoyed it.

[fwmud]

You know, If yall keep verbally beatin on dihard, maybe you can run him off too. Won't be the first time some loudmouth my way or the highway,if you're not with me you're wrong, person keeps beatin a dead horse till the horse is gone.
just kills me the way some will post negitive all the time. have you ever caught a record? No? Me either so i can't really say what I'd do now can I?


Dihard, I told ya my "Feelings" and they are just that, MY feelings, maybe not yours. Don't let a few self-appointed CPR policemen run you down or away.I've seen that article on removing faltheads in Nc but can't find it now. I emailed the DNR to get comfirmation for the know-it alls.
Good luck on your next trip and good hunting.
(next I guess someone will call PETA on ya if ya eat another)

PS; don't like what I said? Punch that little rep button till your finger falls off. I don't use anyway. I do not pay attention to it being that a chicken liver guy may post a bad rep on my cut bait post. now tell me how that works.
good day, keith

[Gator]

Keith I agree with you. As long as the fish was not wasted then more power to him. I would much rater eat a fish that has reproduced that a 5 lber that has not had the chance.

[elphaba7]

Applause to you Keith.

If it was a flathead, not native to the local waters, and preventing the native fish from growing to trophy size, what is the problem? The way I see it, you gave all the little fish a better chance to grow up to be big fish.

[sal_jr]

hey now!!!!

Congrats on the fish bro. and welcome to the BOC.

Now listen up brothers... I CPR religiously cause that is what is right for me.

I cant fault you for doing what you did cause if I got a 50 lber and it was the dead of night, I may not have the mental strength to bow to my CPR inner voice. I just CPR cause flatties are hard to get in this state... I dont do it for teehugger reasons or whatever.

enjoy your fillets. eat and enjoy and feed those who will eat them. You have done nothing wrong or bad no matter what the diehards say.

A 50 lb flatty is eating 5 pounders for dinner. all you who like to catch 5-10 pounders probably had worse luck in that area due to this biggun. and a year's worth of 5 lb meals for that monster will reproduce more and better offspring with more varied genetics. so your keeping the beast helped further the gene pool.

Knock off ripping on this guy BOC fellas.... Put it into whatever words you need to, but talk yourselves out of making this guy the scapegoat for your lack of success out there. That is not his problem, nor should it be.

Sal

[Gator]

dihard that is a nice fish and I have done the same thing as you. I have eaten a 48 pound Flathead before and I dare some one to say something about that, to me that is like eating a 12 foot shark. Which I would rather do than 5 footer that has not had the chance to reproduce. I mean if we keep all the small ones there would be no large ones. CPR is fine but once a fish passes the reproductive cycle of it life it is not making any contribution to the fish population. I hope you continue to manage the fish population like you have. I mean after all who does CPR with there bait? Hey it is the same thing if you catch and keep all the bream then what is there for the bigger fish to eat? Right.

[sal_jr]

darn straight gator!

[ponykilr]

yep, i hate it when i dont catch a monster shad or bullhead cause a mean ole' flathead ate him up. :confused:
flats were not in the neuse until they were introduced, but neither were blues. florida strain bass werent either. neither were green sunfish or a host of other fish species. but they are here now and we need to enjoy em. keep all the little eaters you want. but it takes a lot of time to get a 40+lb flathead that size. the rivers are not crawlin' with monsters. all you reading this, when was the last time you caught one approaching 40 lbs? it just doesnt happen that often. leave them to be enjoyed again. keep the numerous smaller fish. they are the ones that are doing the most damage to native fish. a hundred years ago we used to think we would never, could never run out of buffalo. they eat up all the grass that could be going into our cattle. we thought we could never kill all the wolves. they were killing our sheep and pigs. we thought we would always have plenty of whales. why the ocean is swarming with em. i am not a raging nutcase peta idgit, but i am a sportsman concerned with keeping big catfish so my kids and grandkids can be able to enjoy them too. what did you acomplish by keeping a 50lb fish. does it somehow make it a better experience? or, isnt it better to let him live and give another person a chance at the fish of a lifetime.

[TDawgNOk]

dihard,

Great fish.

Do not let ANYONE make you feel bad about keeping that fish. You caught it, it was your right. Those people who bad mouth the use of limb lines and jugs lines are out for the pure sport of catfishing. Not after food. I use both rod and reel and jug lines. If I catch a fish that big, I don't know what I would do, keep it or throw it back. Since I am mainly fishing for the fun of it and hoping to get enough fish for a fish fry for my family, I would probably keep it.

