Dennis please help me with catfish parts

[Dux-R-Us]

I caught my second flathead last night in the pond, 27 in. and 9 lbs.

Dennis, is this a male flathead? The spaghetti looking stuff, are they the testes? Or some other part? The other fish had two grey sacks, which I thought were spent or non-mature ovaries, and they were'nt fixed to the abdominal cavity. Maybe I have it backwards.
The whole s-e-x still thing befuddles me. :wacko:

Thanks, I did'nt know who else to turn to.

Cheers

Kevin

 

[dennishoddy]

In calling it a male.
Reason #1 is because the flathead cats are preparing to spawn. Had it been a female, she would have been full of eggs. I don't believe they have spawned in the creeks or lakes yet, but in a pond.... Possible, but doubtful.
I've never sexed a fish by looking at the internal organs. A visual observation is fairly easy. Look at the openings on the catfish belly. Both will have two openings at the lower belly, one for the anus and the other for the genitals. Male genitals are raised and shaped like a nipple. The female catfish genital area has an opening that is rounded. Right before spawning, the female genital area will be reddish and swollen.
Hope this will help.

 

[poopgiggle]

conclusion: fish penises are gross

 

[Dux-R-Us]

In calling it a male.
Reason #1 is because the flathead cats are preparing to spawn. Had it been a female, she would have been full of eggs. I don't believe they have spawned in the creeks or lakes yet, but in a pond.... Possible, but doubtful.
I've never sexed a fish by looking at the internal organs. A visual observation is fairly easy. Look at the openings on the catfish belly. Both will have two openings at the lower belly, one for the anus and the other for the genitals. Male genitals are raised and shaped like a nipple. The female catfish genital area has an opening that is rounded. Right before spawning, the female genital area will be reddish and swollen.
Hope this will help.

Dennis, I just knew you were the answer man on this one.

K

(I still have 25 ACP bullets for you.)

 

[dennishoddy]

Dennis, I just knew you were the answer man on this one.

K

(I still have 25 ACP bullets for you.)

Thanks! A guy wanted to get a pond stocked with catfish, but wanted to catch them, using larger fish instead of buying fry that would have to grow for several years.
I'm friends with John Stahl, Director of Fisherys for NW Okla, ODW. I got with him to learn how to determine the sex of the fish so that he could get a good mix of cats.
I've been ate up with getting ready for wheat harvest for the last month, and have not wet a line. We should be done this weekend barring any bad weather.
I've heard "rumors" that the hybrid stripers are surfacing and going nuts in Lake Ponca in the evenings, and I'm coming up on some days off during the week, starting next weekend.
I'll Pm you to see what your schedule is.

 

[Burk Cornelius]

This thread is equal parts awkward and gross

 

[dennishoddy]

Well, I could have said Kevin should have taken it to the mall, to see if it protested being there, or became docile.
That would have been the first clue to gender identification.