Schuykill River Flatshead on Hook Shots-- Field and Stream

[Palawman30]

Heres a vid my buddy Pete shot with Field and Stream featuring the Schuykill River in Philly chasing big Flathead Catfish. Check it out!

 

 

https://youtu.be/4olMRvYnsuo

 

 

[Bucksnbows]

Such a bad fish to have released into the Delaware drainage and it looks like it was a mistake made by PA Boat and Fish Commission when they thought they were only stocking channel cats......

 

Kill them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We're not going to have any native fish left anywhere soon...it's depressing.  

[Palawman30]

Unfortunately there are way to many folks practicing catch and release on these fish. They are in the Big D but in no where near the numbers of the Schuykill. There just isn't much of a fishery for folks to target only them. The Schuykill on the other hand has a rediculous amount of these fish.

I don't necessarily believe they are all that bad. They are filling a nitch once held by musky as a top tier predator.

Other big water systems have them and also have some of the best bass fishing in the country... the potomac, Chesapeake etc..

[Bucksnbows]

Unfortunately there are way to many folks practicing catch and release on these fish. They are in the Big D but in no where near the numbers of the Schuykill. There just isn't much of a fishery for folks to target only them. The Schuykill on the other hand has a rediculous amount of these fish.

I don't necessarily believe they are all that bad. They are filling a nitch once held by musky as a top tier predator.

Other big water systems have them and also have some of the best bass fishing in the country... the potomac, Chesapeake etc..

Muskies are also not native to our area.  Flatheads are going to do a ton of damage to native fisheries.  That is not only my prognostication, but that of fisheries biologists at the state, federal and university levels who are working to eradicate non-native fish where feasible.  Flatheads and snakeheads are bad mojo for certain, and both now live in the Delaware drainage.  

[BowhunterNJ]

Cool video! Always interested to get Brian's take on the fisheries, never realized they were so damaging.

[Palawman30]

They are here so how will they now be eradicated?

 

I can't imagine it's even possible at this point

[Bucksnbows]

They are here so how will they now be eradicated?

 

I can't imagine it's even possible at this point

 

Probably not possible.  Same with snakeheads although the Division continues its efforts to eradicate them in southern NJ.  We are seeing more and more attempts to wipe out non-native fish in certain systems to reestablish natives.  But the cat is very much out of the bag when it comes to so many of these fish being released where they shouldn't have.  I'm

 

involved right now in a project to remove the remaining wild brown trout from a Musky tributary to reestablish only native brook trout after a detergent spill on May 5th into the tributary.  We have begun electro fishing out the browns and moving them to another nearby stream where they are well established and then we plan to electro fish a nearby Musky trib with only brookies in it and bring some of those fish to the other trib that suffered the detergent spill.   

Edited June 1, 2016 by Bucksnbows

[Axiom]

"I quit a job once to fish the spawn"...

[Bucksnbows]

"I quit a job once to fish the spawn"...