# spay or neuter?



## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

the topic is cats, well, actually catfish:

I've been getting shmammered by some pretty awesome catfish lately which LOADS of fun on light tackle. I had a few of these guys nearly spool me on my lil UL set up. They were clean lookin' too and in clean water so I even took home two (on separate days) and had a nice lil dinner of it.

The bit I feel bad about is that when I was fileting the catfish, I noticed both of them had eggs in 'em. 

I feel really bad about that, I'd much rather catch them post-spawn but I'm not really sure how to tell if they're full of eggs or not. If they're real fat lookin' i'll just let 'em go and assume that's the case but both these fish were, i wouldn't say lean, but not really on the chunky side.

Anyone know a quick way to tell if a cat's got eggs? or i guess, if a cat's a female?


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

usually from the body shape and shape of the mouth is easiest, especially now since the males has engorged glands on there heads and the female channel catfish have two vents, one to release urine and the other connected to the oviduct to release eggs. Typically channels spawn in water temps above 72 degrees, the male makes a nest and guards the nest after the eggs hatch. typically fish under 4 lbs have more eggs per pound then ones over 4 lbs. several sources say about 3800 eggs per lb of fish is a good average

Salmonid


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## gabertooth (Apr 16, 2013)

I have to say that I find nothing "wrong" with keeping a fish that is legal if you are going to eat it... I've done that plenty of times in other parts of the country (OCEAN). However, I was always raised to catch and release whatever I caught in Ohio, not because I needed to preserve the wildlife or be a tree hugger, but becuase it wasn't safe to eat... Now, I did grow up in southern ohio, fishing the Ohio River, Scioto and Little Scioto rivers, and some streams, so that has a lot to do with it. But, I guess I am just weiry of eating anything from any waterway just because I have seen some of the stuff that people just throw into the river... Am I alone here, or are these fish really safe to eat??? I have seen the charts that tell you how much and how often you can eat a fish from specific waterways, but I feel like if they have to have a chart and limits on what I can eat, I don't want to eat it anyway...


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

gabertooth said:


> I have to say that I find nothing "wrong" with keeping a fish that is legal if you are going to eat it... I've done that plenty of times in other parts of the country (OCEAN). However, I was always raised to catch and release whatever I caught in Ohio, not because I needed to preserve the wildlife or be a tree hugger, but becuase it wasn't safe to eat... Now, I did grow up in southern ohio, fishing the Ohio River, Scioto and Little Scioto rivers, and some streams, so that has a lot to do with it. But, I guess I am just weiry of eating anything from any waterway just because I have seen some of the stuff that people just throw into the river... Am I alone here, or are these fish really safe to eat??? I have seen the charts that tell you how much and how often you can eat a fish from specific waterways, but I feel like if they have to have a chart and limits on what I can eat, I don't want to eat it anyway...


I believe the LMR advisory unless you're next door to the ohio is once a month. i would be warier of bigger fish as they tend to accmulate heavy metals and toxins the longer they live and teh further upt he food chain they go. apparently, ha, and this seems dicey, if the fish in question is cited b/c of levels of PCB but last night's fish was mercury, you can count those meals separaely (a different 'meter' for each type of toxin, haha). also, if you have two meals in a week (which I did this week unaware of the once/month advisory - an old salt down at the river informed me of the erroneous 1/wk state; apparently if i average out to 1/month i'm fine, lol) i'll let you guys know if i start growing extra limbs or anything 

the usual discretionary comments apply, "not for pregnant women, not too much for children, etc" but to be honest, a lot of these same advisories apply to the very same fish you get in the grocery store. there are advisories on canned tuna b/c of mercury and the same for swordfish, shark, etc.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

montagc said:


> I think of it this way. Regardless of when you pull a female from the water and keep it, it won't spawn the next time. So even if you keep a fish that has already spawned this year, it won't next year, etc.
> 
> Other than that, I can't really answer your questions.


montagc, so basically you're saying we should always practice catch and release and never bring a fish home?


