Blue catfish

[harvey lee]

I was at the race track tonight and a racer told me last night he caught a Blue on the Minnesota. I said I didn't know there were blues in the Minnesota or for that matter, Minnesota anywhere.

Anyone ever hear of a blue caught in the Minnesota.

he said he has caught them elsewhere and knows what they look like.

[harvey lee]

I guess if I would have done a search sooner, I would have found they are here.

http://www.aa-fishing.com/mn/minnesota-catfish-fishing.html

[mainbutter]

I always thought that blue cats in MN were fish tales, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if there are small populations, given just how many surprises there are for us in the many waters in this state.

[goblueM]

he caught a big old channel cat, people mistake them for blues that don't know what they are talking about

that HSOforum doesn't know what it is talking about either, the DNR site lists no state record blue catfish

[nsnutter]

I was wondering about the "58 lb MN blue cat record" as well lmao - really not that hard to id a blue from a channel if you know what to look for ... I still hear about old timers from my place of employment who swear they caught blues back in the day. lol

[nsnutter]

... of course I could be wrong ... this is from the "Experts" at Underwater World in Mall of America in their Mississippi River exhibit

The almighty "Blue Channel Catfish" - known to exceed 350 pounds in the Miss. River!!!

[Brad B]

Nick (nsnutter),

blues are in the mississippi but not in minnesota to get into them you need to go to iowa. the only place that had blues introduced in minnesota was the st croix back in the 70's. the dnr has not been able to confirm if they made it or not since the test netting they have done over the years have never resulted in a blue being caught. another thing to remember is blues wouldn't handle our winters very good. It's kind of like some people say there is flatheads in the mississippi by monti but in talking with the DNR fisheries office for the area they said there is no flats above the coon rapids dam.

[harvey lee]

he caught a big old channel cat, people mistake them for blues that don't know what they are talking about

that HSOforum doesn't know what it is talking about either, the DNR site lists no state record blue catfish

I do not believe it was a big old channel at 5 pounds.

This fellow is a straight shooter and seems to usually know what he is talking about and that is why I asked the original question.

I also did not believe his story but I have no reason to not believe him.

[DTro]

We hear it about once or twice a month from chatting with folks at the launch "yeah we caught some blues" or "got one small flathead and a blue".

There are some very light colored channels in the MN. I have yet to hear of an officially confirmed catch though, not one. The only way you are going to tell for sure is to count the rays on the anal fin.

[harvey lee]

I have no idea how to officially say it was a blue.

The guy said it was and that is all I have to go on.

I did not want to set and call him a liar and he did not have the fish in front of him to prove.

I guess if it is possible that they swim in the Minnesota and he tells me he caught one and he knows what he is talking about then I guess he did.

[goblueM]

i don't think he's a liar, I just think he misidentified a fish. DNR believes they are extirpated from MN and there has been no confirmed reports of any blue cats for decades

not only that, but the habitat is completely wrong in the MN river for blue cats. They are not there.

i run into people all the time that are 100% positive that they have caught a blue catfish, and even argue the fact with me. Every single time it is simply a channel catfish without spots and a grayish/blue hue to it

FYI new world record blue cat caught last night at Buggs Island (Kerr) Reservoir last night - 143 pounds

and i'm headed down there in 6 days!

[DTro]

i run into people all the time that are 100% positive that they have caught a blue catfish, and even argue the fact with me. Every single time it is simply a channel catfish without spots and a grayish/blue hue to it

FYI new world record blue cat caught last night at Buggs Island (Kerr) Reservoir last night - 143 pounds

and i'm headed down there in 6 days!

yep I would bet it was just an ID error.

that new WR Big Blue is Gigantic!!

[Iowa_Josh]

Word. I work with a guy who was one day blustering how he had caught them. Blustering really loud doesn't make you correct. They aren't even in Iowa hardly at all. Under Keokuk on the MISS and on the MO they go up farther.

[harvey lee]

i don't think he's a liar, I just think he misidentified a fish. DNR believes they are extirpated from MN and there has been no confirmed reports of any blue cats for decades

not only that, but the habitat is completely wrong in the MN river for blue cats. They are not there.

i run into people all the time that are 100% positive that they have caught a blue catfish, and even argue the fact with me. Every single time it is simply a channel catfish without spots and a grayish/blue hue to it

FYI new world record blue cat caught last night at Buggs Island (Kerr) Reservoir last night - 143 pounds

and i'm headed down there in 6 days!

If they are not in the Minnesota river, then he did not catch a blue.

I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt if they were present in the Minnesota.

[blakeb]

someone would have shown off one by now, i do believe that rogue blues must occur seeing as they are as far north as a couple hundred miles form the twin cities, tho they would be way to rare to actually catch, easier to win the powerball.

[vern]

Male channel cats are often very blue in color during the spawn. I'm sure that's where the confusion is coming from.

[nsnutter]

Nick (nsnutter),

blues are in the mississippi but not in minnesota to get into them you need to go to iowa. the only place that had blues introduced in minnesota was the st croix back in the 70's. the dnr has not been able to confirm if they made it or not since the test netting they have done over the years have never resulted in a blue being caught. another thing to remember is blues wouldn't handle our winters very good. It's kind of like some people say there is flatheads in the mississippi by monti but in talking with the DNR fisheries office for the area they said there is no flats above the coon rapids dam.

Brad - I know that blue cats live in the Missippi river ..... just not in MN. Clearly you missed the sarcasm associated with the picture I posted ...

[hanson]

The search function on this HSOforum absolutely sucks as I spent 20 minutes trying to find an old post of mine.

Years ago, I posted a photo of a 20lb channel cat I caught on the Red River alongside a photo of an about 20lb blue cat I pulled off the net. You'd think they were the same fish, thats how close they looked.

I'll keep searching but its ticking me off.

[Brad B]

Brad - I know that blue cats live in the Missippi river ..... just not in MN. Clearly you missed the sarcasm associated with the picture I posted ...

[slipperybob]

Remember the guy who claimed to had caught a blue in the MN River? It was a transported blue cat.

[goblueM]

yeah he admitted he caught it in the missouri river, right?

[rbs]

Wasn't there one that was supposedly caught under the dam at Lac qui Parle a couple years ago? I was thinking it was 50# or something

[SteveD]

At the MN DNR Catfish Workshop on the 14th of June we received briefings from each of the 4 DNR Fisheries Regions. The Region 3 Catfish Fact Sheet contains the following information and I quote:

... Blue catfish were stocked in 1977 in Lake St Croix and the stocking appeared to fail. No confirmed blue catfish reports exist in the East Metro office.

Joel Stiras was the one doing the presentation representing the East Metro Office.

[SteveD]

For those of you wondering how to tell the difference from a Blue Cat and a Channel Cat I pulled this from the Texas DNR HSOforum:

Channel Catfish and Blue Catfish

Channel Catfish

A Body with dark spots (spots may be absent in large adults)

B Outer margin of anal fin rounded, and anal fin with 24 to 29 rays

Blue Catfish

A Body without dark spots

B Outer margin of anal fin straight, and anal fin with 30 to 36 rays

[goblueM]

also for those of you wanting to know the difference, if you're wondering if you caught a channel cat or a blue cat in minnesota, its a channel cat