Monsters In Appearance & Temperament

Conflict between commercial fishermen and anglers is inevitable, as it was for walleyes in the Great Lakes and elsewhere. In Oklahoma, blessed with probably the largest flathead population, fishery managers are pondering difficult allocation problems. The trend’s clear.

The social and economic importance of recreational fishing means inland commercial fisheries for gamefish are dwindling. And commercial fishermen are content to pursue more predictable and lucrative occupations.

And if big fish eventually die of old age instead of harvest, where’s the waste? The payment is in the many years of being a big flathead, of being there to thrill men, not in the $2 a pound the flesh is worth at the market. We raise chickens and turkeys, dumb as a stump, for food. We can even take smaller, more plentiful catfish for occasional meals. If we protect catfish habitat, smaller fish remain readily renewable.

Seeking fame and fortune? Win a bowling tournament. Don’t try to ride the backs of a bunch of big dead fish. Stringer shots of big cats prove stupidity, not prowess. Shoot a photo or 10 before you release big boy to continue to spark our existence with his own.

OK, so perhaps there were more and bigger flatheads a hundred years ago. By comparison to other populations of big fish, however, this is the golden age for flathead cats.