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

SamiFish said:


> montagc, so basically you're saying we should always practice catch and release and never bring a fish home?


I dont want to speak for anyone, but my answer would be the same. But I would NOT be saying that all fishing should be catch and release. I would be saying that youre worrying too much about it, quite possibly because of some know-it-all types on the internet making a big deal out of nothing. Some people have the holier than thou type of attitude, usually only towards their favorite fish, and try to make people feel guilty about something that no one should feel guilty about. If you want to eat a pile of fish and its legal to do so, eat them and enjoy it.


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## COmmodore 64 (Jun 24, 2006)

In New Zealand they had a bounty system on wasp queens. This was in teh 90's, they had a severe yellowjacket problem. SO they paid a bounty out for all queens, pretty much any yellow jacket you get in the spring is a queen looking for a place to start a nest, and they are larger than normal, so they were easy to pick out.

That year they had the worst problems they'd had to date for yellow jackets. Some say the lack of competition led to larger nests and greater population.

Don't feel guilty about eating a couple of gravid female catfish. You might have caused more fry to reach fingerling stage!


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

If I were you, I'd try frying those egg sacs up. It may not be for everyone but I'd sure like to try.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

kingofamberley said:


> If I were you, I'd try frying those egg sacs up. It may not be for everyone but I'd sure like to try.


I had the same thought. And found out that I'm one of those that it's not for.  I didn't enjoy it at all.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Fair enough. Never know 'till you try! Some people just flat out refuse to try things, its infuriating! I commend you for trying it.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

M.Magis said:


> I had the same thought. And found out that I'm one of those that it's not for.  I didn't enjoy it at all.


I'm not particular about any fish. I was just given the impression it was 'nicer' to let the egg-laden ones go. I just take the occasional fish here and there - half the time it's because the fish goes belly up after inhaling a crankbait.

in any case, i just wanted to know how to tell them apart (egg-ladeb vs. post-spawn; male vs. female) and i was a little irked that the response didn't really do anything to answer the question.

as for the eggs, because i was feeling a little bad about it, i was thinking it'd be 'less bad' if i were to somehow consume the things and i can concur (after making sure they weren't like gar eggs that'll kill ya) they're.... gross


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

If you catch one on pickles, ice cream, or cupcakes...it's probably pregnant.


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

SamiFish said:


> the topic is cats, well, actually catfish:
> 
> I've been getting shmammered by some pretty awesome catfish lately which LOADS of fun on light tackle. I had a few of these guys nearly spool me on my lil UL set up. They were clean lookin' too and in clean water so I even took home two (on separate days) and had a nice lil dinner of it.
> 
> ...


You look at the genital papilla. Males' is more protruding like a nipple. Females are more rounded and flat. Remember there is two holes, the first is the anus.

Female catfish:









notice its more round and flat (the hole on the left).

Male catfish:









Notice the genitals are much more protruding. 

You can actually use this to tell the difference between lots of fish sexes. These aren't catfish (tilapia) but the same rule applies:










You can thank comparative vertebrate anatomy for that fun fact, one I'll probably never use again 

Edit: Also the female genital opening normally changes colors in most fish species around spawn. I read that somewhere, don't remember where though. I've never really noticed (but never really looked though).


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## barbereugene (Sep 16, 2012)

HOUSE said:


> If you catch one on pickles, ice cream, or cupcakes...it's probably pregnant.


Nailed it!! lol


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

FishDoctor said:


> You look at the genital papilla. Males' is more protruding like a nipple. Females are more rounded and flat. Remember there is two holes, the first is the anus.
> 
> Female catfish:
> 
> ...


Nice! That was exactly the info I was lookin for, thanks man!


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

HOUSE said:


> If you catch one on pickles, ice cream, or cupcakes...it's probably pregnant.


... wait, now I'm worried I'M pregnant....


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

SamiFish said:


> ... wait, now I'm worried I'M pregnant....


Its okay just sneeze afterwards. I hear that is a good method.


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Im not sure if we wanna go there but what if you find a fish thats backed into a spot?


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