Welcome To Catfish Unlimited.Com
Learn more about the catfish, catfish farming, catfish cooking and just about everything related to catfish from the resources on Catfish Unlimited.com. Some common names for catfish - spotted catfish, river catfish, channel catfish.
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Flathead Catfish - Other names: yellow cat, mud cat, shovelhead cat, johnnie cat, goujon, appaluchion, opelousas.
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Flathead catfish are typically pale yellow (hence the name "yellow cat") to light brown on the back and sides, and highly mottled with black and/or brown. The belly is usually pale yellow or cream colored.
A flattened head, tiny eyes, squarish tail and protruding lower jaw distinguish the flathead from other catfish and contribute to it being placed in a genus of its own. The tail fin is only slightly notched, not deeply forked as is the case with blue and channel catfish. Young fish may be very dark, almost black in appearance. Small flatheads may be confused with yellow or brown bullheads.
Habitat - Flatheads are found mainly in large rivers and their major tributaries. They prefer long, slow-flowing, moderately-turbid streams. Adult flatheads are solitary and spend most of their time in deep water near cover such as log jams or fallen trees.
Spawning Habits - Flathead catfish may spawn from late May through August. Males construct nests by excavating a shallow depression in a natural cavity (a hollow log, cave, or crevice) or near a large object. Females are encouraged by males to lay their eggs in the nest. Over 100,000 eggs may be found in a golden-yellow egg mass which is guarded viciously by the male. Young generally hatch in four to six days. They may school together for several days near the nest, but soon disperse and seek shelter under rocks or brush.
Feeding Habits - Fingerlings feed on insect larvae, juveniles feed on small fish and crayfish, while adults feed almost exclusively on fish. Adults are usually solitary, each staking out a favorite spot, typically in deeper water or under cover, during the day. Flatheads are predatory fish and will consume bass, bream, shad, crayfish and often feed on other catfish. Large flatheads sometime congregate where food is plentiful such as near tailraces of dams. They often feed at the surface or in shallow water at night, returning to their residence in a hole or brush pile to rest during the day. They rarely eat dead or decaying matter.
Sporting Qualities - Extremely strong fighters. Their solitary lifestyle, however, makes them more difficult to catch than other catfish. They bite best at night while in shallow water looking for food. To catch flatheads, anglers typically fish on the bottom using heavy tackle with live or freshly cut fish. Rod and reel anglers may have the greatest success with flathead catfish just below reservoir dams. The flathead catfish is one of the largest freshwater sportfish, being outmuscled only by the blue catfish. Where mature populations exist, 50-pounders are not unusual. Typically, the largest fish are caught by trotliners, who have landed specimens in excess of 110 pounds.
Eating Quality - The species is highly regarded as a food fish when taken from clean water. The meat is white, firm, and flaky, with an excellent taste.
Locations - The native range includes a broad area west of the Appalachian Mountains encompassing large rivers of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio basins. The range extends as far north as North Dakota, as far west as New Mexico, and south to the Gulf including eastern Mexico.
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