If that bothers some of the purest CPR guys, too bad.

Don't worry about other's opinions, remember, you did what you thought was right with the fish.

GREAT JOB on catching a GREAT FISH. Enjoy the fillets, you earned them!!!

[TDawgNOk]

and dihard

You are more than welcome to come into the BOC chat any time you would like, so we can congratulate you, real time!

[ponykilr]

You know, If yall keep verbally beatin on dihard, maybe you can run him off too. Won't be the first time some loudmouth my way or the highway,if you're not with me you're wrong, person keeps beatin a dead horse till the horse is gone.
just kills me the way some will post negitive all the time. have you ever caught a record? No? Me either so i can't really say what I'd do now can I?


Dihard, I told ya my "Feelings" and they are just that, MY feelings, maybe not yours. Don't let a few self-appointed CPR policemen run you down or away.I've seen that article on removing faltheads in Nc but can't find it now. I emailed the DNR to get comfirmation for the know-it alls.
Good luck on your next trip and good hunting.
(next I guess someone will call PETA on ya if ya eat another)

PS; don't like what I said? Punch that little rep button till your finger falls off. I don't use anyway. I do not pay attention to it being that a chicken liver guy may post a bad rep on my cut bait post. now tell me how that works.
good day, keith


keith, i dont think anyone was beatin on him. but i think a little guidance is a good thing. sometimes a different point of view needs to be presented and maybe someone will at least think about what he does and the impact it has.
diehard, no offense man. i just dont agree with killing big fish. maybe after you think about it, you wont either. this is the usa and the last time i checked, it was encouraged to give your opinion. to much "political correct dont offend me cause i am sensitive crap" is what is making us a nation of pansies. dont like what i say, let me know. you wont run me off and if die hard is any kind of red blooded american it wont run him off either. diehard, i aint mad witcha :p

[Southernraised84]

hey ponykilr befor you start talking abuot my reasoning i think you should know me first if i catch i hunderd poung fish and want to eat it i will and i say to anyone else do it i CPR all of my fish but if i want to keep it i will so please dont question me when you dont even know me i think you need to mind your own business and leave this thread and dihard alone all of you a$$holes tryin to force yalls oipinions drop it sounds like yall are jsut mad to me

[sal_jr]

pony... you miss the point bro.

your act of conservation of a nonnative species is unfounded.

SAVE THE SNAKEHEAD.... BECAUSE IT IS HERE....NOW.... I THINK...ER...UMMM....(mumbling incoherently)


Your argument that theyre there and big now so they ought to stay says NOTHING of the native species decimated by the flatheads of that river in its life... not to mention.... on the other side of the spectrum the 5 lb flatties that this bohemoth has been gulping since he hit 20+lbs... cause you know they go for what they find and cannibalism is acceptable to them.

You leave this man alone already. Go save your own fish, not his. His adult choic e is not your responsability. His meal ticket isnt yours to fill so you cant say what he cant eat either.

[elphaba7]

pony... you miss the point bro.

your act of conservation of a nonnative species is unfounded.

SAVE THE SNAKEHEAD.... BECAUSE IT IS HERE....NOW.... I THINK...ER...UMMM....(mumbling incoherently)


Your argument that theyre there and big now so they ought to stay says NOTHING of the native species decimated by the flatheads of that river in its life... not to mention.... on the other side of the spectrum the 5 lb flatties that this bohemoth has been gulping since he hit 20+lbs... cause you know they go for what they find and cannibalism is acceptable to them.

You leave this man alone already. Go save your own fish, not his. His adult choic e is not your responsability. His meal ticket isnt yours to fill so you cant say what he cant eat either.

Amen, Sal! Exactly my sentiments,

And Dihard, I'd also like to extend my welcome into chat...come on in!

