Flathead Catfish in NY state

[bulletbob]

They were  confirmed  a year ago maybe 2  through an angler photo as being present in the NY section of the susquehanna, but I was hoping it was an anomaly.. Its not, we caught one on a jig around Barton/Tioga a few days ago.. Not real big, maybe 3 pounds, but these things are bad news, they eat everything, and the last thing needed in that river is another species that is basically an eating machine that grows plenty big enough to eat gamefish such as bass and the already badly depleted walleye.. Ugly SOB- Kind of like a huge  flattened out Bullhead with a bigger mouth, wider head, more "toadlike" appearance, and a very mottled brown and greenish black color... Just another in a long line of unwanted, unneeded ,destructive species that somehow just appeared where they don't belong...bob

[Purple Witch Doctor]

What is it?

[bulletbob]

19 hours ago, Purple Witch Doctor said:

What is it?

as I stated in the heading of my post, its a Flathead Catfish... 

[Purple Witch Doctor]

6 hours ago, bulletbob said:

as I stated in the heading of my post, its a Flathead Catfish... 

Didn't know we had them.  I'll research it.Thanks

[JOE ESOX]

Cool fish. Not cool for the river, but since they are prevalent in the lower parts of the river , seems like it was only a matter of time…

[Purple Witch Doctor]

1 hour ago, JOE ESOX said:

Cool fish. Not cool for the river, but since they are prevalent in the lower parts of the river , seems like it was only a matter of time…

It's weird that they made it to NY ???

[bulletbob]

17 hours ago, Purple Witch Doctor said:

It's weird that they made it to NY ???

No they have been in Maryland, Pa, and NJ for years in the susquehanna. it was going to happen sooner or later.. Problem is they eat everything, andf the last thing that river needs is another big eating machine.. River already has a huge population of channel cats, Muskies, and the Flatheads out eat both of those... The walleye and SMB populations were already stressed, and something that gets huge and can eat lots of them can't be a good thing.. Walleyes especially are way down in population.. at one time it was nothing to catch 10-20 small sub 10 inch walleyes in an hour,, They were everywhere, and you could not get away from them sometimes, rushing to your lure before the big ones.. Then  over a few years, we  noticed that the smaller juvenile walleyes that drove us crazy were gone, and  mature fish became less abundant each year, until last year, ALL year, our catch for the entire year was 3 fish.. This year to date we have caught one... Something has stressed the population badly. of both SMB and Walleyes.. Flatheads can't be helping..bob