Cats up the Creek

Type: Tidal
Region: Southern
Location: Mattawoman Creek

It was a busy week of sampling for MDNR biologists, collecting pre-spawn blue catfish in Mattawoman Creek. Fish up to 58 lbs were electrofished and collected for diet and fecundity studies. While it seems the large males were too busy building nests to actively feed, females up to 50 lbs were gorging on crayfish, river herring, and sunfishes. Eggs for mature females run about 10-12% of the body weight of the fish; that was over 5 lbs of eggs for one big girl! We found fish near deep bends in the creek and alongside lilly pads. A few were collected in water as shallow as 2 ft. This time of year gives anglers with small boats or shoreline access a great shot to land BIG FISH! MDNR asks anglers lucky enough to catch blue catfish not to return them to the water. These fish are invasive and pose a threat to native and naturalized species in MD waters.