[ponykilr]

hey ponykilr befor you start talking abuot my reasoning i think you should know me first if i catch i hunderd poung fish and want to eat it i will and i say to anyone else do it i CPR all of my fish but if i want to keep it i will so please dont question me when you dont even know me i think you need to mind your own business and leave this thread and dihard alone all of you a$$holes tryin to force yalls oipinions drop it sounds like yall are jsut mad to me


you are entitled to your opinion. your choice of language shows the level of your intellect. i dont know you, but your actions i am free to judge as mine are yours to judge as well. when something is posted on a public forum, it is generally accepted that there will be people who agree and disagree. if it bothers you that i post my opinions on a subject(notice i never questioned your right to post yours) then it is you who needs to leave this thread alone. i am not angry at anyone or jealous. i just spoke my view. if you are inclined to think differently, then so be it. have a nice life.

[TDawgNOk]

but your actions i am free to judge

Nope, shouldn't judge anyone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Then you will be a mile from your own shoes, and your views may have changed.

[fwmud]

Maybe it's the way it was worded.
Theres been more than 1 member who left because of CPR posts being worded the wrong way.
As I posted Yea 9 times outa 10 I cpr. That doesn't mean its wrong if I don't.
Do ya know the regs for gettin a record fish certified? You are required to kill the fish. It's right there in the regs. Now that I can't understand cause no one gonna eat that fish. That,is truely a waste.
My point is none of us here are biologist. There has to be a reason for removing the flatheads. (I don't know so I'll wait on that one)
My only point was the cynical way you stated your choice to CPR,thats all.
"I hope you enjoyed it" This was the point I was trying to get across.
I remember back on the old site someone made a comment to a new member,
"i can't say congrats cause you didn't say it was CPR'ed"

[Southernraised84]

you think what you want to about my intellect i ant worried about that and if you think me calling yall a$$holes shows that then you ant that bright either.All im sayin is leave the guy alone all of you CPR police its the biggest fish he has caught let him enjoy it im jus tired of when someone doesnt like what someone does they think its there resopnsiblity to let them know. IF you dont like what he does shut up and go on about your business do what you do and we will do as we do.Its people like you that run the new members off so i am gonna end it with that

[Gator]

Ponykilr I am going to respond to this only because you ask me to in so many words. You stated “ keep all the little eaters you want. but it takes a lot of time to get a 40+lb flathead that size.” Your right it takes a while for the flathead to reach 40+ pounds almost 12 years, but they do not start reproducing until they are about 3 years old and around 5 pounds. So if we keep all the little fish we want then we are killing them off before or just as they start reproducing. Now what dose that mean well let’s see. We keep everything lets say 10 pounds and under and with them not reproducing until about 5 pounds, and lets say for GP we catch 50 fish a year. Now lets say half of those 50 are breeders, so that means that we have keep 25 fish that could lay between 100 to 1000 eggs at a time. So we will say just for GP 25X500, that is 125000 eggs. Which on 25% of the will grow to the reproduction age at a normal live(no fishing presser) so that is appx 50000 new born fish you have killed. Now taken in to account that the flathead quits reproducing at about 10 years of age, and to reach 40+ pounds it is about 12 years of age which is it that would provide you with the better chance of letting you catch a big flathead? Killing 125000 hatchlings of 1 cat to old to reproduce?

I believe in CPR and do it often time more than most. But it makes more since to me to keep my breeders going strong that it dose to take them out of the river where I want to increase my chances of getting a trophy fish, or my kids chances. I mean where is the real harm here? What is so wrong with wanting to eat a big fish? Why put some one down because they don’t believe your way? That is not what this site is about man. If you fill the need to put some body down because they keep a big fish then put me down brother because I catch fish well over a 100+ pounds each every year and keep them. Dose that make me wrong? NO! CPR is a matter of personal belief and should remain that way, and if some one don’t believe the way you do that is there god given right. And if you fell the need to put some one down because of the way they believe then I am your target, because I kill 100+ pound fish every year.

[elphaba7]

Yeah! What Jim said!!! :p

[sal_jr]

gator, you hit it dead on. 5 old stars and a new rep point to ya!

[kcgeoff]

Gator,
Excellent post. I agree with you!!

