# flathead in RED



## Vernon.Miller (Apr 25, 2007)

I have cought some flat heads on the missouri in SD, but am wondering if anyone has ever heard of flat heads being in the RED? or even blues?


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## schultz345 (Jan 8, 2007)

nope, never.

but my friend caught a tiger musky, so i guess anything is possible lol.


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## Starky (Mar 15, 2006)

Never heard of flay heads in the Red. I'm not sure of the differance between a blue and a Channel.


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## Gildog (Jan 30, 2007)

Blue and channel cat are very similar, except for color. Here in MO the blues color is a bluish white, some people even call them white cats, while the channels are definitely brown.

Blues also get bigger than channel cats.


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## Southwest Fisher (May 14, 2004)

I have heard of the occassional Blue on the Red in the Fgo area, but in the last 6 years I'm pretty sure almost all of mine were Channels, one or two were iffy, you can distinguish between them with a bit of inspection. My buddy is convinced he's landed a Blue or two, but I think that's suspect, he's mostly a Sheyenne fisher.

Never seen not heard of a flathead this far North.


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## NightWarrior (May 2, 2007)

I have often wondered why we don't have Flatties in the Red River. If you look at a good county map the Red River is decended fromComing from the South) The Minnesota River, to Marsh Lake, to Big Stone Lake, to Lake Traverse, to Mudd Lake, to Bois De Sioux River which then turns into the Red River. You would think that there are or would be underground rivers connecting to all and over the years some Flatties would make the trip north. But then on the negitive side do you really want a fish eating monster like the Flatties in one of the best Channel Cat fisheries?

As for Blues in the Sheyenne, very doughtful, I fish the Sheyenne as much as the Red and have never seen a Blue come out in 18 years of fishin it from one end to other.

Also here are ways to tell between the Channel and Blue Kitties.

*ChannelCat Identification:*
The channel cat has a slender body with a deeply forked tail. The upper jaw is longer than the lower jaw and there are barbels around the mouth. *The dorsal and pectoral spines are sharp and deeply serrated, and the anal fin is curved and has between 24 and 30 rays.* The body is bluish silver on the sides and generally has dark spots.

*HABITAT:* 
Lakes and larger rivers with cleaner bottoms of sand, gravel or stones, over mud flats but seldom in dense weedy areas. Also lives in the deeper, slower pools of swift, clear-running streams. In large reservoirs, they are often found below dams where they feed on food swept down to them.

*BlueCat Identification:*
Heavy-bodied with a wide head and high spot forward of center near the head called the dorsal hump. Upper jaw projects well beyond the lower. Bluish-gray body above, fading to white on sides and belly. *No spots and a deeply forked tail, 30-35 rays on the blue cat's anal fin with its straight outer margin.*

*HABITAT:* 
They frequent places with sandy bottoms and moderate currents and try to avoid silty areas.


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