Possible new Pa. state record Flathead

[Wilson]

Still not verified by the Pa. Fish Commission but.......


https://www.dailyitem.com/news/selinsgrove-man-reels-in-what-may-be-state-record-catfish/article_059aa1bc-22c4-11ec-ad3f-5b5606d7f38a.html

[bigfishy]

Good read 👍

[dakota560]

Read a post about this yesterday that made no sense. Said another problem with receiving state record accreditation is when the fish was measured, it was help upward by the mouth, not laid flat on the ground and a tape measure was used as opposed to a metal straight ruler. If weight is the measurement of choice for records, why would length or how they measured the fish factor into it at all.

As far as the need for a Commissioner being witness, the angler was more concerned with releasing the fish back live which he did as opposed to waiting for the Commissioner to be available. There had to be fifty or more people who witnessed the weight being taken on a certified scale that was zeroed out and calibrated. I hope they don't use a technicality to screw this guy out of the record.

Fish of a lifetime, anglers did everything right and swam the fish at the launch when the big girl swam away like a champ. I hope Pa. doesn't prefer they kept the huge fish in a tub, risk letting it die so that the Commissioner could be there. Think the fish measured at 66", huge fish and again great job by the anglers involved.

[thmyorke1]

Read a post about this yesterday that made no sense. Said another problem with receiving state record accreditation is when the fish was measured, it was help upward by the mouth, not laid flat on the ground and a tape measure was used as opposed to a metal straight ruler. If weight is the measurement of choice for records, why would length or how they measured the fish factor into it at all.



yea not making sense to me either, i would figure states want records to be broken, assume it gives a boost in media and encouragement to other people to start fishing if records can be set.

[dakota560]

https://youtu.be/3w-qefdJvDo

Here's the video of the weigh in and the release. If these anglers don't get the record, the state should reconsider it's criteria for accreditation. When the video appears, scroll back to the beginning. Amazing catch.

[thmyorke1]

agree, nonetheless he had at least that whole crowd in awe :D

[FASTEDDIE29]

Amazing catch! Congrats to the angler. That’s a fish of a lifetime. Our neighbors in PA respect it. We should kinda get on board here in NJ. It’s a recognized trophy species all over the place but of course, as always, NJ had to be all special with there kill this, kill that nonsense. Hahaha!
FLATHEAD
LIVES
MATTER:D

[dakota560]

https://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing/joe-granata-catches-flathead-catfish/

Stud of a Flathead, check out the video. 65 lbs. Incredible fish and fishery.

[bulletbob]

Yeah happy for the angler, its a great fish, but between those things as well as the Muskies, Smallmouth Bass, and especially Walleyes have been decimated in parts of the river... Every fall and winter we got an influx of Walleyes from the more southerly sections of the river, and now they are gone.. I used to catch a dozen on a good dusk or dawn session, and there were 10 inch "spikes" by the millions.. All gone.. I no longer catch any Walleyes in the River, after decades of catching hundreds a year,,, No one even fishes for them any longer ... SMB have been less affected since they don't migrate as much as Walleyes do, but they too have seen a nasty downturn in numbers.. Fish the size of a Flathead don't eat little rock dwelling minnows, They eat stuff a foot or more long, and the river Walleyes and SMB are right on bottom in the same space as those big hungry voracious catfish.

I could be wrong, but as the Flathead and Musky populations in the river went up, everything else went down.
Haven't caught a sunny, perch or rock bass in the river in almost 10 years either... Just as with the bass and walleyes,they were always there, until one day they weren't.... bob

[dakota560]

Yeah happy for the angler, its a great fish, but between those things as well as the Muskies, Smallmouth Bass, and especially Walleyes have been decimated in parts of the river... Every fall and winter we got an influx of Walleyes from the more southerly sections of the river, and now they are gone.. I used to catch a dozen on a good dusk or dawn session, and there were 10 inch "spikes" by the millions.. All gone.. I no longer catch any Walleyes in the River, after decades of catching hundreds a year,,, No one even fishes for them any longer ... SMB have been less affected since they don't migrate as much as Walleyes do, but they too have seen a nasty downturn in numbers.. Fish the size of a Flathead don't eat little rock dwelling minnows, They eat stuff a foot or more long, and the river Walleyes and SMB are right on bottom in the same space as those big hungry voracious catfish.