[ponykilr]

i have not put anyone down. i have not called anyone a name. i simply stated my opinion on a discussion that was already going on. this is an internet DISCUSSION BOARD. are we not free to voice our opinion? isnt that what makes a message board work?
as far as keeping small fish over large and its impact, i feel reallly confidant that there are a lot more small fish than monsters. predation by other fish, fishing and pollution kill a lot of fish before maturaty. to assume all fish reach that age is simply not correct.
it seems to me that the anti CPR crowd are the only people angry. if i have said anything to hurt your fragile ego or sensitive spirit, forgive me. if you want to keep any fish, it is legal and it is your right. i do not agree that it is a good thing, and i do not practice it. it is also my right to try and sway you to see my point of view. would someone please show me where i am wrong in assuming it is ok to discuss and present your point of view on a discussion forum? would someone show me where i put anyone down or called anyone a name. southern, you may be just a little hot under the collar. maybe you are sensitive or a little touchy. i dont care. you have taken a discussion and made it personal. when you post something on a message board, you have to be able to accept that someone may not agree with you. i hope that you realize that i have nothing personal against you. stay mad if you want, i had rather go on with my life. pony out, for good on this can o worms.

[sal_jr]

QUOTE: "pony out, for good on this can o worms"




....and take seacrest with you!

[Bank Catter]

Population Ecology of Introduced Flathead Catfish ( a university study)

"To evaluate the potential ecosystem impact of this invasive species on the native fish community, I developed an ecosystem simulation model (including flathead catfish) based on empirical data collected for a North Carolina coastal river. Model results suggest that flathead catfish suppress native fish community biomass by 5-50% through both predatory and competitive interactions. However, these reductions could be mitigated through sustained exploitation of flathead catfish by recreational or commercial fishers at levels equivalent to those for native flathead catfish populations (6-25% annual exploitation). These findings demonstrate the potential for using directed harvest of an invasive species to mitigate the negative impacts to native species."

This quote is from the abstract of a study done by NC State (coincidentally my alma mater-Go Pack!) on the impact of flatfish on some North Carolina rivers. I didn't read the whole dissertation, but here's a link if some of you are so inclined. Since it's a PhD thesis is very academic. fwmud and cats4uandme got me to thinking of a similar article that was very balanced that would have provided some good info on when special CPR/keep-and-eat situations where sometimes practices should change. It was more practical (not academic), but I can't seem to locate it now.

http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11202003-154100/ (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11202003-154100/)

[elphaba7]

Nice job taking the time to research, buddy. :thumbsup:

[TDawgNOk]

Nice job on the research there Bank Catter.

[cats4uandme]

well thank goodness someone read my last post. the arguement got worse after i thought it would maybe help.

ya ask what did keeping that fish get him. 30# of good tasting white meat. thats hard to pass up when it was the only think they caught. i fed 30 people at my fish fry with channel cats from 15" to 13#'s this spring. now anyone want to complain about that too. the hores is dead already.

[TDawgNOk]

It all boils down to:


:0a34:

Great Job catching that Monster Flat DiHard!!!!

[odominioncatter]

small flatheads taste really good, large flatheads taste really good,

by the way are you still there dihard?

Congratulations on a fish of a lifetime.

[JAYNC]

Cant we all just get along, at first I was disappointed that the fish was taken. But I think is was mostly jealosy on my part just because I never caught a fish that big. What it comes down to, is whatever someone does with their fish is fine as long as they arent breaking the law. If you want to cpr thats fine and if you want to keep it, its fine also. Lets just stop bickering about this and just go fishing, it will be more fun. :)

[dihardhunter]

Never fear, dihard is here... Ya'll definitely didn't run me or my buddy off the forums. That was the first catfish either of us has ever caught over 12 pounds, so for all we knew we had a state record cause that thing was HUGE. If we catch another one approaching 50 lbs., we very well might turn it back, but then again, we may do the same exact thing and fill our freezers again. I really had no idea that this many catfishermen turned back their catch, I thought that was a bass fishing disease...lol Seriously though, we didn't mean a thing by any of this, we are just THRILLED to have caught our fish of a lifetime. The odds he would have been caught again are pretty slim anyways. Thanx to those of you who stuck up for us (gator, cats4uandme, TDawg, fwmud especially) And those of you who didn't like what we did, well I hope you can see through our differences and learn to get along. Personally, I loved catfishing before Sunday night and I love it even more now. I'll be around this forum for a long time to come hopefully and hope to meet our "buddies" and our "enemies" on the water. Thanks for all the congrats too.

[JAYNC]

Dihard, are you going to the gathering next weekend, if you didnt know about it, it is in the gathering section of this forum. There are a lot of people who cant make it so the more people that come down the better it will be.

[greggofish]

This is fun.......

