Is it true

[Andrew Erickson]

Is it true that flat head catfish were introduced to the river illegally?I saw something that said that on a HSOforum at school.

[hanson]

Which river?

The only rivers in the state of Minnesota that have populations of flathead catfish are the Minnesota, Mississippi, and St. Croix Rivers and any tributaries or feeder creeks to those bodies of water.

If Minnesota never had flathead catfish, it would be entirely possible for them to swim upstream on the Mississippi through the locks into the bodies of water they inhabit now.

So I would say no, they weren't introduced illegally.

[rushing]

They are native to the Minnesota River.

[Andrew Erickson]

ok then that HSOforum was wrong thanks though

[DARK30]

Just curious...whats the HSOforum?

[Dennis Steele]

Interesting.

I have always thought that they were native to the MN River system as well. All the information I have ever read shows their native range through out the Missy as far north as the cities, up the Croix a ways and the entire MN river system.

I'd like to see that info as well.

I'll approve the link, so go ahead and post it.

[DARK30]

Ya, we'll approve it..... unless its Brian's bunch

I think the only illegal flattys are the ones in Lake Minnetonka

[DTro]

I've heard rumors of them "finding" their way to O'Dowds also. Who knows, maybe.

[Dennis Steele]

I wouldn't be surprised to find them in a few waters they aren't supposed to be in!!

Lots of "back yard biologists" out there!

[Andrew Erickson]

Heres all the stuff?you guys are probably right but here it is if you wanna see it.

Invasive Species - They Threaten Our Native Populations

4/3/2006

Introduction

The future of sunfish fishing in Georgia mountain lakes is threatened following the illegal introduction of blueback herring by anglers.

Georgia's best smallmouth bass fishery was ruined by anglers who moved spotted bass from Lake Lanier to Lake Chatuge.

The popular redbreast sunfish and bullhead fisheries in the Altamaha River Basin were decimated by flathead catfish which were illegally introduced.

The Zebra mussel is moving south and is likely to be carried into Georgia on boats or by individuals. Introduced into the Great Lakes in 1985, Zebra mussels are a serious threat to Georgia's native mussels (many are endangered) and can clog water intakes for drinking , power and your outboard motor costing millions of dollars to control.

Moving live fish, aquatic plants, or mussels from one body of water to another can cause irreversible damage to the ecological balance of the our lakes, ponds, rivers or streams.

You can help by taking these simple actions:

Never release live bait fish, aquarium fish, aquatic plants or mussels into our waters.

Dispose of bait fish after fishing so that they cannot enter a lake, pond, river or stream .

Remove all plants, plant fragments, and mussels from your boat, motor, trailer, live well and landing nets after taking your boat out of the water.

Clean your boat and equipment before leaving the landing.

Dry your boat and equipment for 10 - 14 days before using or launching again.

By taking these simple actions, you can help the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division protect Georgia's native aquatic resources and ensure good fishing for future generations.

Please remember: only DNR Fisheries staff are authorized to stock or move live fish or aquatic plants from one body of water to another.

To find out more information about aquatic nuisance species and ways that you can protect our waters, visit the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers program wesbite at www.protectyourwaters.net. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is a cooperating partner in this program.

[DARK30]

I've heard that before. Some places out east don't particularly care for flathead catfish. Maybe they just need to skip the bullheads and sunnies and tie into one once!

I suppose though, there would be fisheries where flatheads don't belong. They are after all a very hungry and very effective eater.

[rushing]

Yeah I hear in Fla they have a problem with introduced flats. Now if someone introduced something that ate flats I would be [PoorWordUsage]ed and impressed.

[Dennis Steele]

That article states that they were illegaly introduced to a lake in Georgia, not that they were illegaly introduced to the Minnesota River.

[Maashkinoozhe]

Yeah, I'm positive the flathead is native to the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. It's in the east coast states where they are having problems with flatheads - they are not native in a lot of those states there and some overzealous fishermen try to introduce flatheads to rivers that never had them. The DNRs of those states don't want them in because they are eating up fish unused to flatheads. Same thing happened with the Colorado River - some folk introduced different kinds of trout, bass and northen to rivers that never had them, and they've wreaked havoc on the native species. The Colorado Pikeminnow is in trouble there (biggest fish in the minnow family at a max size of 6 ft. long!).

Dave D.