I could be wrong, but as the Flathead and Musky populations in the river went up, everything else went down.
Haven't caught a sunny, perch or rock bass in the river in almost 10 years either... Just as with the bass and walleyes,they were always there, until one day they weren't.... bob

Bob read this article and you might see things differently.

https://www.cbf.org/blogs/save-the-bay/2020/08/smallmouth-bass-are-making-a-comeback.html

I've read numerous articles about the impacts pollution has had on the Susquehanna impacting a number of species including smallmouths. Catfish (flatheads included) like carp have tolerances to pollution and overall water quality much different than other species. They'll flourish while other stocks succumb to water quality issues giving the appearance flatheads are cannibalizing a river.

After you read the above article about smallmouths staging a comeback after substantial environmentally driven declines, read the article in the following link titled "May 2013 - The Susquehanna River - A Fishery in Decline". Look at the pictures of the bass with assorted lesions in the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Report. Look at the young of the year charts at the bottom of pages three and four in the May 2013 article. Farming, pesticide run off, environmental (flooding and urban run off), disease, etc. are killing the smallmouth fishery in the Susquehanna, not flatheads.

http://164.156.124.84/susq-impairment.htm

I read an article a month or so ago which identified four different diseases over the last few decades all causing catastrophic harm to the smallmouth fishery in the Susquehanna including lesions, infertility, eggs not hatching, and substantial fish die offs. I think it would be safe to assume walleyes are being effected as well. I'm sure if I look I'll find evidence of such and I'll post it here.

I'm sure flatheads eat smallmouths and walleye just as they eat carp and pan fish. They're active for only about 5 months of the year when water temperatures are above 60 usually from late May / early June through late September / early October in this area of the country. When temperatures get below 60 and during the winter, they're completely dormant and don't eat. Of the five months they're active, they don't feed during the spawn so at best they're feeding actively for maybe 4 - 5 months of the year at most.

I don't disagree they're big and like all bigger fish target larger forage. I don't believe there's any proof indigenous populations have been decimated or significantly impacted by their presence. Conversely flatheads have gotten a bad reputation as the cause of declines which in many cases have been proven to be "human population" related. We continue treating our waterways like waste dumps, the only fish able to tolerate our mistakes and survive the impacts to water quality will be catfish and carp.

Just my opinion but as I said there's a lot of documented science out there indicating problems to these big river systems is due to overpopulation, agriculture, climate change and pollution and it's negative impacts on the environment, not flatheads and muskies.

[dakota560]

Wasn't able to find much on walleye but two more articles of interest. All disturbing articles about the problems over population is causing the Susquehanna.

https://www.ydr.com/in-depth/news/2021/02/03/3-iconic-susquehanna-river-aquatic-species-struggle-survive/5853999002/

Second article is walleye specific:

https://www.outdoornews.com/2009/02/26/guides-worried-about-walleye-harvest-on-susquehanna-river/

I realize it's an older article but might still be relevant. Found it interesting as well where they indicate they stopped stocking walleye fry in three rivers, Susquehanna, Lehigh and Allegheny. Have to question at minimum what impact that's causing the fishery.

Many things impact the overall balance in these systems. Pollution is at the top of that list. Shad have apparently declined significantly in the Susquehanna, lose a part of the food chain and the entire balance in the system is altered. Juvenile shad are a major source of forage in rivers that support a shad fishery, if it declines a major source of forage base goes with it. Maybe even the decline in the smallmouth population has had an impact on walleye fishing since I'm sure walleyes feed on juvenile smallmouth as well.

I'm just not convinced flatheads are impacting indigenous species to any degree which would be reason for concern. Pollution, destruction of habitat, water quality, climate change etc. I believe are having significantly greater impacts on these systems. Unfortunately people point fingers in directions that fit their agendas and narratives. Science helps us see through those illusions and science is saying in this particular case the Susquehanna River has more than it's share of man made problems.