Hey, I have an answer so it won't happen again. Next time someone catches a big fish.....noboby ask how or if they kept it. In addition,someone start a post which asks each member a few questions such as

What is your largest Cat (size and species)?

Do you practice catch and release?

What methods do you use when fishing?

Etc........ you could think of maybe ten total questions that would be relevant to catfishing and then if anyone ever has a question about you, they could go to that post and find all they need to know. If they want to PM you and yap about what they think you shouldn't do or just to get more info...they could do it that way.

Then again, I wouldn't get as much entertainment as I have so far.

I hope saltwater fish stay fair game to eat cause I think I'd starve to death if they weren't.

Now...back to the fun....I mean arguing...... :rolleyes:

[Gator]

Ponykilr it is not what you said as much as it is the way you said it. Are you wrong for your opinion on this matter; I don’t think so nor do I thing any of us are. It is just the way you came out with it and yes this has been a very big heated debate in the past. I wish to offer my apologies if I offended any one here but like I stated this has been heated topic here. I do believe in CPR and have cut may a fish loose but will keep some every year that are big fish (100+ pounds) because they have already reach the age and size for reproducing. I am the worst one on the board for keeping large fish but I mostly target larger fish (shark). Sometime we all speak before we think or cannot seem to get the words to come out right. I know I am a little hot headed at times and as stubborn as any mule out there, as a matter of fact my wife has often times told me I needed a brick so I could have a nice soft pillow for my hard head….LOL

Just please under stand where we are trying to come from. This subject has cause a many of heated disagreement on this board and even cause a lot of members new and old to leave the site and that is not what we want to happen here. This subject falls in the category of religion and politicks on this board. What I mean by that is, there are many very strong feelings about those subjects and if some one dives into them they better be ready to get jumped on hard, because there are some of us here(my self included), with some very strong opinions on the subject and we get offensive very quick, but wish no ill feelings toward anyone on the subject.

It is nothing personal I want you to understand this but if we feel that some one is targeting or forcing there views on some one we get a little hot, and if that was not your intention then please forgive me and try to under stand where we are coming from. I am a old broke down crusty US Army Airborne Special Forces First Sergeant and dead set in my ways. For that I apologize, however that is me and I will ask for your understanding but what you see is what you get. Just a plain ol redneck. Nothing more and nothing less.

No hard feelings.

[ponykilr]

Never fear, dihard is here... Ya'll definitely didn't run me or my buddy off the forums. That was the first catfish either of us has ever caught over 12 pounds, so for all we knew we had a state record cause that thing was HUGE. If we catch another one approaching 50 lbs., we very well might turn it back, but then again, we may do the same exact thing and fill our freezers again. I really had no idea that this many catfishermen turned back their catch, I thought that was a bass fishing disease...lol Seriously though, we didn't mean a thing by any of this, we are just THRILLED to have caught our fish of a lifetime. The odds he would have been caught again are pretty slim anyways. Thanx to those of you who stuck up for us (gator, cats4uandme, TDawg, fwmud especially) And those of you who didn't like what we did, well I hope you can see through our differences and learn to get along. Personally, I loved catfishing before Sunday night and I love it even more now. I'll be around this forum for a long time to come hopefully and hope to meet our "buddies" and our "enemies" on the water. Thanks for all the congrats too.

diehard, i promise i was not slamming you. i love catfishing as much as the next guy, and i know you do too. my biggest ever was actually eaten. i was talked into it and have regretted the event ever since. but it was when i had first started fishing for flatheads and i really didnt know what i know now. i assure you i am not the enemy and nobody needed to stick up for you because of me. nuthin' but luv from pony :wub:
it is your right to do with your fish whatever you see fit, i never said otherwise. this is just a place to air your views and i sure do not take it personal, and i hope you do not either. i actually look forward to seeing anyone here on the water(even southern :p ) i am going with kittyhunter to elizebethtown this sat. night. maybe i will see some of you guys down there. i will be on a mud brown g3 14-44 with a gray 25 yamaha 4stroke(cant miss that motor, looks like it oughta be on a bayliner) later, pony

[Kittyhunter]

