The 62 pound Flathead Catfish is clearly off the chart showing weight attained at different ages below. A 20-pound flathead is fairly common 50-pound flatheads are less common and cats weighing 100 pounds and reaching five feet long are trophies.
As for the size to choose from it just depends on what size catfish you are after.
How long does a flathead catfish live. Discover How Long Flathead catfish Lives. We use the most recent data from these primary sources. AnAge UMICH Max Planck PanTHERIA Arkive UKC AKC.
Flathead catfish live up to about 20 years old. How fast do they grow in Indiana. Flatheads reach a length of about 3 inches in the first year and adults are commonly 15 to 45 inches long and 1 to 45 pounds.
Some can grow as large as 70 pounds or more. What do they eat. Average lifespan of the flathead catfish is 12 to 14 years but one recorded flathead catfish lived 24 years.
Adults are usually solitary each staking out a favorite spot under a tree or in a cove in deep water. To reach a 25 pound trophy mark Flathead Catfish have to survive to at least 7 or 8 years. Once they reach that size they have must eat a lot to grow larger and are highly vulnerable to hook-and-line or trotline fishing.
The 62 pound Flathead Catfish is clearly off the chart showing weight attained at different ages below. I will review both of these studies and post a very condensed set of statistics when time allows. The Kansas study found that 3 year old flatheads were 115-165.
I really want to know and let other fishermen know how old these fish are that we catch. Also to know how long it will take for a replacement when a fish is harvested. A flathead or 3 meterie is one of a number of small to medium fish species with notably flat heads distributed in membership across various genera of the family Platycephalidae.
Many species are found in the Indo-Pacific especially most parts of Australia where they are popular sport and table fish. They inhabit estuaries and the open ocean. Flathead can grow up to 3m in length and 15kg in.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife also states that the average lifespan of flathead catfish is 12 to 24 years although there has been a flathead that lived for 24 years. Flatheads spawning begins in the Spring as water temperatures rise. Flatheads are a very widely dispersed species of catfish and also some of the biggest.
A 20-pound flathead is fairly common 50-pound flatheads are less common and cats weighing 100 pounds and reaching five feet long are trophies. Unless you are able to fish for blue cats white sturgeon or alligator gar you wont hook into a fish that grows larger. If playback doesnt begin shortly try restarting your device.
Videos you watch may be added to the TVs watch history and. Your catch will be mostly males but they are in prime condition and maximum weight. Also the larger fish select prime spawning habitat and defend it from other males.
The spawn is not a sudden continous event but a cycle that may take 2-3 weeks. Dominant males take charge of. Live baitfish is the best Flathead Catfish bait out there.
As for the size to choose from it just depends on what size catfish you are after. Yes the size is a factor too. While few would think of fishing for trophy Flathead with a 4 pound live carp is even a thing it is done.
If you know how much fish is in the water where you are fishing as well as the size of those fish it is easier to make a fishing rig. Flathead Catfish can live up to 28 years. The Flathead Catfish has been intentionally stocked in most cases.
In Idaho however flatheads were accidentally stocked instead of blue catfish Simpson and Wallace 1978. Populations in the Apalachicola River Florida probably spread from introductions upstream in the Flint River Georgia. It is believed that flatheads were.
If playback doesnt begin shortly try restarting your device. Videos you watch may be added to the TVs watch history and influence TV recommendations. Biologists are conducting research on the life history characteristics of introduced flathead catfish to gain a better understanding of this species.
One recent study reported movements of individual flatheads up to 25 miles over a 12-to 18-month period. Flathead catfish are one of Minnesotas largest fish. Large flatheads grow over 1 m 32 ft long and can weigh over 23 kg 50 lbs.
The Minnesota hook and line record is an amazing 318-kg 70 lbs. This is the second biggest state record fish the first is a 429-kg 94 lbs 4 oz lake sturgeon. This shy and private fish can easily reach the age of 12-14 years old but there are records of.
Documented State Record Flathead Catfish. Flathead catfish seldom thrive in small bodies of water like ponds and creekshabitats where channel cats and blue cats do just fine. However flatties are well adapted to life in rivers larger man-made reservoirs and many natural lakes where healthy populations often produce excellent fishing opportunities.
In rivers look for eating-size flatheads anywhere theres a steady water flow.