Looking for Blues

[catnipmn]

Thought I would ask for some help. I have a week off this summer and looking to go find some blue action. I would be driving and have a boat. Now for your help. Where would you go?

Thanks,

catnipmn

[Scott K]

I havent caught alot of blues lately, but the ones I have caught have been right on the edge of a current break. As for a location, it would depend on where you are coming from, and where you want to be, there are a few in the mn river that are worth targeting. I have caught a few around my area, and I am sure you can find them any where up or down the river from me.

[Ralph Wiggum]

There aren't any blues in Minnesota.

[Scott K]

There are blues in the mn, I have caught a few here and there, as I said I havent caught one for a few years, but, if you fish it enough, you will catch one here and there. I caught a 21 lb, blue 3-4 years ago in a catfishing contest, in my area, there were a few blues entered, so they are there.

[Flaco651]

I don't know how far your willing to drive, but obviously you will have leave MN. The Missouri river would probably be a good one..

[hanson]

There aren't any Blue Cats in MN. Oops.. my bad, the fish aquariums at Cabelas have a few.

The DNR doesn't even keep a state record for one so if you happened to catch any Blue, it would be a new state record. If you do happen to catch what you think is a Blue Cat, I'm sure the DNR would love to see it, I would too!

You more than likely misidentified a large channel cat. I know there are channel cats in the Minnesota that are 20lbs or more. I have friends that have caught them.

I posted these photos before but one of them is a channel cat and one is a blue cat. There is only 1 way to tell the difference and it is not color. The difference is pretty obvious in the photos if you know what to look for.

[hanson]

As to good Blue Cat destinations...

Missouri River - Yes!

Mississippi River further south - Yes!

Missouri, in general is a pretty good Blue Cat destination. Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Reservoir are pretty well know blue cat haunts.

If you really want to travel, the James River in Virginia is probably king! Santee Cooper (Lakes Moultrie & Marion) is also well known.

[catnipmn]

I will be going south any cities that you could recommend on the missouri and on the sippi how much further? Thanks for the help.

[skunk-ape]

Didn't someone supposedly catch a blue out towards Lac Qui parle a few years back and later is was discovered it wasn't caught there or something like that?

Anyway, the only place I ever fished for blues was in the Grafton/Alton, Illinois area. I had good luck for the short amount of time I put in there but I was fishing with a buddy from St Louis who knew what he was doing. This area is also where the current record blue is from.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Hanson, I love that pair of photos.

Top one - channel cat, rounded anal fin, no hump near dorsal fin

Bottom one - blue cat, straight anal fin, slight hump near dorsal fin

You can also count the rays on the anal fin, but that's tough to do from a photo.

[Scott K]

Im sorry I may have been mistaken about it, but the judge at the contest said it was a blue, and thats what I thought it was, I have seen them regesterd there before. The judge at the contest has been doing it for many years, one would have figured he knew what he was talking about!

[hanson]

4wanderingeyes-

The presence of Blue Cats in the great state of MN is cause for much debate, thats for sure. The simple fact is that most Minnesotans don't have a clue what a Blue Cat looks like. I hate to say it but some Minnesotans wouldn't know the difference between a bullhead and a channel cat if they were side by side, let alone a blue cat. And like I tried to point out, there is 1 very distinguishable difference and that is the number of rays on the anal fin. That is the only way to tell. The judge more than likely just didn't know what he was talking about.

I would also like to add that it would not surprise me one bit if blue cats started to show up in Minnesota in the future. They more than likely will be in the lower Mississippi before anywhere else. The only thing from stopping them is a little swimming, thats it. I'm not sure if it is a climate thing or a forage thing that is stopping them but they sure aren't in a hurry to move north.

[Scott K]

Hanson,

thanks for the info, I didnt know, I was looking at just the color, and was told thats what it was, is a blue, you said look at the # of rays on the anal fin, what is the # difference?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Channel cat - outer edge of anal fin rounded with 24-29 rays

Blue cat - outer edge of anal fin straight with 30-36 rays

[Scott K]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind. This years contest I will ask the judge about it also , and see if he knows the actual difference.

[sparcebag]

Check out The native fish conservancy site in left column click articles,find blue cats in minnesota.1977 6000 stocked in St Croix 1992 mississippi in Winona reports of blues caught Well read the article

[Larry FlatCaster]

This is a duplicate post from an earlier thread in the catfish forum about a week prior to this thread.

Very interesting info as Sparcebag had eluded too.

http://www.nativefish.org/articles/BlueCatInMinnesota.php

The link above talks about an attempt back in 77 to stock Blue cats in the Lower St.Croix. Blues are similar to channels in some ways, but for some reason they don't take to the waters up here.

Unfortunately have not been any confirmed sightings from anyone in the last 20 years.

[DARK30]

It seems Blues prefer really big,deep water with little or no winter ice. Lock and Dam #19 at Keokuk, IA. has been calling me for awhile...So has the Mo. River at Yankton,SD. A days drive will put you in Blue country.

[sparcebag]

Yankton SD?? Point the boat south on 35 hit missouri in KC theres your Blues Missouri River down there.Or even farther downstream if ya like to drive.

[catnipmn]

Thanks for the info! Will check them out or at least one of them.

[Scott M]

Right on! Great picture of the anal fins. I remember hearing about that deal in Lac Qui Parle. The fish ended up being from Missouri or something. The guy got busted because they were able to identify something in the background.

The standards for state record fish are really tough, international even tougher (I guess that's why the new international Largemouth Bass will be worth millions to the capturer)....the state standards actually just got tougher from something I recently read. You have to get a DNR biologist to confirm your fish, among other things. If you have CO #'s in your phone and you are a trophy hunter, you had better put a fish biologist's # in there too!

Great catfish pics... I wish I was out on the river now!

[sparcebag]

As I type this the NEW record Bass is being verified in California, It was C&R with witnesses and a certified scale.Old record 22#4oz. new 22# 8oz. To look it up I think it was in the Native Fish Conservency web site.