does anybody know of any hatcherys that would deliver blue catfish to the state of PA?

Ditto for Mississippi.

Man!! Tough order most of the guys who sell blues are in Texas there is one guy who is in the state of LA. I got mine from a guy in South Carolna.
When I called these hatcheries about half of them will say their blues are not very hardy and transporting them was difficult! They will say they have problems with mortality. Then their will be others who will tell you their blues are as hardy as their channel catfish. The person I bought my fish from told me his fish were just as hardy as his channels, and I would not see any dead fish. He was RIGHT! The fish I bought were Excelent!! No problems, they ALL survived. I have bought fish from him twice already.

Blue Cats aren't gamefish?

One man's trash fish is another man's gamefish. :-)

Chris

Robinson, isnt the world record trash fish from Tn.?

ps..most folks dont put 40 lb fish in their pond.

Don't know why Mr. Robinson calls it a trash fish...shoot this fish will whip up on ANY large mouth bass ANY day of the week.
Correct, when blues come to the pond the large mouth bass become BAIT!!!

I've got one, maybe two in my 5 acre pond right now, with a flathead or two. I told the benevolent stocker (my father in law, holder of all my hunting leases) that maybe that was plenty and we shouldn't stock anymore. I haven't seen a population impact at all yet.

Several people on the board think they are not the best in a pond, unless you are stocking for them and only them. Otherwise, they are going to impact your other fish pretty severely.

I stocked 250 of them in a 9.3 acre lake. I hope at this size they don't eat the bream. But it is possible they have already done so..

Mr. Robinson,
Here is GA it is harder to catch blues down here, we do have a few flatheads in our lakes and rivers but not alot of blues.

We also catch blues real easy on artificial lures

By the way Carp and bullheads are trash fish, blues and flatheads are game fish.

They're not bottom feeders. They prefer the middle column of water.

I caught a big bass on a budweiser lure one time. VERY sporty.
Gentlemen, and ladies,it is all about managing for what you want, And interpreting all the posts. If Meadow had maybe a couple blue cats for predation on bluegills, maybe he wouldnt have too many poachers, especially not from Tn. The point is, dont take each post as absolute gospel, but absorb, digest it all and come up with your own personal game plan, based on pitfalls and successes of others. How do you think the experts got to be experts?

I think most of us are looking for a balanced pond ecosystem. Big blue cats are like the proverbial bull in the China Shop. What they don't eat, they either tear up or crap on. However, if thats what floats your boat, go to it. Its your pond and none of my business.

Think about it, some people have great danes and others pomeranians.

MR. Robinson, I will bring my pot bellied blue cat up there when I come next wk. and sic him on your pomeranian and your blue tick hound.

Seriously, though, if channels and blues are stocked as juveniles, they have very similar dining habits. A 1 or 2 lb. blue is actually better to eat than a channel. You are missing the point. You keep alluding to BIG cats. My first post reads, "most people dont put 40 lb. fish in their pond". The idea is to let FEW (3 or 4) blues help the LMB control the bluegills; then you will have giant bluegills. You occasionally put a bluegill on a hook, catch a bluecat, lots of fun, and eat him, lots of fun; catch them all before they get big enough to eat the big bluegill. elementary.

Zetts Hachery in West Virginia has what they call "Missippi Blue Channel Catfish" in their cataloge. I have not inquired about Bules but MOST of what they have in the cataloge is in stock, although I've found a few things (Trout, Smallmouth Bass, and Red Slider Turtles) that are listed but never seem to be available. Zetts phone number is 304-229-3654. Good luck.

Good one, Robinson. Peace!

Mr. W. Robinson,
The Mighty blue is the BEST fresh water fish that GOD every made in my humble opion. Shooooooot, sorry about my pond ?? For what it not filling up?? OOOooooh because it has bules huh?? Well in just a few years you can bring them "Trophy Bass" to my pond for lunch! I am sure that these fish I have would love to eat a few "trophy Bass" :p :p

Buzzards....huh

Because the Drum or Buffalo, are as big and strong as the blue cat he ate the TOP of the food chain...
Have you ever put your hand inside a blue or a channels mouth? They have an incredible bite!! Heck if they had teeth like a shark we would be in trouble!!
There is NO fish like big blue... he's the best

I wish the guy that stocked and manages for gar was here. Or maybe the guy that wants to know where to find black bullheads. It's about your goals.

