late report catfishing at utah lake

[Jedburton]

after my ochem final a friend and I headed out to utah lake for some night catfishing and had a good night of fishing. This is a picture of my bigest fish. It was 11 lbs and 32 inches long. We also caught an 8 lbs and 7lb as well. It was a fun night, Sorry the pic doesnt look great it was taken on a camera phone, but you get the idea,
jed
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[Kraizee_Skot]

Nice fish! What area were you fishing at and what were you using for bait, if you don't mind me asking?
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]That looks kinda like the backdrop of the Lindon Boat Harbor area to me...
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[Jedburton]

yea it was at lindon over by the reeds. I caught him on a white bass head from a 7 inch white bass,
jed
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[Jedburton]

little side note if anyone wants to try and catch him again (it was a him by the way). I sent him back for someone else to tussel with. when they get that big I worry about concentrated contaminants and they don't taste as good that big anyway,
jed
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sorry, Jed. That is a female.[/#0000ff]
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[Jedburton]

please elaborate, I thought I knew how to sex catfish?

P.S. I did some research after posting this and still can't find anything on sexing channel cats other than an article that says it is almost impossible without an ultrasound. Just curious if you have some links in your vast fishcyclopedia that could help. Thanks in advance if you do,
jed
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[JBinUTAH]

Males are usually larger and have broader heads than females. As spawning season approaches, males become lean, develop large muscular heads, and turn a dark bluish to black color.
[left]Females' heads are narrower than their bodies when viewed from the top. As spawning season approaches, they develop soft, swollen bellies. Their color remains gray to olive.
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[left]Turn the fish belly up. Two or three openings are present. The opening nearest the head is the anus. The one nearest the tail is the genital opening.

[left]Males: The genital opening is at the end of a fleshy, nipple-like structure. This is called the genital papilla. It becomes swollen and rigid as spawning time approaches.
[left]Females: The genital area is oval and flat. There are two openings separated by a small flap of skin. A slit or groove is located at the head end of the genital area. The urinary opening is located at the tail end of the genital area. The genital area becomes swollen and reddish in color as spawning time approaches.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Females usually have heads that are about the same width, or narrower than their bodies...and usually have lighter color. However, some females will color up at spawning.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Males often have heads wider than their bodies, and big mouths with big lips. They are almost always a darker color...from blue/grey to dark black. They are what the UL goobers call "blue channels". [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the pics below there is a tan colored female next to a darker male...and two pictures of males that are clearly much different that the picture of your "male".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Girl kitties are purtier. Some of the big males get downright YUGLY.[/#0000ff]
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[Jedburton]

thanks for the info although i should have taken a picture from the top down because although it does look a little lighter in the pictures I posted, from the top down its head was awfully dark and the head is much wider than the body. I worried about not taking a top down picture because of that. He also had awfully big lips like those other "male" pictures you have on there. Now I wish i would have taken it the other way. Also if it was in fact a female it was definitely spawned out or it would have had a bigger belly and weighed more for its size,
jed

p,s, here is another pic where you can kind of see what I am talking about although I still kick myself for not taking one from the top down.
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[REPETER]

Wow, I now know way more than I ever hoped to about sexing catfish. Nice fish, not bad photos from the phone either.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]That third picture looks like a different fish. But, based on the coloring and the body shape I think I will stick with my FEMALE opinion. The large mamas can get dark heads during the spawn, but males are usually a dark grey or black over their whole body. And, most of the cats in Utah Lake spawned a month ago.[/#0000ff]
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[Therapist]

TD, I did not know that you had a PhD in Icthology !! I doubt that a lot of PhD's would be able to give as much information about kitty kats as you just did !!! "book larning" vs experience !!!!

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Matt.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]While I was unable to finish what I started...getting a career in marine biology...I have accumulated a lot of "book larnin'" on "icky-ology"...both in classroom and private studies. I have caught virtually every species of catchable fish in the US...freshwater and salt...and I can spout the scientific nomenclature for most of them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]However, as you well know, it does not matter how much you know (or think you know) the fish can humble you pretty quickly. Just about the time you begin to think you have a handle on a species...or on certain waters...you find out how much you don't know.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is one of the great things about fishing. Always more to learn, and relearn. I love the research.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually, I have several degrees. A BS, MS and PhD. You know what BS means. MS is more of the same...and PhD is piled higher and deeper.[/#0000ff]
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[Tracker_Guy]

TubeDude here is a question for you. We were at Bird Island on Saturday evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and only caught 3 Channels in 5 hours of fishing. They were all nice fish around 7 lbs and my buddy insisted on keeping them for table fair. They had huge bellies on them and I told my friend to let me know what was inside them to see what they were eating. He called and told me that they were full of eggs and had absolutely no food in there stomachs at all.