Ok, I want to set the record straight, no arguments. Dihard, as I said before, great catch. (wasn't it fun?) of course it would have been 10 times the fun on a rod, but that's another debate. Pony is right about this being a public forum and anything you post is subject to aggreement and disagreement, you have to except that. Neither one of us was trying to start an argument, not trying to bad-mouth anyone, and not trying to say anyone was wrong or right. Were not even mad. In fact the only one who got really heated was southernraised (he's the one that started cussin' and calling people a..holes). What I was trying to do was get you to look at it from my point of view (if only for a minute) and maybe you would think about it next time you caught a big one. If you choose to keep more, that's your choice. I don't have to agree, but it's your choice. As it is my choice to release them, you don't have to agree, but it's my choice. Do we agree? Ponykilr was talking about keeping the smaller ones to eat and somebody replied about the smaller ones breeding and I don't remember now what all it was, but Pony is right, there are many more smaller fish than large. So what he was trying to say (I think) was if you want some to eat, keep a few smaller ones. We rarely keep any but if so, they are smaller fish. In my opinion (and again it's just my opinion) the smaller ones taste better than the big ones. You were saying that there have been numerous monsters pulled out of the Cape, that may be true, but we fish the Neuse and there have NOT been numerous monsters pulled out in a long time, probably because many of them were killed. Someone stated maybe we were being hard on dihard due to a lack of our own success, that also is not correct as we have both caught large fish and regularly have good luck. I am not jealous of what anyone catches, great job. Southernraised, What Pony was trying to say (again I say I think) is what you said about keeping that fish didn't do a "damn" thing to the population, is not the way you should look at it. If everybody said, If I keep this one giant fish it won't matter. Well it does matter. If 100 people did that, there goes 100 giant fish. It would be like somebody saying, If I throw this one piece of trash out of my car on the highway, it won't matter. But, if 100 people do it, the highway looks like crap. See my point? You don't have to agree with it but it makes sense if you think about it. Again, I say all of this in as calm a manner as I can. You can't see me but I'm smiling as I type, no hint of anger or hostility at all. All these are my opinions as I have stated, I'm not trying to be the CPR police, and I'm not trying to make anybody mad. Just saying that before jumping off the deep end and trying to crush somebody because they stated their opinion, try looking at their opinion, toss it around a bit, decide whether or not you agree or disagree, and let them know (calmly) what you think. After all, isn't that why we all post on here? To see what others think about it? Sure we do, that's whay we run home in the afternoon, or some of us sneak a peek during work, to see if anybody replied to our last post. You can quote me on this one, and I'm digging deep here...




"If replies to posts there were none, a forum this would not be"





Now let's all go fishing, those who want to keep fish can keep them, those who don't can throw them back, and southernraised can stand around and cuss about it. LOL Laugh southernraised it was a joke. See I'm not mad.

[Mark J]

My thoughts are simple on cpr. If you catch it legally and posess it legally it's yours to do with as you wish.
In truth we should all be keeping the flatheads in the Cape Fear but we're not.
The fact is, I'm not eating anything out of the rivers much less a catfish over 10 pounds from anywhere, but people have their own preferences and guess what? You aint got no choice but to respect it.

Now the comment was made that a sportsman CPR's.
I posted on this subject way back when on the old site, but the word "sportsman" gets thrown around alot by alot of folks and alot of times the word is used as a tool against someone instead of for them.

To me a sportsman is someone that goes afield either hunting or fishing and takes their game and fish according to the regulations laid forth by whoever the governing body is whether it is state or federal. One who is a steward of the land or water instead of a bulldozer.
One who respects others afield in their own quest of game or fish.
One who can consistantly catch a multitude of species of fish or hunt multiple species of animals with great success.

I hunt, but not as much as I used to but never have I shot a deer, dove, or quail that I could CPR. Does this imply that I could never achieve the status of "sportsman"?

I know some real sportsmen and they eat alot of fish and game.
They didnt become sportsmen over night either, and I have been blessed over the years to just be able to spend a little time under them as a pupil in my quest to become a sportsman one day.

To me the term sportsman is too loosely used and I dont think it can rightfully be bestowed on oneself. It's earned and awarded by those around you .

There is no possible way I can sit here without knowing Diehard and say whether he is a sportsman or not. I've never met him but I would love to.
If he kills and eats a big flatty or flatties I dont think that would have any bearing on what I think of him as a fisherman or friend.

In my above post when I mentioned that section of river as being decimated.
That is in fact a statement to what the catfishing once was in the day.
I don't think the river could have ever sustained those numbers in those sizes on and on.
It had to come to an end one way or the other and it did.
Alot of the Cape Fear lore people read about or hear about catfishing wise came from where Diehard caught this fish not way down river around the locks.

