# How big is too big?



## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

Relatively new to targeting catfish and was wondering how big is too big for eating?
So far, the biggest channel I've caught was only 10.5#, but hopefully sooner or later I'll catch bigger ones.
We've caught several in the 8-10lb range and they all tasted just fine.
It would seem the 5-20lb range would be good as far as taste and how much meat you get vs cleaning time.
I kept a little 1lb channel, just because it was the first one we caught on a rod/reel at the river and because my son caught it. While it tasted great, it was not much meat and still took about the same amount of time to clean as the 10lb ones.
How big before they start tasting "fishy"?
What size do people recommend releasing for conservation purposes?


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## KevBow (Mar 18, 2011)

I keep channels and blues up to 15 or so lbs. flatheads keep the big ones too


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

I do not think the fishy taste comes from size but more of the environment where the fish lives. I have caught 3 lb blues out of farm ponds with excess vegetation. The fish taste like the mossy water.
To me channel can be a little stronger tasting since the are primary bottom feeders where blues are real meat eaters from up in the water column.
I do not keep any thing over about 12 pounds. Not because of the taste but because those larger fish are the more successful spawners and brood protectors.
A 25 pound female can have a fry survival rate of 5 to 6%. That could mean five to six hundred 3 pound keepers in just two years.
But if I had only one fish and it weighed 25 pounds and we needed fish that big girl in going home with me. Conservation and need should be a balance.


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## Ducktracker (Aug 1, 2011)

Nicely said sunbeam, is this another April fools?


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## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

Sunbeam said:


> I do not think the fishy taste comes from size but more of the environment where the fish lives. I have caught 3 lb blues out of farm ponds with excess vegetation. The fish taste like the mossy water.
> To me channel can be a little stronger tasting since the are primary bottom feeders where blues are real meat eaters from up in the water column.
> I do not keep any thing over about 12 pounds. Not because of the taste but because those larger fish are the more successful spawners and brood protectors.
> A 25 pound female can have a fry survival rate of 5 to 6%. That could mean five to six hundred 3 pound keepers in just two years.
> But if I had only one fish and it weighed 25 pounds and we needed fish that big girl in going home with me. Conservation and need should be a balance.


This is the info I was looking for.
So far all of the cats I/we have caught out of the river have been channels. Most were in the 8-10lb range and fried up just fine.
Caught a 3lb channel on one trip, but later released it cause it was the only one caught and didn't feel like cleaning only 1 small fish.
I see posts on here and other sites all the time where people are catching yellow cats in excess of 30lbs, sometime more than 50lbs.
I was just wondering if most people keep or release those big ones.
I have yet to make that decision, but right now we're trying to catch enough fish for a birthday party, so not much is going to get released.



Ducktracker said:


> Nicely said sunbeam, is this another April fools?


???


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

We've caught quite a few fish in 10-45lb range while jugging. For us, all of these are CPR'd (catch, photo, released). Not a whole lot of thinking behind it other than I'm letting those mommas go back to make more babies.

Now if a big flathead was to get on one of the jugs, I'm sure there would be an exception to the CPR guideline....At least one time anyways.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Ducktracker said:


> Nicely said sunbeam, is this another April fools?


No I am good for only one a season.
For those that missed it see post on fresh water board "Real bad news'
and "Breaking news"


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## jackieblue (Jun 13, 2006)

Do what you want to with the fish you catch.
Study up on Mercury content of fish and how is cumulative an stored in the flesh. All fish have some, most in small amounts. As fish get bigger they eat more fish and those fish also increases the mercury content of bigger fish. So if you like the effects of mercury I strongly suggest you consume lots of big catfish.
Not saying I haven't consumed some bigger fish but my current cut off is about six pounds, and about two pounds is as good as it gets for excellent taste. 
Similar to eating beef, a lighter weight steer or heifer would be more tender and tasty than an older bull or heavy cow.
The breeding and genetics also come into play if you are any type of conservationist, but here again that is all up to the individual.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

I am not qualified to say anything here, but I have heard releasing over 10 pounds for reproduction reasons. The mercury thing sounds legit and logical too.


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## P (Nov 18, 2012)

I once cleaned a 30 lb blue from lake Houston that had so much fat on it you couldn't tell where the meat started and the fat stopped and we cooked it any way . NOT edible , strong and just plain nasty but the blue me and the wife caught out of the trinity last weekend was great over charcoal and it was 24 lbs . maybe the constant swimming in the river keeps the fat down on the big ones . Never caught anything over 8 lbs out of LL but the meat seems to be brighter white and taste better than the blues from the trinity down around liberty but not a whole lot of difference .


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## jamesgreeson (Jan 31, 2006)

*weighty*

As a good rule of thumb I use the 10 # .Someone made a very good case on this site that as a conservation effort we should have a gentleman s agreement.


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

Ironically, this forum, the Catfish Lounge originated from an effort to promote "CPR"...Catch, Photograph and Release all catfish over 10 lbs. We even printed up decals to promote it.

But, like Jackie said, it's a personal preference. Personally, I don't keep any cats much over 6-8 lbs. The smaller fish eat better and with all the fillets I have there just isn't a need to keep the bigger fish. I'd much prefer they go back and make more babies.

That's my nickel's worth.


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## GBird (Jun 12, 2010)

Typically I go by the ten pound rule, unless the wife catches it. Threes and fours are my favorites though. Never thought much about the mercury issue here in Livinston, but understand that it is present in all East Texas lakes, and in some more than others, and in some species of fish, more than others.


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## Catfish-hunter (Aug 23, 2013)

Hard to beat a 3-5lb channel,5-10lb blue or 10-15lb yellow.


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## Wett'n my Hooks (Mar 26, 2011)

I used to keep the big ones, now it is the 10 lb. rule. The amount of time it takes to clean one properly, and the amount of meat you get, doesn't add up to me. I would rather clean a dozen 3 to 5's than 1 large Cat. Now it's a pic and release. I've even down sized to 5/0 circle hooks, to keep from catching them, but once in a while you still get one.


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## Spooley (Feb 24, 2013)

*My rule too*



Catfish-hunter said:


> Hard to beat a 3-5lb channel,5-10lb blue or 10-15lb yellow.


x2


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

Spooley said:


> x2


I like them numbers TOO!


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## TxDispatcher (Nov 29, 2011)

I keep enough to have a few dinners on hand at all times, but anything over 10 will be photographed and released...unless it's all I catch that trip. I bank fish at this time, so I don't do much "recreational" fishing these days, when I go I am catching dinner. Once I decide on a boat here in the near future and pull the trigger on it, I'll do more fishing and will be releasing anything over 10#'s regardless of what the freezer holds. Not knocking anyone who keeps the larger ones, in fact my nephew caught one that pegged out the 40# scales at Stowaway Marina a few weeks back


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## huntrfish (Oct 16, 2009)

I have kept blues up to 30# and flatheads up to 50# and both were fine as long as you trim the red meat and fat off. Once they get big, you can get a pretty good size piece of meat off the belly. Probably as much as a 3 pounder.


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