by Ron Presley
Selective Harvest by all levels of catfish anglers could greatly impact the future of the fishery.
Scientists report that a very important factor related to a decline of many fish species is overharvesting. While numerous anglers have viewed catfish as plentiful with no need to conserve, that thinking needs to come to an end.
Luckily, the issue of overharvesting can be attacked through education aimed at selective harvest and common-sense fishing habits.
Overfishing creates a problem because catfish take many years to reach sexual maturity. A flathead, for example, takes from 3 to 6 years to reach sexual maturity and can lay anywhere from a few hundred to 100,000 or more eggs. The number varies greatly depending on female size.
Texas Parks and Recreation reported that a female will lay 1200 eggs for every pound she weighs. By that calculation a 50-pound female could release 60,000 eggs at a time.
Coupled with the numerous reports from anglers that the catfish population is declining, more in some places than others, the simple science suggest that anglers should return more of the big fish to the water and harvest only the smaller fish. That is what selective harvest is all about.
If anglers would return the large trophy fish to the water the wild population of catfish would have a greater chance of recovery. Many guides support that notion by applying a size limit on their boat.
Texas angler Chad Ferguson is a strong believer in selective harvest. The SeaArk prostaffer guides on the Texas lakes of Eagle Mountain, Lake Worth, Ray Roberts, Grapevine and Lewisville where there are tons of good eating, smaller fish to go along with the trophies.
“I release all fish over 5 pounds,” explained Ferguson. “It’s not only to keep the big fish in the lake but also to make sure I’m releasing all the fish capable of spawn. I used to release everything over 10 pounds. About four years ago I dropped it to five pounds and we still put plenty of fish in the cooler.”
A similar scenario exists for Catch the Fever prostaffer Capt. Paul Blackwell. He views his boat rule as a combination of common sense and conservation. He owns and operates the Fish On Guide Service, mostly on Santee Cooper in South Carolina.
“Anything coming to the boat weighing more than 15 pounds—we release it,” Blackwell said. “There is an abundance of 15 pound and under fish in the lake. The bigger fish are the breeding stock and important to the future. I want other anglers to have the opportunity to catch a true trophy catfish and make the same memories I have been able to make over the years.”
“The goal of my guide service is not to take clients fishing for groceries,” concluded Blackwell. “I take clients fishing for the experience they have and the memories they make.”
These two guides are good role models for others to follow. Conditions vary from one body of water to another, but setting boat rules appropriate to the water you fish can serve the conservation effort in a positive way.
In addition to letting the bigger fish go back, anglers should also take only what they need of the smaller fish. That is the other leg of selective harvest.
Conservation savvy anglers should adopt a strategy of selective harvest and practice CPR. If they also convince others to do the same, the outlook for trophy catfish in the future will improve greatly.