Mark

[elphaba7]

To me a sportsman is someone that goes afield either hunting or fishing and takes their game and fish according to the regulations laid forth by whoever the governing body is whether it is state or federal.
And if dihard was following his local regulations, that makes him a sportsman, in that aspect. He followed the law of the land, and did not return the fish to the water. He did the right thing.

[ponykilr]

i said i was through, but one last clarification. if someone just does something because the law allows, even if it isnt the best thing for the sport, does that make it the thing to do? does a sportsman do what the law will let him do, or what is best for all involved. i never said keeping fish or game was wrong, but killing a trophy size fish i do believe is wrong. i eat plenty of deer every year and catfish nuggets too. but they came from 5-6lb fish usually because i choose to let the trophys free to be enjoyed another time. if its control of the species you are after, then killing trophies is not the answer. your own argument proved that. if big fish are not breeders, what is gained in population control by killing that "monster" when the little 6lber you just released is breeding. monsters make up a tiny percentage of the total population. its the smaller fish that are multiple times more numerous that we should be keeping for population control.
one last thing i promise(remember, i aint mad) as far as "native" species, flats have been in n.c. for a long time. all fish in n.c. at some time were not native. things in history move fish and game to other places. catostophic events and storms and yes people moved animals to where they were not before. some die out, others adapt and live on. flatheads are a part of the ecosystem here now. to compare flatheads to the asian snakehead is not a good analogy. they are not the threat to shad and sunfish that snakeheads are to native species in the mississippi river system and great lakes. yall, catch em all this weekend. i hope i will. later

[fwmud]

OK heres the reply I finally got back from the nc DNR site. It's what I suspected but I didn't want to run my mouth till I had clarification.Allt he letter does is makes things as clear as mud.
The whole jist of the matter was as was stated,it was the way the replies were typed in.The flathead does kill other fish including cats simply for the reason that it strayed into the big flatty's territory.This may be 1 reason to keep them.
I will still CPR a lot just because of the fact the rivers are so poluted they ain't fit to eat.
All in all, it's still to each his own.Here's the reply letter;

Hi Keith: while flatheads are a non-native species, they are well established in a number of our river systems. My perspective is that it is up to you if you choose to release it back into the water it came from, or not. We would certainly not recommend releasing it into a "new" location where they may not already be present. I don't think there is a written policy by the Wildlife Resources Commission on this subject.



Regards,

Kent



Kent Nelson

Fisheries Program Manager

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

1721 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1721



phone: 919/707-0223

fax: 919/707-0028





-----Original Message-----
From: keith sword [mailto:plumbrite@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 2:49 PM
To: wrccomments@ncwildlife.org
Subject: flathead catfish



I am a avid catfisherman. Most times I CPR(catch,photo,release). I was recently told that flatheads are preferred "not" to be released back to water.

Is this a true statement or a preferred practice by DNR or is this just for certain waters. Any help/locations of info on this would be great.

thank you, Keith








Click Here!

[ponykilr]

thanks for taking the time to write them

[fwmud]

Anytime at all no problem.
I hope nobody here thinks they have a monopoly on running there mouth, we all do. LOL

The thing that probably got me so fired up was an inccedent on the old site.
A brand new,young(teenager) member was given a guided trip to Sanate by his Dad as a birthday present if I remember correctly.
During the trip, he caught a nice sized cat,around 20 plus pounds for the sake of arguement bare with me on specifics.
Proudly,he posted his pictures and story behind the catch,titled, "Fish of a lifetime" I think. Instead of a clap of hands,pat on the back,ect, he was put down,kicked, stomped and just more or less told what a "lowlife" he was for "killing" the fish.No one bothered to wait,let him get the feeling of being at home,talking with "his brothers and sisters". he was pounced on repeatedly on the board. The kis left and as far as I know,never posted again.
This was inspite of the fact myself and several others PM'ed and emailed him to let him know that everyone wasn't like that here.
I guess thats what got my"panties in a wad" so quick.I do realize that Dihard" isn't a kid,but, he could have been,so lets all please watch what we type,
Thanks, Keith

[Southernraised84]

Ponykilr i would like to appoligize for some of the things i said it was wrong.It hasent been the best of weeks for me for personal reasons and i seen this and just let go.I still dont like it when a new guy gets in here with a fish of a lifetime and as soon as he says post it there are some memeber on here jumping down his throat.I wasent meaning all what isaid yesterday just to i have seen it on here befor got into some arguments myself about it.I think that we all should have said great job and said i practice CPR but as long as it doesnt go to waste then there isent i problem.I am a quick tempered person and like it said yesterday was one of the worse days in my life and i appoligize for getting so mad.