So my questions are:

1) you say that most of them have already spawned and I am just wondering when they usually spawn and for how long? I always thought it was around the first of June but I don't really know hence the question.

2) Could this be the reason that we didn't catch as many fish as usual? Do they feed less during the spawn/postspawn? Or do they usually feed more during the spawn/post spawn? Im ? [crazy]

Either way these fish were loaded with eggs so I guess not all of them have spawned yet right?
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[metal_fish]

Regardless of its sex that is a huge channel and good job catching it and releasing it!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sorry, no simple answer on why you didn't catch more fish. The fish keep their own schedules and move around for both food and spawning. That is why it is good to have several alternate spots to hit and several kinds of baits on every trip.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I made the statement that the fish had spawned last month. Actually, I should have said that the spawning "started" last month. There were already spawned out females being caught before the end of May. But, as you discovered, there are still unspawned females to be caught. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Two potential reasons for that. One, the fish have not found nests and males to accomodate them. That happens. Seems to be a lot more females than males among the catfish of Utah Lake. In some years there are females that do not spawn and either dump their eggs (for the carp) or reabsorb them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Reason number two is more likely. Mama Nature, in her infinite wisdom, does not "put all her eggs in one basket"...with any species. Almost all species have an "extended" spawn, as a hedge against potential disasters. Carp, for example, can be seen thrashng and splashing around the edges of the lake from mid April through the first of July. I have caught or shot them (with a bow) in mid summer with ripe roe still inside, and have seen 3" carp minnows (from earlier spawns) swimming in the same areas as the "late bloomers".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Catfish generally will spawn close together, if the weather patterns are steady and the temperatures rise at a measured pace. However, in a topsy turvy springtime, with temperatures going up and down, the annual rituals can become . Some cats react to the lengthening daylight hours and produce eggs and milt for a "normally" scheduled spawn. Others unconsciously delay the maturing of their reproduction organs until the ambient temperatures insure a healthy survival rate for the eggs and fry.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The end result is that anglers catch fish both with and without ripe eggs over an extended period of time and have a tough time figuring out just when the fish really do spawn.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As to the no food in the stomachs, I can't answer that for a certainty. Both male and female cats feed actively during their spawning periods...unlike other species...like walleyes. If they had no food it was probably because they were staging to spawn in the rocks and there was not a supply of food in that area. The catfish that spawn in the reeds around the shoreline often have small white bass, crawdads and other food in them at this time. Rodents (like voles) and amphibians (like frogs) and small snakes are also part of the shore hugging catfish diet. I have also found baby waterfowl in their guts at this time of year.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I haven't fished the island much the past few years, but in years past it was my experience that there was almost always some spot around there that had active catfish during the summer. On more than one occasion we would move from place to place, not catching much, and then suddenly get swarmed with hungry kitties. Not always. There are some bad sounds out there too...like the sound of a prop hitting rocks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Don't know if that added anything. All I can say is that every year seems to be the same in some ways and different in other ways. Over time you build a mental database that at least suggests where to start and how to fish...and then you let the fish tell you what they want and how they want it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After many years of chasing kitties on Utah Lake, I am not surprised by anything I hear anymore. And, I believe almost anything...up to a point. I still have a problem with some of the urban legends about the hundred pound flatheads the carp seining guys used to catch out of there.[/#0000ff]
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[Tracker_Guy]

Thank you for the reply TD. Your right there is no rhyme or reason to why you catch more fish one time and less another. I mostly was wondering whether they tend to slow down during spawning. You answered my question, thank you.
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[Out4aFloat]

I don't know anything about sexing a catfish. But it would definetly be more then 11lbs if it hadn't spawned. The first part of may I caught one that went just over 11lbs and it was only 32".

Nice looking fish anyway. Pics look good to me.
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