Fisheries News

July 22
July 22, 2008
Medric J. "Spud" Auenson
July 24, 2008
July 22
July 22, 2008
Medric J. "Spud" Auenson
July 24, 2008

The flathead catfish (Pylodictus olivaris) goes by a number of common names: gougon, Opelousas cat, yellow cat, tabby cat, shovelnose cat and several others. It is a well known and highly respected fish for the commercial fishermen (and their customers) of the rivers of middle part of the United States. To these folks, this species is generally known as the best-eating fish in the river. The flesh of young flatheads is very mild and tender, and older fish remain excellent in flavor and texture. This is a major difference with their freshwater catfish cousins, the channel catfish and the blue catfish, both of which get tougher, fattier and stronger-flavored as they grow. In fact, many believe that the flathead catfish actually improves in food quality as it grows.

If the flathead catfish resembles the marine groupers by having excellent culinary qualities, it also resembles them in its feeding habits. While the youngest flatheads eat insects and small crustaceans, when they reach about a foot in length they graduate to eating fish. Large


flatheads are nearly completely piscivorous – like the groupers, they are big-mouthed and eat big


fish. Other catfish are high on the flatheads’ menu, as are sunfish.

Flatheads are a fast-growing species, averaging about 4 inches growth each year in a variety of habitats. Maximum age can be nearly 30 years, and anglers have landed fish up to 123 pounds. In many states, the biggest fish are caught in reservoirs, but that may be simply because more effort is expended there. Louisiana has a recent angling record fish: In July 2007, Roland Lasseigne caught a 95-lb flathead at Wax Lake. The flathead is well-adapted for river life and can be frequently found in fast-flowing sites as well as eddies and backwaters. Flatheads will also do just fine in lakes and reservoirs but generally are not recommended for small ponds. They are just too good at what they do – eat other fish.


Big flatheads tend to be solitary. They aggressively exclude other fish from their chosen place of cover, so that a snag or hole usually contains only one fish. This behavior is also similar to that displayed by big grouper, which will stake out the best territory on a reef or rig.


Native to the Mississippi, Mobile and Rio Grande drainages, the flathead has been introduced to waters both east and west of their native U.S. range. They make an excellent invasive species when put into new waters: They spread quickly and consume native populations of sunfishes and catfishes readily. In many systems, such as the Altamaha River drainage of Georgia, they’ve had serious impacts on native species, quickly depleting the numbers of redbreast sunfish and bullhead catfish. Efforts at eradication or control have had little success in these places. Most anglers feel that the best approach is just to allow unrestricted harvest of the flatheads.

Commercial fishers take most of their flatheads with hoop nets. The flathead is one fish that will readily enter a shady, small-mesh hoop net. Unbaited nets will out-fish baited ones for this species. Anglers catch small flatheads with worms or fresh cut shad, but the bigger fish are almost always taken on live bait. Bullheads and live bream or shad are considered the best baits, and some Midwestern fishermen specialize in taking only trophy- sized flatheads. Like all trophy fishing, this is a situation where only a single fish might be caught in a day’s (or, most often, night’s) effort, but it is liable to be a monster. Flatheads are sometimes also taken by hand from shallow lairs by “grabbling,” and by sinking wooden boxes that act as artificial stump holes. Occasionally, the water in Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas gets clear enough that divers can spear catfish (including flatheads) in their stumpy dens.

Sources:

Catfish 2000: Proceedings of the International Ictalurid Symposium. Erwin, E. R., Hubert, W. A., Rabeni, C. F., Shramm, H. R., and T. Coon, editors. 1999. American Fisheries Society Symposium 24. Flathead Catfish: Biology, Fisheries and Management. Jackson, D. C. p 23-35.

Growth of Flathead Catfish in the Lower Mississippi River. Mayo, R. M. and H. M. Schramm. p 121-124.

Angler Attitudes Concerning the Management of the Introduced Flathead Catfish in the Altamaha River System, Georgia. Weller, R. R. and M. R. Geihsler. p 435-442.

Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association Fish Records

http://www.laoutdoorwriters.com/index.asp?pg=fr_list&div=3&wt=Freshwater&FishID=