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In another thread, we got into a sidebar discussion about harvest limits which some are in favor of, and some obviously are not. I thought I would throw out some catFood for Thought...
It's no secret I'm in favor of some limits mostly to protect larger fish. On certain waters, I could envision some type of creel limits (maybe a daily limit per angler with a possession limit two times the daily limit). But, when you live in an urban area which has a very high level of fishing pressure on a relatively small river, I think it's a different situation that you see in more rural areas where there is relatively low fishing pressure.
...things can't always stay the same forever. Change is always coming around the bend whether we're ready for it or not. There seems to be a lot more people interested in catfishing than there used to be. Just look at how much more "catfish specific" gear is out there. Hooks. Lines. Rods. Reels. You can use Aqua-View camera to locate wintering flatheads, and pinpoint catfish location using advanced sonar imaging. I started fishing for catfish almost 30 years ago, when there was no such thing as a catfish rod, and my depthfinder was the oar of the boat and the length of my arm. I would be very surprised if we don't continue to see more states implement some type of limits upon catfish harvest in future years.
Here's what some of our neighboring states have in place
Iowa Rivers: daily bag limit 15, possession limit 30; Inland Lakes: daily bag limit 8, possession limit 30; Border lakes with Minnesota bag limit 8; No limit on Mississippi River
Indiana Streams: No limit; Lakes 10 fish limit any channel, blue, flathead catfish
Missouri Statewide: blue and flathead bag limit 5, possession 10; Channel cat bag 10, possession 20. Mississippi river daily+bag limit is 20 channel/blue cat and 10 flatheads
Wisconsin Statewide: channel/flathead 10 in total; Mississippi (WI/MN border 25 in total; St Louis/St Croix 10 in total; Mississippi (WI/IA) no limit
Minnesota Statewide 5 fish, not one over 24" and no more than two flathead
Shawn
It's no secret I'm in favor of some limits mostly to protect larger fish. On certain waters, I could envision some type of creel limits (maybe a daily limit per angler with a possession limit two times the daily limit). But, when you live in an urban area which has a very high level of fishing pressure on a relatively small river, I think it's a different situation that you see in more rural areas where there is relatively low fishing pressure.
...things can't always stay the same forever. Change is always coming around the bend whether we're ready for it or not. There seems to be a lot more people interested in catfishing than there used to be. Just look at how much more "catfish specific" gear is out there. Hooks. Lines. Rods. Reels. You can use Aqua-View camera to locate wintering flatheads, and pinpoint catfish location using advanced sonar imaging. I started fishing for catfish almost 30 years ago, when there was no such thing as a catfish rod, and my depthfinder was the oar of the boat and the length of my arm. I would be very surprised if we don't continue to see more states implement some type of limits upon catfish harvest in future years.
Here's what some of our neighboring states have in place
Iowa Rivers: daily bag limit 15, possession limit 30; Inland Lakes: daily bag limit 8, possession limit 30; Border lakes with Minnesota bag limit 8; No limit on Mississippi River
Indiana Streams: No limit; Lakes 10 fish limit any channel, blue, flathead catfish
Missouri Statewide: blue and flathead bag limit 5, possession 10; Channel cat bag 10, possession 20. Mississippi river daily+bag limit is 20 channel/blue cat and 10 flatheads
Wisconsin Statewide: channel/flathead 10 in total; Mississippi (WI/MN border 25 in total; St Louis/St Croix 10 in total; Mississippi (WI/IA) no limit
Minnesota Statewide 5 fish, not one over 24" and no more than two flathead
Shawn