Catfish

[Wildwood_Deckers]

I have a question on a catfish my son caught.... we have caught numerous cats, but this one is a bit different... below is a pic of two cats side by side and there is only a 1 1/2 inch difference in length, yet the one cat has a mouth that you can stick your whole fist into, while the other only 3 fingers will fit.... In most ways it looks to be a just another channel cat, but the mouth is many times larger, and it isn't a flathead, or blue.... it measured 26 inches long... what do you think?

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f303/wildwood_deckers/DakotaTawasCats023.jpg

Thanks
Clyde

[Jitterbugger]

The left cat looks like the largest bullhead I have ever seen. The right is a mature channel cat. They lose their spots on the sides as they grow larger. The only Flatheads in Michigan are found solely in westardly flowing large rivers such as the St Joseph. Plus, Flatheads are usually dark brown and splotched, supremely ugly critters.

[Wildwood_Deckers]

I know the one on the left is a channel cat, I have caught thousand of these over the years.... and the one on the right would look like a large channel cat, but its only an inch and a half bigger than the the one on the left.....
Also, that is what I always thought about the flat heads too.... there are 2 listed as master angler catches from Lake Vanetten in Oscoda... I can see someone misidentifing them, but the DNR let them through???? LOL

Thanks for your response

Clyde

[outdoor junkie]

I'm no biologist, but it almost has the apperance of a small flathead to me. just my opinion.

[Frogfish101]

Right one is a channel cat, left is a yellow bullhead...a MONSTER at that. In Flatheads, their bottom jaw extends past the top jaw.

What did the bullhead measure?

[Bonz 54]

Jitterbugger, Sorry but you are incorrect on the Rivers that hold Flatheads. The Saginaw River system and its tributaries have a flourishing population of Flatheads in them. Several posters here, Chamookman and Baydog 2 and others have caught several Flatheads from that system, the largest being just over 22#. For those of you that are Cat-finatics, drifting cut bait or live Suckers downstream from any bridge or pilings is a good option. FRANK

[dobes]

I would say channel and flathead myself?

[DoninNe]

The one on the right is a spawning Male Cahnnel Catfish. During the spawn the males head swells up and they get two large bumps on both sides. Unsure about the on left. It looks like a channel catfish with a weird color phase. Bullheads have a big mouth similar to flatheads.

[Wildwood_Deckers]

Here is another pic, the one on the left I know is a channel cat for sure....
DoninNe, that makes sense...

Thanks everyone for the help....

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f303/wildwood_deckers/DakotaTawasCats026.jpg

Clyde

[DoninNe]

Also during the peak of the spawn the males will get very dark colored. Now with the last picture you can really tell they are both channel cats.

[catfishhoge]

You have a Channel cat and a flathead.

[Michigan Mike]

I've seen this before on local lakes and used to think they were
flatheads until I read up on them a bit and found that the
older males will be darker and have bigger heads.

In the fishing guide they have a simple test that
seperates channels from flatheads by looking at the jaw.

Flatheads...Lower jaw extends beyond upper jaw
Channels....Upper jaw extends beyond lower jar

Check out the color of this channel from this Uof M site.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/usfws/channelcatfish2.jpg/view.html

Found here
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ictalurus_punctatus.html

mike

[Jitterbugger]

okay, indeed those are both channel cats.

As far as the flathead debate goes, perhaps my literature is outdated. My source is "Fish of Michigan Field Guide" (copywrite 2007) and it states..."The flathead catfish is uncommon in Michigan and inhabits only a few large rivers in the Lake Michigan Drainage."

The channel cat has a forked tail and grey to silver back. Large fish appear olive or slate.
The flathead is usually mottled yellow or brown, with a pronounced underbite.

I've been through all the processes of identifying these fish due to the 14 pound channel seen in my photo gallery. When I first caught it, I too thought it could be a flathead due to how different it looked compared to 6-8 pound channel cats. Eventually, it didn't compare and is obviously a channel.

As are both of your fish. (though I had never seen one look so yellow)

[BradU20]

Quick tail check.....channels are deeply forked, bullheads and flatheads are rounded.


http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/fishing/fishfacts/fish/channel_catfish/channel_catfish.gif

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/swwd/flat.jpg