Black Bull heads?? Gar??? We can't compare blues to these trash fish :p

By the way I think the guy was looking for yellow bullheads

I prefer Bass, Bluegill, redear, blues, channels and crappie

hey guys, I DON'T WHAT TO STOCK 40 OR 50 POUNDERS! I just what to stock 6-12 INCH blues! does Zetts in west virgina deliver to PA?

There is a small place outside of Orangeburge South Carolina that sells blues. He seem to have a real good strain of fish. But you will have to pick them up your self

hello, i agree with some of the comments but i can tell you i have a great respect for the blue cat. i have been noodling since i was 7 and if you ever noodle a blue cat, of any size, you will gain a great respect for them.(not legal but you come across them looking for flatheads in oklahoma) anyway they fight you 5 times harder than a flathead and there teeth are 2 times longer. about 20, 20lbs to 40lb blues found there way to one of my 1/4 acre ponds, and i found they will eat floating catfish food right with the channel cats. this is very fun to show people and they won't take over because they are all males. i must tell you i am a blues man and they will try to tear your arm off if given the chance. how can you not respect that?

Man I can tell we are going to be GOOD buddies!!So you notice that they fight much harder than the flatheads?? Yes I have always heard that as well.
I talk with alot of hatcheries and they said more and more people are wanting to stock these rascles becaues there sporting Qualities are so good.

Where did you get your blues?? I curiouse because I might want some of that strain of fish for my lake..

Have you ever noodled a blue cat? I have thought about the concept of having my own private bluecat lake were people could come and noodle a big cat and feel the rush. I don't mean standing in waist deep water catching a flathead in a barrel or under a rock. For me, noodling to be fair to the fish , needs to be in about 8 feet of water or more. When you come out from a hole in the bank (you had to go up to your ancles in to reach the fish) you have to put him in a leg scizzors hold, as he is fighting you under water. Then once you have him between your leggs you realize you are out of breath. You still have to let go with one hand and use it to swim to the top of the water before you explode. Then your buddy grabs you and keeps your head above water while you catch your breath and helps string him up. no gloves either . You get this big boy on the bank take a picture with him, look at him and guess how long he's been swimming around. You take a look at his battle scars he has recieved over the years defending his nest and breaking lines. You take a look at your own arm as the blood clots on the surface and for some strange reason you are proud of you wound. Then you turn him back while thanking God he didn't way as much as you do, or he might be sharring this story with one of his buddies! You carry a scar on your forearm for a few months or sometimes a few years. The crazy thing is, its one of the best times you have ever had in your life and you never forget the fight, ever! hell i have myself ready to go noodling, i love the sport as if you couldn't tell.

So Big Pond, are you a noodler or what?

Here's a video of girls noodling:
http://www.catfishgrabblers.com/GGGMusicVideo300k.wmv

I don't think I could do this!! I might try it in a pond like Gunner!!
I have heard alot of people drowning while doing this...Some times people can get a hold of a stout blue and they have taken them under and away!!
Gunner in 8 feet of water a blue half the size of the man could drown some one!! Don't you think??

I would love to hear more on this!!

Has any one caught Channels by noodling???

You know Gunner it does seem as if the blue has an Awful strong bite!! He can REALLY clamp down I mean HARD!!.. Makes you really glad they don't have teeth!! They would be a fresh water shark!!

