Better Pic of the Strange Catch!

[wildcatcreek]

[slim1]

that is the ugliest thing I have seen on the end of a line....wow

[Coach1310]

Looks like a big Mud Puppy.

[mcary]

That could just be a mud puppie as I've heard them referred to, but I've never seen one personally. I also know of an invasive species from China called the Snakehead that had a lot of Fish and Wildlife types concerned because it is a voracious predator and can literally move to new bodies of water with those crazy legs it possesses. You may want to forward a picture of that to your local DNR officer, just in case. I'm sure someone else on the forum will have a better idea of what it is.

[DeeDee]

Sure looks like a mudpuppie.Did a search for them and this is the description it gave...

Features: Large, feathery, external gills, slender legs with four toes on each foot, laterally flattened tail, dark stripe running

through eye, snout is blunt, tail fins do not extend on to body

Coloration: Gray to brownish to almost black, stomach speckled gray with a few large dark spots, larvae and juvenile have broad dark strips down back that are border by yellow stripes

Habitat: Total aquatic (due to gills as only breathing apparatus), streams and weedy ponds, the mudpuppy needs water that has coverings (rocks, weeds or logs) and are more abundant in clear waters, but can withstand muddy water if clear water is available for reproduction, shelters by day in deep water under rocks and wood overhangs. Mudpuppies are primarily nocturnal, but may be active during they day in muddy or weed-choked water. They

are active throughout the year.

Reproduction: Sperm is exchanged in fall and fertilization is internal. Eggs are laid in spring. Females lay eggs in a nest under

stones or logs at water depths over 10 cm. 18-180 eggs are laid at a time.

Larval Stage: Females may stay with eggs during incubation. Larvae take four weeks to hatch and take five to eight years to

attain sexual maturity. First breeding occurs when individual reaches 20 cm in length. Their reproductive life can span over

25 years.

Feeding Habits: Feeds at night on fish, crayfish, aquatic insects, worms, fish eggs; they rely heavily upon olfactory cues to find

their prey.

Range: Mudpuppies widely range form Eastern U. S. to Southern portions of Canada, from southern Quebec to Northern Georgia, primarily west of the Appalachians, expanding as far west as North Dakota

Necturus maculosus can be found typically in the Eastern United

States. They tend to reside under rocks and logs in large rivers and lakes. They have been previously found at depths of up to seventy feet (LeClere). A typical mudpuppy will be eight to thirteen inches in length and reddish brown colored with black spots. Their heads are large and somewhat flat with large maroonish colored gills on the sides (Siebert). This species seems to eat whatever it finds, but some common foods would be worms, crayfish, fish eggs, salamanders and insects. Since their vision is poor they must rely on other

senses to catch their prey (LeClere). A male and female N. maculosus will typically mate in the fall, and the female will lay her eggs in late spring. The female will place her eggs at the top of her nest, which is buried under a rock or some other rock like object. She will then stay to protect her eggs until they have hatched into larvae. The exact time at which she leaves them varies from one female to another (LeClere). It can take up to five years for a N. maculosus to develop into a sexually mature adult, and their sexual life span is about twenty-five years. N. maculosus has three stages of

development the egg, the larva, and the adult stage. This species of salamander is fully aquatic and usually nocturnal. They are also solitary except for when they are reproducing (Siebert).

www.herpnet.net/Iowa-herpetology/amphibians/salamanders/

mudpuppy.html

[badfish]

Yeah looks like a mud puppy we catch those during the winter on rush lake. I think we caught like 6 in one day once and the first time we did it really freaked us all out cuz we had no idea what it was. But now we normally use the aqua view to make sure there not biting our hooks anymore.

[Steve Foss]

It could also be a siren or a he!!bender, especially if this was caught in Indiana. They get darn big and are found in those southern states. How long was this critter?

[goblueM]

absolutely a mudpuppy, don't bother clogging up the DNR with a panicked email...

[Dbl]

I agree mudpuppy, I've unfortunately had a couple on the end of my line.

[goblueM]

they're awesome for aquariums, IMO. Have some at the DNR, they eat all the dead fish that fall to the bottom.

[Steve Foss]

This was caught in Indiana, not Minnesota. It's hard to see the size of the salamander in the pic, but if the Styrofoam container is a typical nightcrawler container, this could easily be longer than a foot.

Check out the siren and he!!bender.

[huntnfishsd]

Strange catch to say the least! That is one ugly mud puppy!

[JayinMN]

A snakehead is a fish, thats definitely an amphibian. Whatever it is, I think its darn neat. I had two mud puppies when I was a kid that I bought from the pet store. A few months later they turned into tiger salamanders, so they were not really mud puppies. They were some huge salamanders though.

[Sandmannd]

That's nasty lookin'. Looks like a mud puppy to me.

[JAR JAR]

Eelpout with legs????? Eelpuppy????????

Jar Jar

[The_Lee]

That is ugly as [PoorWordUsage]... I would be freaked out if I caught one without seeing one before...