Willow Cat,Madtom or baby Flathead?

[Guest]

About a week and a half ago I was playing with a 24 lb flathead in a creek.I went back to that creek tonite and the fish was gone.I had set a few minnow traps and when I checked them tonite I came up with a bunch of crayfish and about 9 4 to 6"catfish of some kind.They were kind of long(in the tail)for their size and were a consistant yellow brown throughout their skin even on their belly.I think they were young of year flats(just because of the cat i found there last week)but I am not sure.Does anyone know what madtoms or willow cats look like and do they even swim in Minnesota waters?

[Guest]

The quickest method to tell if they are Madtom or stone cats is to check for a round like your thumb tail.

Channels and flatheads will have a fork shaped tail at any age. The flatheads are more boxed off on the edges and less of a fork.

Many anglers ID the madtoms as a baby flathead but the tail is a dead give away.

There are at least 6 verities of stonecat in the region, some are rare.

INFO on stonecats and madtom cats.

http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/fwb/fish/iafish/catfish/stonecat.htm

http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/fwb/fish/iafish/catfish/catfishf.htm

Hope this is of help to you.

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Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson
Backwater Guiding Service
10409 Co. Rd #17 S
Horace, ND. 58047

[email protected]

1-(701)-281-2300

[Guest]

Thanks B.E. I checked out those links it helped but I wasn't sure because there was no pictures,so i stopped at the library and found a book that had lots of pictures.I like picture books.I do believe what I had cought were stone cats because of the length of the body.I have heard that they are good bait and hopfully I will get some more to try.

[Guest]

Were they are legal to use they can be great bait. Try a 3-way drop with one tail hooked on a backwater or by slip fishing down stream into a whole.

Piggy walleye munch them big time as do sumo cats.

I have found burped up stoners on the boat floor often after netting a big fall fish.

Good hunting............><, ,>

[DARK30]

HEY FISHHEAD,
I FOUND THIS SITE WITH PICS. I DON'T HOW TO HIGHLIGHT IT TO CLICK ON BUT ITS: "NATIVEFISH.ORG". THEIR NEWSLETTER EDITOR WAS ELECTROFISHING THE CREEK DOWN BEHIND THE HOUSE LAST YEAR LOOKING FOR MINNOW DATA. WE PLAYED IN THE CREEK FOR QUITE A WHILE... NICE GUY.

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