I tried noodling a couple of times. On the third time I caught about a 15 pound catfish of some kind. This was about 300 years ago when I thought of bad bulls and horses as recreational toys. That catfish dang near scraped all of the hide off of my arm. I got it to the surface but let go of it. Funny how my friends enjoyed the show. Never again.

yes you can catch channel cats all day if you go under boat docks or under the big rocks they use to line the damns of smaller lakes. they are fun but hard to catch because they bite and run. this is a fun thing to do with people who have never done it before. the booom sound a catfish makes under water is scarier for more people than the fish itself. talk about fun but in oklahoma at least you can only keep flatheads to be legal.
as far as the blues bitting hard yes they can bite verrrrrry hard. much harder than flatheads. i think it has to do with the muscles on their heads where flatheads don't have as much, its mostly just bone. with a blue, they will sometimes bite and squeeze your hand or foot or whatever goes in the hole first. i sometimes stick my foot in the bank of a river first, if the hole goes towards the surface it can be a beaver hole. never been bit by a beaver, don't want that story to tell. but i have felt many.
i have taken buddies with me so they could try it, and it has been the best memories. we laugh about it over some cold beers later. its even better if you use scuba goggles because you get to see their reaction when they are bit. i damn near drown last year laughing before i reached the surface.
as far as the big blues drowning someone. i think it is the lack of experience that causes the danger not the fish. usually someone goes into a river bank and they get hung or even when noodling those rocks i mentioned, you have to be careful not to stick you hand in a place you can't pull it out of. i learned along time ago with blues they will turn you loose after about 10 seconds if you remain still. then you can come up and get a better breath and go back and get after it again. with a flat head they never just bite and squeeze, you have to react and grab them when they bite you or they will go way back in the bank if the hole is deep enough and sometimes you can't reach them. i never recommend going alone because you can drown in the most shallow water if your hand is caught in a rock. its more fun with buddies anyway. in oklahoma i believe they stocked the blue cats in the 1940's but i'm not for sure. anyway the biggest we have cought is 66 lbs. it was huge buy manageable. i think these big fish stop breeding after they get so old, i'm not sure but everything else does so i don't see why these fish wouldn't be the same. there have been a few caught over 100lbs on jug lines but none noodled that i have heard of. just a guess since i haven't caught many over 50lbs.
catfish start nesting pretty good after may 15th so i want to hear some stories. if i get some rain i will try to figure out how to send a picture on this thing.

Hey Big Pond, it was only a matter of time before Robinson reared his ugly head. I'm sure it was him casting the 2 votes for 1 star for the noodler/banker. I kicked him up. You need to get your vote in. He is my hero. If he would set up a noodling/grabbing lake with the "girls gone wild" as instructors, I would spend my vacations noodling/grabbing.

I gave him 3 stars as well...he is sort of a hero for us blue catters!!! Lake like that!! wow!! better be carfull!

big_pond, here's something for you...

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/052405/JEF_B6GIC2EH.068.shtml

This Tim Pruitt fellow holding that blue cat must be a big boy. With the fish at 120 lbs. plus, he doesn't even look like he's straining to hold it up.

Boy OOhhh Boy, What a Magnificent Animal...I really hope it survives the 55,000 gallon tank!! I hope to stay up on the story to see how he makes out!!
Fought him for 40 minutes!! WOW!!

I wonder if we will EVER catch one of the 300 pounders that people talked about 100 years ago...

...sorry big_pond

...sorry big_pond.

The Kansas City Star

The world-record catfish that had captured the imagination of fishermen across the Midwest won't be coming to Kansas City after all.

The 124-pound blue catfish caught Saturday night by Tim Pruitt of Fosterberg, Ill., on the Mississippi River was supposed to have been put on display in the aquarium at the Cabela's store in Kansas City, Kan.

And it was on its way there Monday. But the fish died en route, leaving the area minus one big projected tourist attraction.

"We're baffled by this," said Fred Cronin, a fisheries biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "We took a lot of precautions to see that the fish was comfortable.

"But we're talking about a fish that was very old, very heavy. The stress of being transported like that could have been too much."

Cabela's now has the fish and plans to use it to have two replica mounts made - one that will be on display in the store, another that will be given to Illinois for a display in a museum.

The fish itself may also be loaned to the Illinois DNR for genetic tests and various studies on big catfish.

Oh well...I kinda though this might happend...They are doing research on him now I suppose....What do you think supposed happend? I REALY Hope they find an answers...I have read some where that blues sometimes do this when caught...But no one knows what makes them die like this?? I knew of a guy on this forum way back..I believe his name was 'Newbee', I think..He had similar problems with his blues....... Boy that is too bad...