[fwmud]

Good post Tristan, I knew you'd put this one in sooner or later.
Keep ya chin up bro!
Call me or yahoo and we'll set this weekend up.

[Kittyhunter]

Yaaaayyyy, everybody is getting along again.

[ponykilr]

its like christmas on the neuse :)
no hard feelings at all. maybe we can meet up sometime and fish and cook and swap stories.

[elphaba7]

:rock-big: Tristan, keep your chin up! I know you're prolly still bummed, but I'm glad to see your apology.

And as for everyone else,

"I love you, man"

"I love you too, man"

Yay! Christmas at the BOC!

:wub: :thumbsup:

[sal_jr]

LOL- where's the emoticon for "group-hug"?

This is a swell time... the catfishes is jumpin and the cotton is high.

[TDawgNOk]

and I was walkin in High cotton, old time there are not forgotten....

Don't you hate it when someone says something and makes you think about a song you were GLAD to forget?

[fwmud]

"That paddle wheel keeps rollin on down, just the same. Old black water, keep on rolling........................."

[sal_jr]

Tony then you're gonna hate this....

At least I didnt do that Barney theme!

LMAO

[TDawgNOk]

Mississippi Moon don't ya keep on shining on me,....

[Southernraised84]

Not to stray away from the sing-o-long but i have a pretty interesting story.Last night i went out of the cape down from riverside we had been out there for lil while when my freind caught a 9 pound flattie. Well we hooked him to the stringer and tied him to the side of the boat. O yeah we had pulled up to the bank to fish just down from rockfish creek, so anyways we are sitting there when we heard some splashing in the water,my freind looks down and says o crap there is a snake right here.So i shined the light down there sure enough there was a 4 foot water mocason locked on to the flattie. So i picked up a big log and went to town on the snakes head killing him.We didnt know what to do with the fish i know they are poisones snakes so i told him i would eat the fish lets just see if it will live and we will let it go. We sat there for about 2 more hours checked on the fish and he was dead. ( yes he was in the water we didnt keep him on the bank)I also have a question out of this story and it is could he have eaten the fish? He still has it in a cooler and i am gonna let him know if he should or not i hate to waste it.

[TDawgNOk]

I wouldn't risk it, but that's just me.

[ponykilr]

i just dont think i could eat it knowing that there was some poison in it somewhere. flats prey on snakes so the snake prolly struck just to defend himself when he was suprised to see a flat right beside him.

[elphaba7]

I wouldn't eat it either. No use taking a risk like that.

[fwmud]

I'm not sure but,
"If in doubt, Throw it out"
thats what I'd probably do.

[phillip puryear]

southernraised84, we had the same problem monday and tuesday nights fighting what look like little beavers or big a$$ muskrats they were swimming around the boat like sharks down near the dog food plant we ended up only catching a couple 12-14 lb blues released for another day

[Beagle]

Hey Southern,
I would be curious as to what an "autopsy" might show. I'd like to see what the flesh looked like. Water moc venom is mostly hemotoxic, affecting blood cells and blood vessels. There might be some necrosis at the site of the bite. I'd like to know. I have only seen the effects on warm blooded animals. The flesh should be fine when cooked. I'd eat it.
The venom becomes nutralized(sp) after doing its job. The venom can only hurt you if it enters your blood stream. Them big ol flatties are eating those young moc's with no ill effects as are hawks, etc.
Have him skin and fillet that thing. I'd love to hear about it.

[Southernraised84]

My freind has the fish now i think he was gonna give it to his grandpa he said he wanted it. I will call him and ask him how it looked when he cleans it. Wish i would have known that befor i gave him back to the person that caught him o well i plan on getting some tonight so its alright.

[TDawgNOk]

Oh what a night, Late December back in sixty three, what a very special time for me...

[Timber Cat]

Glad to see everyone is happy! :D